God_s_Grace_n

God's mystery & plan :
Let us be reminded that it was God's love & mercy for the human race that He sent His only Son to die for our sins so that we may have eternal life. When Jesus paid the price by sacrificing His life on the Cross once and for all :

1. Break us free form the bondage of the devil (deliver us from darkness to light).
2. Bridge the gap that separates us from God & reconciles us with Him.
3. Give us a new life.
4. God acknowledges us through Him as His children.
5. Have a share in His inheritance.

For those of us who have put our faith in God, Lord Jesus is our Saviour! Amen!

Salvation is not just a matter of God forgiving our sins and issuing us a pass to heaven when we die. Salvation is a regeneration whereby God changes us from darkness to light and from sinner to saint. There is newness about us that was are not there before - being transformed to becoming a child of God. Becoming a partaker of God's nature is fundamental to a Christian's identity and maturity. We should see ourselves in this way; no longer as depraved and helpless slaves of sin but as those who have been created anew in Christ Jesus - A Child of God!

Our old self is dead but the flesh and sin lives on, battling with our new self daily for control of our life. But take heart, spiritual growth and maturity will result when we believe in the truth about who we are (child of God) and fulfil our duty and responsibilities in our identities.

God calls not only for a change of hearts but a change in behaviour. Change comes only as a result of a personal encounter with Christ. (As Paul in Acts 9:1-22 & Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10)

But I would also like to add that we must remember Matt 7:21-23 which the Lord clearly stated that not all who called on Him will get to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why so? Because Christianity stretches beyond that of just our faith but complete submission!

What Does God Want From Us?
Total dedication, not half-hearted commitment and we must be willing to deny 'self', to take up our crosses and to follow Him. "Whoever claims to live in Christ must walk as Jesus did" (1 John 2:6). Anything less is superficial lip service. We cannot pick and choose among Jesus' ways and follow Him selectively. We have to accept the cross along with the crown; Judgement as well as mercy. With our focus on Jesus, we should allow nothing to distract us from the manner of living that He calls 'good & true'.

To become a Christian takes only a couple of minutes but Christ-like living is a life-long pursuit of God's righteousness.

With Christ in us, we are putting off our sinful nature (Col 2:11-12), be transformed by renewing of our mind with God's word so that we will be able to manifest God's will in us. (Rom 12:2).

Our behaviour system is the by-product of our belief system.
In order to achieve this, we must believe that we are God's children; for if we don't, then we will never act like one and our lives will forever be trying to make right with God when in fact is has already been done for us! Seeing ourselves as a sinner, we will live like one and always coming before God to seek redemption. This isn't right! We cannot keep crucifying Jesus over and over again!

Remember - God does not want anything from us except our hearts, that they remain pure and godly. (Jeremiah 17:10)

Christian living is about serving others and not be served. If it isn't the case, God would have taken us home the moment we were saved. Take a look at Jesus, He came to serve and not be served.

Never think that to develop a holy life we must always be along with God as it will lead us to be of no use to others. This is like putting ourselves on a pedestal and isolating from the rest of the society.

And for those who have been saved and are now children of God, do not just be contented in knowing that you have been accepted. For is you do not fulfil God's righteousness but just sit on your faith, little will be your reward when you are 'home'. (Matt 6:19-21)

For each of us, His children, will still be put to test for the works that we have done while we are on this world as St Paul said in 1 Cor 3:10-15.

When we reach the true goal of service, we will have eternal satisfaction & an enhanced sense of self-worth. We will come to realise that in order for our spiritual need to reach the full potential we have in Christ, we will have to love others as Christ loved. (To understand love, digest over 1 Cor 13:4-7 & Rom 12:7-21)

Our motivation becomes expressive & we will begin to express the love we have for others in Christ. Then everything we do will be done out of love - the Christ-like way. When we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude we may suffer, will be able to hinder us from serving one another.

We do not serve God to gain His acceptance - we are already accepted, so we serve God.
We do not follow Him in order to be loved - we are already loved, so we follow Him.

That's why we are called to live by faith. The essence of the VICTORIOUS Christian life is in believing what is already true about us - We are God's children!

The issue here is not to be of use to God but to be of value to Him; of fulfilling our responsibilities & not insisting on our rights. Take a look at Jesus' words in Matt 5:23-24, He asked us to go & be reconciled even though we are not the one in the wrong. So just do it without having to reason with the rights & wrongs.

Remember :
God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will. (Joh 9:31)

That is why we should never look up to man and live in accordance to their standards but work as if we are working for the Lord. It is God whom we are serving not men. Do not be a puppet to man, living to their expectations.

Be like Jesus who passed on what He has learnt from His Father to us (John 15) & St Paul too. "Whatever he received, he passed on to them as of first importance..." (1Cor 15:3). We as children of God must go about spreading the goodness of our Heavenly Father to those who have not come to believe in Him & His Son, Jesus.
The greatest gift that a person can give to another is an introduction to God.

When we choose to walk in the Light, we must not continue to sin but to live in a truthful, just & righteous way so as to receive His blessings. (Jer 4:2)

Here are some verses which will help you in your build up of your spiritual walk with Christ :
2 Peter 1:5-10, Colossians 3:12-15 & Philippians 4:4-9

How To Go About in Our Identities?

Living in this world as Christian is never easy - each day is filled with temptations, trials & choices of worldly passions (wealth, recognition, power..etc), If we value our desires more than our commitment to God, we have placed an idol in our hearts.

