Leaning On Jesus

One night I was on my way home, a slow, large crane tractor pulled out from the entrance near the market where I was about to enter. It has a long, heavy, steel arms that lifted a man in a basket all the way to the top where he changed the light bulbs of the street lamps. Then while at work, there were men who walks on bamboo scaffoldings constructed just outside my office window to refurbish and paint the building walls. What do these men have in common? Well, they both work on high places. They both risk their lives by strapping themselves securely and leaning their weight on a thick leather safety belt.

Actually, this is what trusting in the Lord is like. We go about our round of tasks at home and at work doing variety of tasks. It appears that we all work on our own sufficiency, but little we realize that our spiritual success depends on leaning our emotional, spiritual, and volitional weight on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of our strength and security. We are dependent on Him. Our times are in His hands. Of course, who else do you think holds our future but God! Trusting in the Lord, leaning on His adequacy, is possible as we anchor our confidence in the promises of God. There are some fearful moments in life, times when we doubt. But when circumstances are less than favorable, nothing is more comforting or stabilizing than looking to the Scriptures for support and direction. God’s Word is sure. It never fails – not one word. We fail God. But for sure, He never fails us. His Word ministers to our deepest needs and speaks to our innermost beings. When we place our faith in God’s Word, we accept it as His truth, despite our wavering feelings. We simply believe that God means what He says and that He will fulfill all His promises. We also lean our weight on Christ by affirming the character of God. We can trust in His Word because He is trustworthy. We can count on His help because He is faithful. The attributes of God – such as His holiness, goodness, mercy, justice, and grace – anchor our faith in Him. The better we know Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we see His hand at work in our midst.

There are times when we find it difficult to continue trusting when there seem to be nothing happening. We demand that we see the big picture in the process. When one person is strong, attractive, famous, rich or talented, it is difficult for him to put his trust in God easily since there is pride, conceit and vanity. Who needs God when I am so strong? Who needs God when I have so many talents? Who needs God when I am the most attractive one? Later you’ll simply discover that all these will fade away realizing your weaknesses and the need to lean on something more dependable and trustworthy.

But once we begin to put our trust in God, we immediately put that trust into expressions. Perhaps one of the most significant ways that we place our full trust in Christ is by praising Him regardless of the circumstances. By praising we shout our faith in God. It exalts Him and declares that we will follow Him and look to Him even when the odds appear against us. This is what Paul and Silas did while in prison. They were stripped, severely beaten and later was thrown into prison. They were placed in the inner prison and their feet clamped with chains. By midnight, the two were singing hymns and praying to God while their inmates listen. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison’s foundations. All the doors flew open and all of the prisoners’ chains were loosed. The jailer was awakened to see the prison doors were widely open thinking the prisoners had escaped. So he drew his sword to kill himself but was stopped by Paul saying they did not escape. (Acts 16:22-27).

When we praise God, we magnify the majesty and greatness of our Father, focusing on who God is, and that is divinely given catalyst for trusting Him even more. Praise drives away fear and builds faith. The person who trusts in the Lord is blessed. He clings to the promises of God, delights in the character of God, and worships God whether in darkness or in light. He leans on the everlasting arms that never fail or forsake him.

Bible passage to read: Acts 16:16-40

“What a fellowship, what a joy divine;
Leaning on the everlasting arms”

Does God Forget?

There was this certain king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owned him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay so the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay for his debt. But the man fell down before the king and begged his royal highness, “Sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.” Then the king was filled with pity for him, and he released the man who owed him millions and forgave his debt.

But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed the man by the throat and demanded instant payment. His fellow servant fell before him and begged for a little more time. “Please be patient with me and I will pay it,” his fellow servant pleaded. But his creditor couldn’t wait and had the man arrested and jailed until the debt could be paid in full.

The other servants had witnessed the incident, went to the king and report what had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, “Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny he owed the king.

Many among us are like the servant who owed millions to the king. We were pardoned but always fail to forget the transgressions of others. We are forgiven of our own wrong doings but we fail to do so on others. What if God says today you are forgiven of all your sins. Suddenly one day, He forgot He has pardoned you and declares you unforgiven?

