Compromise. It is a word often used to defuse a heated situation, to come to a mutual understanding, or to develope a solution to most problems between individuals and/or parties. But sometimes, there is a call for NO compromise. Today, I am going to address something that requires absolutely no compromise, and that is who God is and what He is about.
Hebrews 5:13-14 (New International Version)
13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
"Father, I pray right now, it is You who is speaking and none of Jon Ngan speaking, may Yours bring conviction and empowerment for us to do Your will. In Jesus name I pray, amen."
As an aspiring preacher, I have often wondered what would my life message be. What kind of style would I adopt? I listen and read about a lot of pastors/preachers and the messages they preach and the style they adopt, but recently God told me to look at one preacher whom is the Big Kahuna of all preachers. Jesus Christ.
On one hand, Jesus is gentle. He teaches about love, grace, healing, blessings, forgiveness, etc etc. That is all great, and it is all true. But one thing about Jesus, he did not compromise. He was not a people pleaser. Evidence? Remember how he flipped the tables, called the mob a brood of vipers? That was certainly not people pleasing! When it came to HARD truths, he spoke it! Causing some of the disciples to leave him! This is true, its in the bible! All of which I will quote soon. Many of us like to think that Jesus is Mr Nice Guy and all He wanted was to make people feel good about themselves. But my friends, that is so not true.
You see, like how my pastor Matt Fielder said, you change the methods, but you do not change the message. Often, we preach the resurrection but not the crucification. What do I mean? The Resurrection life brings blessing, brings healing, brings peace, brings joy, brings all kind of wonderful things. BUT.. we sometimes forget in order to get the resurrection, there has to be a CRUCIFICATION. I'm not suggesting we hang ourselves on a cross and beat ourselves to death. But I am merely asking, has there really been a death to self?
It is so easy to read the bible and only take what we like, and leave out all the things that don't sound too "nice" or "flowery". Oh that might offend people! SO WHAT? It is the truth! Whom are you pleasing? Men or God?
Galatians 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 2:4
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
Now, lets go to our focal verse of the day.
John 14:1-4 (New International Version)1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
This was Jesus speaking. When I first read it, God asked me, "Jon who do you think I was speaking to?" I replied, "Believers / Christians of course." BUt God corrected me, He was speaking to the disciples!
Now, I hope that is shaking or stirring some of you.
You see, in the book of John, Jesus did tremendous things. He changed water to wine, he heals people, he feeds five thousand people with two small fish and 5 loaves of bread, he walks on water, its amazing stuff! People will naturally be flocking to him, all wondering, WOW! Who is this guy?But then, Jesus goes a little deeper. He talks about the bread of life, which is of course himself, which says that the only way to God is through Jesus. Notice what happens next.
John 6:60 (New International Version)
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
These were his DISCIPLES questioning, the people who followed God. The minute things started getting a bit hard and challenged them, they started questioning, and worse still, in verse 66, they leave!
Now, think about it this way, if the messages preached and the stuff taught was not pleasing to you, what are you gonna do about it? Will you be them? Or will be like the remaining disciples whom Jesus promises a place in heaven at the end.
John 6:68-69 (New International Version)
68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Do we truly believe that the ALL of word of God is true and eternal, or are we being selective of what we wanna accept or throw away?
It is a burden for me, and I am truly heart broken to see that many people are deceived into thinking that as long as they turn up to church on a Sunday, they can do whatever they please on Monday to Saturday.
Let me throw another truth to you, there are MANY CHRISTIANS, but very FEW DISCIPLES. The word disciple means, "to follow after", and I think all of us who have received Christ should not just stop at that, but to really pursue and seek Him and whats on His heart.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
I challenge us as people who are comitted to following Jesus as well as become more like him to not just preach rosey nicey things, but to lay down certain truths as well. You see God is many things, He is a Father, a Friend, a Provider, a Lover, a Healer, but He is a King as well. God is not called a just God without reason. He is not father christmas or the fairy godmother, but He is full of integrity and character as well.
The first thing I wanna talk about, is sin. To many, sin has become more of a legalism thing rather than a relational thing. We think, just because we don't smoke, drink, have pre marital sex, swear, murder, steal or all this outward things, we think we are all good! The Greek word in the New Testament that is translated in English as "sin" is hamartia, which literally means missing the target. Salvation is reconciliation and a genuine relationship with Christ. Sin is an absence of that genuine relationship. You see, look at Jesus. He was called sinless. He did not do anyt of the things I mentioned before because He was always intimate with God. Always.
