Monday, December 19, 2011

Jesus is ...

The Way - He is able and willing to bring you from depression to deliverance. Nothing and no one can obstruct His deliverance as you walk His Way.
The Truth - He is able and willing to bring you from deception to discernment. No evil or wrong thinking can deceive you as you walk in His Truth.
The Life - He is able and willing to bring you from duty to devotion. No longer working or serving to be blessed but so blessed with His Life that you work or serve in adoration and gratitude.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Spiritual Disciplines - means not an end

Daily spiritual disciplines of reading the Bible, worship, prayer and speaking in tongues are means to an end and not an end in themselves. They should not make us feel we have arrived spiritually and become spiritually proud because of our ability to accomplish them.
Rather they help train us to be sensitive to the Lord as we seek to commune with Him through these tools. The end of spiritual disciplines is an ever growing love for the Lord and a deeper level of walking in step with Him as He daily lead us. The disciplines allow us to enjoy the Lord even as He enjoys our company.
So let us seek Him with discipline so that we can enjoy this relationship of faith with Him each day.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

New Birth

The New Birth giving rise to the New Life in Jesus Christ

When we are born in the natural, God has already created within us our sex, our physical attributes, temperament and our personality. We all have a physical body and a soul (our mind, emotions and will). However, we also have a spirit that is created to have a personal relationship with our Creator. But this spirit is NOT alive and is unable to have fellowship with our Holy God because of our sin nature (which is inherited from the first man, Adam who disobeyed God and sinned).

Since our spirit is dead, we need to be born again so that our spirit may come alive and able to have fellowship with God. No matter how many good works and religious acts we do, we cannot make our spirit come alive and be accepted by God.
Only God can create this New Birth through our confession with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus Christ died for our sin and rose again to give us eternal life.

God so loved us that He sent Jesus His Son to come to earth to pay the penalty of sin by dying on the Cross. This is the righteous requirement of God for sin as the wages of sin is death – eternal separation from God.

But Jesus did not remain dead but rose again so that we can have new and eternal life when we surrender our lives to Him and trust Him completely.

When we receive by simple faith, Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, He forgives all our sins and makes our spirit alive so that we can have eternal fellowship with God.

Conclusion
  1. No matter what his current moral state is, every person needs a new birth. We cannot change ourselves.
  2. Only through the new birth can a person’s spirit come alive and able to fellowship with God, moving from darkness into light and from sin to holiness.
  3. The new birth comes through faith by confessing and believing that Jesus Christ is your Saviour and Lord.

Consider whether you have experienced the new birth. If not, use the prayer below to help you be born again into this new life.


Pray this prayer out loud so that you can hear it and mean it in your heart:

“Heavenly Father God, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin and I ask You to forgive me and cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, died on the Cross to take away my sins. I also believe that He rose again from the dead so that I can have eternal life and fellowship with You. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I confess and believe Him to be the Saviour and Lord of my life from this day forth. I choose to follow Him and I ask You to fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live this new life. I declare that right now I am a child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ Name. Amen”

Friday, September 9, 2011

Change your vocabulary

"If you say what you have, you will have what you say." - this is a Scriptural principle in God's Word.
Our Creator God spoke the world and everything in it, including mankind, into existence. What He says has creative power and His words will be carried out.
We are made in His image and when we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we become the new creation in Christ, endowed with the Holy Spirit living in us, with the power and authority now to speak creative words of power to effect change in our lives and our environment.
Hence let us speak words that are positive and according to our Father's heart. Speak blessing, healing, restoration, renewal, revival and faith-filled words everyday to ourselves and our circumstances.
Do we need to speak out loud? Yes, we do as many scriptures exhort us to speak and our hearts will receive what we speak and faith will arise. 
Rom 10:8-9 - The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming... confess with your mouth, ..... and believe in your heart
Ps 19:14 - the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart..
Matt 17:20 - if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
So today and everyday, speak faith-filled words and see your faith grow and things change for the glory of God!

Friday, August 5, 2011

Growing Gracefully

Let us not take our wives for granted as we grow 'old' in our marriage relationships. Make each day a fresh way in which we relate to our wives in tender love and care. It's not easy so let us ask the Holy Spirit, the Perfect Gentleman, to help us. 

As our wives age into menopause, we have to be more vigilant as hormone levels change and the tendencies for emotional ups and downs are higher. Let us be careful with our words and tone of voice in relating to them.

Pray God's protective covering over them emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually each day.