Do you really think God forgets? God longs to forgive sinners! But in the minds of many people, this thought seems too good to be true. Countless sermons have been preached to convince us that it is true – that God really forgives the sinners! Many of these sermons emphasize the idea that God not only forgives the sinner, but He also forgets the sin. I’ve often said it myself without doubting its soundness and meaning.

Until one day, while talking to someone who asked, “If God forgives the sinners and forgets the sin, what if He suddenly remembers it?” Have you ever asked yourself the same question? Oh yeah! He forgets the sin but what happens if He suddenly remembers? In any case, only imperfection can forget, like the way I always forget to turn off the bathroom light in the morning before I leave home for work. And you forget to pray before you have your meal. Sometimes, we even forget friends whom we do not have contacts for quite a while. Or, even forget to pay our bills. These are simply imperfection. So what if one night you are praying to God and ask Him, “Dear God, do you still remember my prayer yesterday….” And God will say, “Oh, I am sorry my child, I forgot all about it.” Our God is perfect! So, it’s just impossible that He will forget! It’s simply a contradiction to His all-knowing character.

Since the Biblical basis of this statement is in question, let us turn our Bibles to Hebrew 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 10:16-17, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

God doesn’t say He’ll forget our sins – He says He’ll remember them no more. What does it mean? He’s not forgetting our sin. When He forgives us, He will not bring up our sins against us. His promise not to remember them ever again is stronger than saying He’ll forget them. Now isn’t that much more reassuring? Remember, God promises to forgive and never bring up your sin against you. Confess your sins to Him now. Don’t be like the unforgiving servant. Forgive those who have wronged you and never to bring it up against them by remembering it. This is what the heavenly Father will do to you.

Bible passage to read: Matthew 18: 21-35; Hebrews 8

“TO ENJOY THE FUTURE,
ACCEPT GOD’S FORGIVENESS FOR THE PAST”

The Power House

A few days ago I received a (snail) mail from my Mom in Toronto containing a small booklet, a letter, and copies of two of the articles I wrote more than two years ago. She said she was sorting out old files and came across some of my “Dear Reader” articles and found some of the pages were boldly speaking to her. So she sends back to me a copy so I could hear what it is saying to her loudly.

Upon reading the two articles I wrote, it felt like I was struck by lightning twice. Sometimes, we give advises or encouragements and yet, here we are not taking our own. I felt that I have been much occupied that I have set aside one of the most important tasks I have been practicing for a long time. It’s her way of reminding me something I have been neglecting.

What she does really is encourage others in many ways and sending out my articles to someone in need is one of them. Now it's time I receive my own dose of encouragement. This is something I really admired about my mother, aside from her being most understanding. She keeps us in her thoughts most of the time. She knows if there is something bothering us even if we do not give her a single hint at all. She can read our movements, responses, and probably even our minds! She even used to tell us she’s got sixth sense - yeah, right Mom! But that’s what makes her a super Mom! So there goes the truth in the saying, "Mothers know best!" I know not all moms are like her and each moms are gifted in many different ways. I am really blessed to have her.

My mother was never wrong and this message does speak to me loudly. Here is the first article I wrote in May 2005:

A time came when I was assigned to visit a factory in China with my colleague to see how they can set up our new product development for the coming Back-to-School season. Since it was my first visit to that factory, I was given the privilege to tour its large premises, along with my colleague.

We were shown the various departments and sections of the factory where large machines were making a great deal of noise. These machines feeds and cuts assorted sizes of polypropylene sheets where workers collect them to bring to the next stage of development. Other parts of the tour include the sample room, the dyeing section-where raw materials are mixed with dye stuffs; the die area, embossing, printing, lamination, trimming, folding, packing and the workers’ quarters.

After crossing 3 blocks of the compound, we were led to the back lot area housing nothing but huge generators and control panels. My colleague said, “Hmmm, there is nothing interesting here, nothing much happening. This place is not so important.” Then the guide smiled, “Yes, it seem nothing much happening here and nothing interesting to see. But this is the most important place of all. This is where the power is distributed to the entire factory. And when there is a power failure, the generator here runs and provides power supply to the entire factory.”

Now here is a lesson for all of us to that comment: In our Christian life, the place where we pray is our ‘power house’, a quiet place where we can be alone with God. There we do our quiet time where we can speak to God and reverently allow Him to speak to us as we meditate on His Word, the Bible.