When you are close with God, you wont feel the need to do any thing that God does not desire you to do, in fact God will convict you bout such things. So if there is an absence of such conviction, answer this, how is your relationship with God?
In closing, I will leave you with this, who is truly in control of your life? God, or you? What I have said, I promise you, is not Jon Ngan trying to be a big meanie and raining down judgment on people, but I truly sincerely believe it is what God is saying.Sometimes, truth is easier to believe than lies, why else would Jesus say this:
John 8:42-47 (New International Version)
42Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
God does want to bless you, He does want to heal you, He does want to do all kinds of things for you, but remember, before you wanna enjoy the resurrection life, you have to crucifiy your flesh first, which means totally submitting yourself to the will of God.
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness AND all these things will be given to you as well.
It says seek first AND it will be added on, not SO it will be added on. Thanks for reading this guys, bless you all heaps! Praying for all of you.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Blessing
John Piper, a man who calls himself a "Christian Hedonist", teaches that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him". Lets pause and think about that for a moment. In layman terms, another way to interpret this is that "God is truly glorified when He is more than enough for us/He is all we desire/things go wrong and we do not get what we want we still praise Him with our all.
This kind of teaching I believe would not sit well with many today. Because we live in a world where is all about our wants. We want things and we want them now. We live in an age of instant messaging, fast food, email, where everything needs to be served up right to us in a split second. But that is not how God works. I believe that God is not out to harm anyone, He wants to provide for us, He wants to heal us, He wants to bless us etc etc. When God comes through for us we all give praise, saying great is the Lord for He has done so and so and so. But let me ask you, what if he does not? Many treat God as if He wants Santa Claus, many pray with a kind of mentality that God owes me this miracle or if God truly loved me He wouldnt do this to me.
But allow me to throw out something for you to ponder, wouldn't God be more glorified if in the face of travesty, in the face of trials, in our lacking, if we could lift up our hands and give Him our praise and say, God is more than enough for me. Isn't that true glory onto God? It is to me. On one hand, God's miraculous works will indeed show that He is truly an incredible God, that is God glorifying Himself, but through us, God's glory can be seen is when we are truly happy in Him, we are satisfied in Him. Imagine you had nothing. Like literally nothing. Not a house to live in, when we dont have the support of family and friends or their company, when we dont even have a shirt on our backs! Think about it, in that kind of situation, would you still praise God and say, He is more than enough.
Let me say this first, I believe God gives us enough to meet our needs and not our wants. Which are 2 totally different things. You must admit one thing, that God provides sufficiently for us to live. Lets look at Job as an example. Many people see that Job lost his family, his wealth, his security, he lost ALL his material things and everything that was dear to him. But notice one thing, Job still had his 3 friends. His friends still came from afar to counsel him, to listen to him complain, and although they were not very good friends, they were still company nonetheless.
Now the point I want to make is, I want to discuss what I believe, is true blessing.
Philippians 3:1 (New Living Translation)
1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
Psalm 16:11 (New Living Translation)
11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Let me make something clear, I am not saying that having material things in abundance is wrong, but I am saying wanting them is. Making them a priority is. Putting the gifts above the Giver is. With all sincerity, I believe that God will always enable us to be well equipped in life, that we have enough. God is a practical God as well. For instance, if you were ministering to people who lived in an area which consisted of rich and famous, you wouldn't go in rags and a broken down car, because they wouldn't respect you or listen to you. On the other hand, you wouldn't wear a Hugo Boss suit to a poor village as well would you? I believe whatever it is in life, God will provide enough to meet your needs.
Be christian or not, we share the same stage. We live in the same world as people who do not believe, people who do not know Jesus. Just like everyone else, we all have fears. Insecurities. Doubts. Difficulties. Trials. True blessing, is not that we live without all these adversities, but it is the peace and serenity that we can face all these things, it is the promise of His presence. That is what I seek. I do not seek to be rich beyond my wildest dreams, nor do I hope to be living in rags, but whatever it is I have to go through, I seek His presence. I am not avoiding pain or hardship, but I want my Jesus by my side as I go through all that. That my friends, is TRUE BLESSING. Not the money in your account, not the car in your garage, not the woman in your life, not anything. Those are awesome things, but that is not true blessing, those are merely what I call a cherry on the ice cream, important thing is we still have the ice cream.