Living in this world as Christians is made harder as we have become enemies to the devil, who will try all means to destroy our faith in God. If we are not steadfast in our faith, we will become vulnerable to :
* The cravings of the sinful man - our hearts. (desire what we do not have)
* The lust of his eyes - our eyes (greed, dissatisfaction & envy)
* The boasting of what he has or does - our tongue. (boasting & lying)

So how should we go about with the struggle of this world? Here is an illustration :
The Street of Temptation
This street is like our shopping arcade. The shops will try their best to lure us into their premises with attractive window displays, great discounts, unbeatable prices...etc. The moment we walk into the shop and buy, the shop has won us over!
Likewise, we are constantly being exposed to temptations in our everyday living. Be wise with our choices and do not sucumb to the devil's temptations. Be strong in the Lord and put on the full armour of God so that you can stand against the devil's scheme (Eph 6:10-11) Making the right choice in our lives is the key to successful Christian living.

I am not stating that Christian cannot have such possession but rather our focus on God must always come first and that we allow His will be worked into our lives. Anything that comes from this will last and it is a blessing from our Heavenly Father.

Illustration : 2 executives in an office are working hard.
One did it so as to win favour from his employer, hoping that he will get a promotion. The other did it because he is just fulfilling his duty & responsibility. If the former is promoted, he will be happy & believe that his strategy works. But if the latter is promoted, he rejoices because he knows that it is God who rewards him through his employer in appreciation of his work attitude. To him, this is a blessing.

By our own strength we may appear to have succeeded in achieving what we are after but it will not last! This is because it is not what God has planned for us. We will definitely fall. This is what I termed as "God has caught up with you".

When we are tempted, our strengths often gets the better of us because of our sinful nature. Our pride is one area where the devil loves to launch his attack on us & trying to take control of us. Note that it is not God who is tempting us but the devil.

For God does not tempt His children (James 1:13-15) but when we are tempted, God will show us a way out (1Cor 10:13).

Here's another illustration :
Our body (mind, heart & soul) is the temple of God (Cor 3:16). By asking ourselves "Who is sitting in the throne of our temples? Is it the Holy Spirit, our ego, any of the worldly passions, someone or even something...??
A constant check on who is in-charge (especially when we are in a dilemma) will greatly help us to determine if we have been allowing the Spirit of God to be in control of our lives. We have to remain faithful to God and be aware of the devil's schemes of trying to destroy our faith. Personally, I find this most beneficial.

Living in this world is bound with troubles. In John 16:33, Jesus told us that we will have troubles but He goes on to stress that we need not worry because He has overcome the world for us.

As children of God, we ought to be humble and have patience with God like King David & Abraham. These 2 men put complete trust in God's plan and God's timing and they were richly blessed. Life is like a bouncing ball, it has its ups and downs. Likewise in our daily living, in our good times, remember to thank God and when one is down, trusts in the Lord to deliver and give thanks as well.

1 Thes 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances..."

Illustration :
A buoy is able to float in the sea because it has a vacuum in it. It does not float away not matter how choppy the waves are because there is a chain between it and a boulder embedded into the seabed. Now if the buoy is you, the vacuum is the Holy Spirit; the chain is Jesus & the seabed isGod; and the wave is the world, what do you see? Yes! You may be struggling during rough times but as long as you remain focus in Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to hold you, God is still with you. You will not 'float away' too! Trust in the Lord at all times for He will be there to help us. (Joshua 1:9 & Isa 41:10)

How To Enrich Ourselves in Christ?

We need to understand that it is not acceptable to want to serve God & be a lover of this world at the same time. We cannot treat God as a servant, at our beck & call. Sitting back & waiting for God to do everything is not the way to spiritual maturity. We must put in our efforts first before God can work into our lives.

Read the Bible with the Holy Spirit, diligently and with enthusiasm for knowledge of God's principles and His divine nature. However, do not be so focused on the Bible so much so that our Lord Jesus has to take second place to it. For it is not the book on the Truths of God (bible) that gives us life but our God of Truths. (John 5:39-40)
Think : In time of trouble, whom do we seek help? God or the Bible?

Even the devil knows the Word of God so get this right : Our primary focus should always be on our Lord and not on the Bible. Building up our relationship with Him in every aspect is most essential and beneficial (John 15:4-8) I am not stating that we should discard the Bible but rather knowing which must come first.

The Word of God can only be like a double-edged sword if it is applied with the Spirit of God dwelling in us. Other than this, the Word is not going to work our its power!
Illustration :
A man found a swordplay manual which can make him highly prowess. But unfortunately, he does not have what it takes to perfect it, the manual is of no use to him. It is but just a book, that's all.
Likewise, if a man does not have the Spirit of God in him, the Bible cannot execute its power. This is because the Bible is God's inspired words through the Spirit. That is why when the Word is used by those who are not of God's, it does not work for them as they do not have the Holy Spirit to unveil the power of God!

Prayers & Communion

It is not about how much time we spend on the Bible but how much time we spend with the Lord that will strengthen & build up our faith in Christ.

Let us not forget that prayer & communion are the essence to strengthening our bonds with the Lord. Even Jesus had to pray and have quiet time with our Heavenly Father. Thus, we too should pray & talk to the Lord as often as possible. The more we come close to our Lord and share our lives with Him, the more our faith will grow & so too, our confidence in handling affairs of this world.

We are living in this present world. Jesus is in our presence speaking to us in present tenses to help us cope with our present lives, so be attentive to His voice. Trust in the Lord and we will also learn to see through the eyes of the Lord and not through our own!