Like the many areas of the factory, our lives also have sections that do various tasks. But all areas of our lives should begin from the ‘power house’. When we rise up in the morning, we switch on our ‘power’ through prayer. It is like a key that unlocks your day. At the end of the day before we retire, we do our quiet time and meditate on God’s Word, works like a lock before retiring at night. What if we fail? When we fail to pray and suddenly experience a storm in our life, we panic when our generator does not provide us power during blackouts. It is only then that we remember to say our prayers.

Remember this: If you want to know how to pray in the bad times, learn to pray in the good times!

In Matthew 6:6, Jesus taught the value of intimate fellowship with heaven, which can be attained only in the sacred solitude of our prayer closet. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” So why pray in secret? Praying alone in secret allows us to pour ourselves to God. We become intimate with Him. We have our personal encounter with Him. It is our quality time with Him. All these because we have a ‘Father and son’ relationship with God since we are His children. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Romans 8:14-16. Jesus did not discouraged public prayer, but He did warn us against the evil of seeking attention by parading our piety before others. When we pray, it seems nothing much is happening. It seems unimportant that we pray without ceasing. But prayer does move mountains to those who have faith! It is one of the most important tasks a Christian must do. This is our communication with the heavenly Father.

When was the last time you shut the door on the distractions of life and poured out your heart before the heavenly Father?

Bible passage to read: Psalm 5:1-8

“KNEELING KEEPS YOU IN GOOD STANDING WITH GOD”

Rich Man, Poor Man

There was this story of a very wealthy Scandinavian farmer who has just returned from his very extensive trip. Upon arriving home, he walked out into his fields. While there he encountered his hired man named Hans saying his grace over his meal. “Excuse me, but what are you doing?” Asked the rich man. “Oh, pardon me sir, but I was just thanking God for the food He has provided me.” The rich man noticing the prudent meal of bread and cheese simply remarked, “Well, if God did not provide me any better than this, I think I would not bother.” Then Hans continued on, “You know sir, it’s most interesting that you should come back today because last night I dreamed that the richest man in our village would die tonight. Strange isn’t it?” Visibly, the rich man was shocked.

The rich man asked a doctor friend to spend the evening with him because he was confident that he had more money than anyone else in the valley. That night the housekeeper prepared a lovely meal for the two men, though the rich farmer ate very little being so anxious about his hired poor man’s dream. Every time the clock struck, he jumped nervously. The clock struck eight; nine, ten, eleven… suddenly there was a brisk knock on the door. The rich man almost jumped out of his skin, then reluctantly went to the door to find one of the farm man to give him the news, “So sorry to bother you sir, but I thought you should know. Hans just past away a few minutes ago. His heart has stopped beating.”

True riches of life are not the ones that have to be protected with high security and insurance against theft. Well, you may be the richest person in your village or city, but how about just spending a little time to give thanks? You’re not rich at all? Not a problem. There are still plenty of things to thank God for! Not a thanksgiving day? So what? After your dinner, go around your table and let each one on the table share what he is thankful for and praise God for everything He has done in your life. “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8 (KJV).

I remember a colleague of mine told me about her 32 year-old friend who just passed away one month after discovering she had breast cancer. It was nearly at the last stage when discovered but she refused to have a treatment knowing she would die anyway. Instead, she packed her bags on a very extensive trip around the world with her boyfriend spending every minute together of what’s left of her time. In the last moments of her life, laying on a hospital bed, all her friends gather around her pretending to be happy entertaining her as if everything was alright. Once they all leave the room everyone was silent. She said she was happy that she got all her friends and family together around her and thought she got everything she ever wanted, well almost. I was told that before this woman passed away she could not recognize any single one of them while seeing all her dead relatives coming to get her.

Like the rich man and the poor man in this story, one of them knew his time has come but remained thankful, certain and prepared knowing where his soul is headed when he dies while the other was uncertain, lost, afraid, full of worries and confused. Which one of these two are you? When you know you’re at the last moments of your life, how would you spend it? Would you be rather thankful or fearful? Just like a lost wanderer who is hungry and thirsty epitomizes anyone who has not found the satisfaction that comes from knowing God through Jesus Christ. Anyone who recognizes he’s at state of being lost can accept Christ’s life-giving offer: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), He is the bread of God from heaven that gives life unto the world (John 6:33 & 35), He is the living water (John 4:10-14), and the giver of rest (Matthew 11:28-30). Why wait until the last moments of your life for you to make that decision. Who knows it may not be revealed unto you. You will lose your chance of Christ’s life-giving offer!