This is what I want to do. I do not want to go out in life trying to make it big. I want to go out and make a difference. A life of significance. A life that is pleasing unto God. It is nice to have a lot of nice things, but what is the point? What can you actually take to heaven with you? Can you bring your bmw and tell God, God look at my bmw. Would he be impressed? I would think not haha. What you can bring is your life, and of course your loved ones. Those are the things that matter. I will give you a simple analogy. Lets say there was this man, his name was Robert. Robert was a filthy rich guy who lived in the 1800s. How many people who actually say today, wow I wish I was rich like Robert. No! Noone will remember him after a while! But look at Martin Luther King, Mother Therasa, Ghandi, Jesus Christ. These people lived well before some of us, but we still remember them today. Were they remembered for being incredibly rich or comfortable etc?
Let us look at scriptures that explain themselves.
Proverbs 30:8-9 (New Living Translation)
8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Galatians 6:8-10 (New Living Translation)
8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Matthew 6:19-34 (New International Version)
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The last scripture speaks volumes. Jesus Himself said that. So brothers and sisters, I hope you understand what true blessing is and that we seek that and only that. God is truly most glorified, when we are satisfied in him.
This kind of teaching I believe would not sit well with many today. Because we live in a world where is all about our wants. We want things and we want them now. We live in an age of instant messaging, fast food, email, where everything needs to be served up right to us in a split second. But that is not how God works. I believe that God is not out to harm anyone, He wants to provide for us, He wants to heal us, He wants to bless us etc etc. When God comes through for us we all give praise, saying great is the Lord for He has done so and so and so. But let me ask you, what if he does not? Many treat God as if He wants Santa Claus, many pray with a kind of mentality that God owes me this miracle or if God truly loved me He wouldnt do this to me.
But allow me to throw out something for you to ponder, wouldn't God be more glorified if in the face of travesty, in the face of trials, in our lacking, if we could lift up our hands and give Him our praise and say, God is more than enough for me. Isn't that true glory onto God? It is to me. On one hand, God's miraculous works will indeed show that He is truly an incredible God, that is God glorifying Himself, but through us, God's glory can be seen is when we are truly happy in Him, we are satisfied in Him. Imagine you had nothing. Like literally nothing. Not a house to live in, when we dont have the support of family and friends or their company, when we dont even have a shirt on our backs! Think about it, in that kind of situation, would you still praise God and say, He is more than enough.
Let me say this first, I believe God gives us enough to meet our needs and not our wants. Which are 2 totally different things. You must admit one thing, that God provides sufficiently for us to live. Lets look at Job as an example. Many people see that Job lost his family, his wealth, his security, he lost ALL his material things and everything that was dear to him. But notice one thing, Job still had his 3 friends. His friends still came from afar to counsel him, to listen to him complain, and although they were not very good friends, they were still company nonetheless.
Now the point I want to make is, I want to discuss what I believe, is true blessing.
Philippians 3:1 (New Living Translation)
1 Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.
Psalm 16:11 (New Living Translation)
11 You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.
Let me make something clear, I am not saying that having material things in abundance is wrong, but I am saying wanting them is. Making them a priority is. Putting the gifts above the Giver is. With all sincerity, I believe that God will always enable us to be well equipped in life, that we have enough. God is a practical God as well. For instance, if you were ministering to people who lived in an area which consisted of rich and famous, you wouldn't go in rags and a broken down car, because they wouldn't respect you or listen to you. On the other hand, you wouldn't wear a Hugo Boss suit to a poor village as well would you? I believe whatever it is in life, God will provide enough to meet your needs.
Be christian or not, we share the same stage. We live in the same world as people who do not believe, people who do not know Jesus. Just like everyone else, we all have fears. Insecurities. Doubts. Difficulties. Trials. True blessing, is not that we live without all these adversities, but it is the peace and serenity that we can face all these things, it is the promise of His presence. That is what I seek. I do not seek to be rich beyond my wildest dreams, nor do I hope to be living in rags, but whatever it is I have to go through, I seek His presence. I am not avoiding pain or hardship, but I want my Jesus by my side as I go through all that. That my friends, is TRUE BLESSING. Not the money in your account, not the car in your garage, not the woman in your life, not anything. Those are awesome things, but that is not true blessing, those are merely what I call a cherry on the ice cream, important thing is we still have the ice cream.