May the Lord help us to make our marriages strong and a blessing to many even as we grow with grace in our later years.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Life is fragile

My accident on Tuesday made me reflect: Life is truly fragile. One moment I was walking fine and the next I am on my way in an ambulance with my head bandaged up! This experience reminds me that we all need to be prepared at all times - who knows when we are called home to be with the Lord.
Let us then each day keep short accounts with the Lord and with others. Rise and retire each day with thanksgiving for a new day began and ended. Renew our commitment to the Lord and rest in His love. Repent and receive His forgiveness. Respond with forgiveness to others who have wronged you.
For those who have yet to experience the wonderful relationship you can have with the Lord of the universe, let today be the day you believe and confess Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. There is no better way to live this life given to us.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Holy Anger

The spirit of anger – unholy anger
orge  (or-gay) - anger (indignation) - be angry (orgizo) - same word in all occasions in the Bible.
Anger is a valid emotion but needs to be controlled for it can be destructive if it is not.

Valid Anger (righteous anger)
MK 3:5 He (Jesus) looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
Rom 2:8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
Eph 4:26-27 "In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Invalid Anger (unrighteous anger)
2 Cor 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Eph 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 
Col 3:8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
1Tim 2:8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
James 1:20-21 for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
 
Valid anger
Invalid anger
Concerned for God’s holiness and glory
Concern for justice and righteousness
Concern for truth and in helping others
    Concerned for self-glory
    Concern for self-preservation
    Concern for self-interests (revenge)


    How to use anger correctly: (BMI principle)
    1. Be angry primarily at sin, not the sinner.  Attack the attitude, behaviour, lies, evil-doing, not the person.
    2. Master anger and use it to defeat injustice and evil.  Do not let anger master you and ‘force’ you to act out in angry outbursts.
    3. If anger overwhelms, look to the Holy Spirit for control.

      Friday, July 1, 2011

      Six Hours


      The Lord Jesus hung on the Cross for 6 hours (9 am to 3 pm).                                                              
      Why six hours? He was redeeming all of creation which was created in 6 days.
      The last hour was the toughest as he was paying the penalty for sin to redeem the pinnacle of God’s  creation  – mankind.
      Because of what Jesus has done, we are now free to receive forgiveness, cleansing and restoration of relationship with God through our turning from sin(repentance) and turning to Him (reconciliation). We are now free to choose to live the new life given us through the Holy Spirit.
      When we participate in the holy communion, we are declaring our allegiance to Christ by remembering and celebrating His death and resurrection.  His broken body is represented by the bread and His shed blood by the wine.His broken body provides for us healing, health and wholeness in all areas of our lives. His shed blood provides forgiveness, salvation, eternal life and protection.

      Thursday, June 9, 2011

      We need the Holy Spirit daily

      1. We all need to be daily filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can live the Christ-centred life required of us. We cannot do it on our own wisdom, strength nor abilities.

      2. The phrase "be filled" actually translates to 'being filled' which means it is a constant process of filling to the point of bursting. We need to give control of our lives on a daily basis to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead and help us. Let us learn to lean on Him.

      3. How then to be filled? What is the result of being filled? (Eph 5:18-21)
      v.19 Speak and sing one to another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
      v.20 Give thanks in all circumstances trusting and surrendering to God for His purpose and will is perfect
      v.21 Submit to one another in humility - only the humble can be filled and being filled will also show in humility and submission.

      4. Measure ourselves and our families by the fruit of the Spirit which should be evident when we are filled with Him. The fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

      I hope that we all constantly cultivate a close relationship with the Holy Spirit daily.

      Wednesday, June 8, 2011

      The Family of Faith

      Based on Col 3:18-21 (and elaborated in Eph 5:21-6:4)

      1. Fathers do not embitter (exasperate or discourage) your children but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Your children are your disciples to bring up in the Lord. Encourage and build them up.

      2. Children obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord. If children honour their parents, it will go well with them and they will have long life.

      3. Husband love your wife as Christ loved the church. Do not be harsh with her. He who loves his wife loves himself. Love often means sacrifice so ask God for strength and perseverance in loving your wife.

      4. Wife submit to your husband as to the Lord. This is the 'special weapon' that God has given you for transformational change in your marriage. You hold the key for as you submit, God will change you and then will change your husband. So submit to and respect your husband.

      Then Paul goes on to say we need to take up the full armour of God and pray (Eph 6:10-20)
      All the above can only happen as we stand in faith and prayer against the enemy of our souls who is out to destroy marriages and families.

      The armour of God has 5 defensive portions and 2 offensive portions:

      Defence - Belt of truth,
                       breastplate of righteousness,
                       footwear of peace,
                       shield of faith and
                       helmet of salvation
      Offence - Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God spoken in faith)
                      Praying in the Spirit (intercessory prayer in faith)

      Wednesday, May 18, 2011

      Speak faith always

      Let us speak words of faith daily.

      In Num 20:8 God told Moses, "Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

      When you are faced with a problem, don't just talk about the problem. Speak to your problem and the Lord will bring forth His solution to that problem. Say "Problem, the Lord is bigger than you and in His Name I declare that you are solved because I have God's favour over my life through Jesus Christ my Lord"

      The Lord's favour is upon us as we walk with Him daily so let us not lose faith but keep believing and SPEAKING faith.