Bible passage to read: Psalm 107:8

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot.

In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”

Celebration of Praise

Many times we celebrate special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, dedications, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year to name a few. As much as possible, we take time to prepare to make the celebration grand and a memorable one. But why do we celebrate such occasions? We celebrate because we want to commemorate special events that take place in our lives. Such occasion brings memories and joy as we celebrate them.

But when it comes to celebration of praise, there is nothing quite like it the way the Israelites did it. You’ve probably never been to a worship service quite like the one the Israelites held after they reached the safe side of the Red Sea. The book of Exodus 15 is probably the best congregational worship pattern one could ever find in the Bible. This is where the people had just seen God save them from certain death. They had come within an eyelash of being pushed into the sea by the charging forces of Pharaoh’s army. Relentlessly, the soldiers in chariots chased them down half way across the Red Sea (Exodus 14:5-9). In panic, the children of Israel had cried out for help (v. 10). In response, God parted the sea, allowing the people to cross (v. 16, 21-22). But when the Egyptians rode onto the seabed, God caused the waters to cascade down on them (v. 28).

That’s when the celebration began! Joyously, the people of Israel praised God for His strength and salvation (Exodus 15:2), His power (v. 6), His greatness (v. 7), His holiness (v. 11), His mercy, redemption and guidance (v. 13), and His eternal reign over them (v. 18). They poured out their hearts in worship to the God of their salvation.

Now let me ask you this: Why do you think we need to praise God? We all know that it is easy to praise God when great things happen or when you receive an answer to your prayer. But when difficult or bad things happen, we often react by blaming others or even our own self, which only compounds the problem. But if you refuse to react to your problems and move immediately into the realm of praising God, things will turn out differently. When our first reaction to anything that happens in our lives is an affirmation of praise to God for who He is, we invite His presence to inhabit the situation and His power to come and change things. This is the power hidden in praising God. We simply praise God because He is our creator, our heavenly Father, because He loves us unconditionally, He has forgiven us, because of His presence through the Holy Spirit, He is Holy, a good God, all-powerful, He has a purpose in your life, He is faithful, because of His promises, and so many other reasons and attributes.

Now look over the attributes for which the Israelites praised God. Review how God’s character has touched your life over the past year. Find ways to honor Him in worship. The God who parted the sea is the same God who makes a way for you. It’s appropriate to pour out our uninhibited praise on God when we see Him work in great and miraculous ways. But those aren’t the only times He deserves our adoration. Many times we wait for God to perform a big answer to our prayer before we even feel like singing Him praises. Just think about it: God does not owe us any miracles. He does not need to do anything to prove us His greatness. He has already given us an incredible display of His power in His creation. He has made the ultimate sacrifice, His only Son Jesus Christ, to purchase our redemption. Through His power, He has conducted the most miraculous transaction known to mankind – He brought us from spiritual death to spiritual life that is eternal.

How should you worship the Lord? Every thought or action should be done out of honor for Him and His greatness. Our hearts and voices should be filled with the kind of praise expressed in Psalm 98 since praise should come from a graceful heart. Our expressions of thanksgiving are a sacrifice to Him (Psalm 116:17). Surely enough, we benefit when we turn our attention to God, either in prayer, singing, worship, or reading the Scripture, but that should not be our motivation. We don’t worship God just to gain His benefits because we already have those. It’s not for us that we worship God. It should always be for Him.

As the new year comes, do you have other reasons for celebrating it apart from being in festive mood and mingling with your party friends? Or are you still waiting for a miracle like the parting of the Red Sea before you sing your praises? God has done plenty enough of them already. Give Him your celebration of praise and unconditional worship for there is none like Him. “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11 (KJV).

Bible passage to read: Exodus 15:1-21

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

“GOD’S GREAT POWER DESERVES OUR GRATEFUL PRAISE”