This is what I want to do. I do not want to go out in life trying to make it big. I want to go out and make a difference. A life of significance. A life that is pleasing unto God. It is nice to have a lot of nice things, but what is the point? What can you actually take to heaven with you? Can you bring your bmw and tell God, God look at my bmw. Would he be impressed? I would think not haha. What you can bring is your life, and of course your loved ones. Those are the things that matter. I will give you a simple analogy. Lets say there was this man, his name was Robert. Robert was a filthy rich guy who lived in the 1800s. How many people who actually say today, wow I wish I was rich like Robert. No! Noone will remember him after a while! But look at Martin Luther King, Mother Therasa, Ghandi, Jesus Christ. These people lived well before some of us, but we still remember them today. Were they remembered for being incredibly rich or comfortable etc?
Let us look at scriptures that explain themselves.
Proverbs 30:8-9 (New Living Translation)
8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Galatians 6:8-10 (New Living Translation)
8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Matthew 6:19-34 (New International Version)
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The last scripture speaks volumes. Jesus Himself said that. So brothers and sisters, I hope you understand what true blessing is and that we seek that and only that. God is truly most glorified, when we are satisfied in him.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Forgiveness
Forgiveness. It is the product of been loving and gracious. If there were no forgiveness from Above, you and I wouldn't be here today. You won't be sitting there in your underwear or pajamas reading this note, nor will I be here typing it. As Christians and children of God, we are called to forgive one another, whether its the mean girl who spread untrue things about you, the guy who cuts you off in traffic and on top of that looks like a criminal, the loved one who neverendingly disappoints you, the relative that took advantage of you, or the person who just isn't very good looking and is a sore sight.
Why should we forgive? You may ask. I have been asking that question lately. Does God not understand the pain and misery I went through? The hurt? The let down? When we look at it from our point of view, somethings are truly unforgivable. I can imagine someone being raped and having to have forgive the offender. Forgiving a murderer. Forgiving someone who cheated on you. The list goes on. Yet we are called to forgive.
Colossians 3:13 says "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Often we forget that God continually chooses to forgive us no matter what we do. That no matter what happens, we are still caught in that web of grace that God envelopes us with. So the reason why we should forgive is simply because God forgave us first.
I havestruggled to forgive someone . If I were to look at it in worldly terms, I have all the darn right not to. I loved that person to bits, only desired the best for her. I loved her for a long time, 2 and a half years. Believed in her. Prayed for her. Even when we were no longer an item and she did not want to talk to me, I fought for her. Things turned around eventually and I thought it would work out between us. But I was deceived, played like a fool. Soon I realised I was nothing but a toy, and when she found someone better, I was cast aside.
That kind of betrayal is hard to explain. All along I truly loved her and in return I was left to die while she walked away scott free. No sense of guilt, no remorse. When confronted, refuses to apologise, and in turn points the finger back at me. Its sickening when I think about it.
For a while, I thought I was over this. But it came back to haunt me and mock me. A sign that I have truly not let go. So now I am forced to face my fear. My sorrow. My unforgiveness.
I shake my fist in the air, calling out to God, screaming at Him, asking Him why should I forgive? This person tried to steal my destiny by bringing me down with her! A liar! A murderer! She killed me spiritually so many times! Where is the justice!
Matt 6:14-15 talks about how if you forgive other people God will forgive you and the opposite applies as well. Matt 18:21-35, Peter asks Jesus how many times should we actually forgive someone? Jesus answers in a parable, but his meaning is clear: As many times as needed. Often, we are so focused on other people and their faults that we do not see whats actually happening. At the very same time, we as human beings we sin as well. We make mistakes. We fall. We give in to temptation. God forgives it all. Without even needing to ask, He forgives. He accepts us with open arms, redemption comes at no cost, all it takes is going back to our Father.
In Mark 11:22-25 it states how Jesus adds forgiveness in praying for things. Thats the thing. Maybe sometimes we are not getting that break through because we have not forgiven? Forgiveness is the heartbeat of God.
Matthew 6:14-15 (New International Version)
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
That is very very simple to understand. If you do not forgive, why should God forgive you?
Matt 5:38-47 talks about turning the other cheek and loving your enemies.. its a crazy concept. Its mind blowing. It does not make sense at all. Loving your enemies you say! In fact, God even wants us to pray for our enemies. WHAT?! Thats insane! You're right. But at the same time, it is neccessary. Because we live in such a fallen world, where it is void of love and meaning and conflict is aplenty. As Christians, we are called to make a difference. If you read the last part of ths scripture, it says what good is only loving when you are loved back. Even unbelievers do that. Making a difference is loving and praying for the people who have wronged you. Being nice to that snob, saying hello and smiling to that person who gossps about you. Showing the love of Christ through you.