      Thursday, April 7, 2011

      God's ABCD economics

      Always overspend... in praise to the Lord  (1 Thess 5:16-18)
      Brutally retrench... sin in our lives (Psalm 51)
      Commit our reserves... to the Lord (Mal 3:10-12)
      Declare bankruptcy... in ourselves (Rom 3:9-12)

      Wednesday, March 2, 2011

      Beware the end-time spirits


      There are 3 demonic spirits that seek to draw believers away from God in these end-times.
      1. spirit of apostasy   (cause a person to move away from God)

      2 Thess 2:3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (NIV)
      (KJV : Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

      Apostasy (Greek (apo stasia), a defection or revolt, from apo, "away, apart", stasis, "stand", "standing") = a defection from truth; to forsake.

      Similarly divorce has the same Greek root (apo lu-o), from apo: “away, apart”, lu-o: “loose” = (to leave, depart from, to give up)
      The spirit of divorce is a spirit of apostasy ( to depart from God is spiritual divorce) that is why God hates divorce in the physical realm because it reflects in the spiritual realm the tendency for us to break faith with God. 

      MAL 2:13 Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.15 Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.    MAL 2:16 "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty.  So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

      As the bride of Christ, we are betrothed to Him and should not ‘divorce’ Him. The marriage covenant is a reflection of our spiritual covenant with God. 

      2.  spirit of achan (self-absorption/ self-worship) –Achan in Josh 7:1 (cause a person to move towards self – the ‘’I’’)

      1JN 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

      2 Tim  4:10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. 

      2TI 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

      Let us watch against this spirit that draws us to self-centredness rather than Christ-centredness.

      3.  spirit of antichrist  (cause a person to influence others to draw away from God ) –this is the spirit of division

          1JN 2:18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.

        JUDE 1:17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." 19 These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

      Unity is the key to spiritual revival in the Body of Christ so let us maintain this unity through the Holy Spirit.

      Bind these spirits and let the Holy Spirit filled you with
      -        His fruit of faithfulness to counter spirit of rebellion and divorce
      -        His fruit of self-control to counter spirit of self-centredness (sin)
      -        the spirit of unity to counter spirit of division
      JUDE 1:20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

      God wants us to desire Him so much that we are prepared to meet Him in heaven.
      Check your heart: if you desire Him, you have the Holy Spirit. Let Him have more of you.

      Sunday, February 6, 2011

      What matters most

      What matters most in my life? in yours? Family? Health? Happiness? Satisfaction? Worthwhile work?
      What if you and I lose everything even our health? What's left?
      Job was a man who experienced a loss beyond what most men have lost - his children were killed, his possessions and wealth all gone and his health was affected with severe sores in his body.
      On top of all this he had un-empathetic and non-understanding friends and wife.
      What did he do? What was his response?
      Strangely, his response recorded in Job13:15 was : Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.
      The 'he' and 'him', Job was referring to was God. Job was saying: Though God kills me, I will still hope in Him.
      What profound faith! Job's faith was that even if God took EVERYTHING from him including his life, he will still trust, hope, believe, remain faithful to Him.
      Do we have this in us? Have we come to a point in our Christian faith that we can completely cast our ALL to Him who loves us deeply. Or is our faith still a 'vending-machine' faith where our relationship to our Lord and God is bless me, bless me, bless me ... or else...
      God knows our hearts. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to change us from inside out to have this 'full surrender' faith like Job each and every day. That WHATEVER happens, we declare to all, both humans and non-humans, that God is my God.

      Wednesday, February 2, 2011

      From D to C through steps of GRACE

      We need to take up the shield of faith to quench the deadly darts of the evil one:
      Dart 1: the spirit (demon) of doubt who makes you question God's Word and His goodness
      Dart 2: the spirit of discouragement who makes you look at your problems rather than to God
      Dart 3: the spirit of diversion who makes the wrong seems more attractive than the right.
      Dart 4: the spirit of defeat who makes you feel like a failure so that you don't even try or trust God for victory
      Dart 5: the spirit of delay who makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done especially in obeying God.

      Our counter-offensive through the Holy Spirit for each of the darts.
      Let us daily put on the Lord Jesus and His Spirit will give us :
      1) Confidence (believe and trust) in God, His Word and His Goodness
      2) Courage (encouraged and empowered with boldness) to see God bigger than anything or anyone else
      3) Concentration (focus) on what God said and move forward in truth 
      4) Conqueror's attitude ("we are more than conquerors through Christ") that to fail does not mean we are a failure
      5) Control (by the Spirit) so that we are quick to obey and disciplined to live out our lives under Christ's Lordship