So here I am, still bitter and angry. Still wanting answers. But you know what, at the end of the day, it doesnt matter if she apologises or not, if she answers my questions or we have a formal sit down and talk about it. Because the end result is still the same. I have to forgive.
Forgiving someone sometimes makes it seem like you are the one who is being shortchanged, like you lost. But let me tell you this. In God's eyes, you have already won. Proverbs 21-22 says if you bless your enemy you heap burning coals on his head and God will reward you. You see, it does not matter what the world says or thinks, because God is the one running the world. And there will be justice. God will repay. It is not up to you (Romans 12:17-21). Do what you have to do, and leave the rest to God.
In conclusion, I want to talk about forgetting as well. We are called to love our enemies, and what is love? Read 1 Cor 13. It mentions that love keeps no records of wrongs. Forgiveness and forgetting goes hand in hand. Let me explain.
Imagine a player in a football game. A pass is given to the player that sets him up in the position to score. That pass is forgiveness. Now, what happens next is important as well. If the player converts that chance into a goal, it was all worth it! But if he does not, the pass no matter how good goes to waste. Forgetting is scoring that goal. Just like that illustration, forgiveness without forgetting is not complete.
When I talk about forgetting, I don't mean you totally disregard what happened, but I mean you no longer let it affect you. It can serve as a reminder and a lesson, but please, don't let it drain your life away. There are so many days and possibilities ahead. Life is too short to be dwelling on such things. That person may have taken a lot from you, so why let them take anymore?
Let me add, that unforgiveness and not forgetting a wrong can and will bound you to a life of bondage. There will be no peace nor freedom in not forgiving someone. Trust me, I have experienced it first hand. Bitterness and resentment is a prison that does not discriminate, do not allow your pride to fall into that trap.
So who have you not forgiven? Pray and ask God to reveal that to you. Be free my friends. Forgive and forget.
Father, forgive my act of not forgiving. I repent.
Why should we forgive? You may ask. I have been asking that question lately. Does God not understand the pain and misery I went through? The hurt? The let down? When we look at it from our point of view, somethings are truly unforgivable. I can imagine someone being raped and having to have forgive the offender. Forgiving a murderer. Forgiving someone who cheated on you. The list goes on. Yet we are called to forgive.
Colossians 3:13 says "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Often we forget that God continually chooses to forgive us no matter what we do. That no matter what happens, we are still caught in that web of grace that God envelopes us with. So the reason why we should forgive is simply because God forgave us first.
I havestruggled to forgive someone . If I were to look at it in worldly terms, I have all the darn right not to. I loved that person to bits, only desired the best for her. I loved her for a long time, 2 and a half years. Believed in her. Prayed for her. Even when we were no longer an item and she did not want to talk to me, I fought for her. Things turned around eventually and I thought it would work out between us. But I was deceived, played like a fool. Soon I realised I was nothing but a toy, and when she found someone better, I was cast aside.
That kind of betrayal is hard to explain. All along I truly loved her and in return I was left to die while she walked away scott free. No sense of guilt, no remorse. When confronted, refuses to apologise, and in turn points the finger back at me. Its sickening when I think about it.
For a while, I thought I was over this. But it came back to haunt me and mock me. A sign that I have truly not let go. So now I am forced to face my fear. My sorrow. My unforgiveness.
I shake my fist in the air, calling out to God, screaming at Him, asking Him why should I forgive? This person tried to steal my destiny by bringing me down with her! A liar! A murderer! She killed me spiritually so many times! Where is the justice!
Matt 6:14-15 talks about how if you forgive other people God will forgive you and the opposite applies as well. Matt 18:21-35, Peter asks Jesus how many times should we actually forgive someone? Jesus answers in a parable, but his meaning is clear: As many times as needed. Often, we are so focused on other people and their faults that we do not see whats actually happening. At the very same time, we as human beings we sin as well. We make mistakes. We fall. We give in to temptation. God forgives it all. Without even needing to ask, He forgives. He accepts us with open arms, redemption comes at no cost, all it takes is going back to our Father.
In Mark 11:22-25 it states how Jesus adds forgiveness in praying for things. Thats the thing. Maybe sometimes we are not getting that break through because we have not forgiven? Forgiveness is the heartbeat of God.
Matthew 6:14-15 (New International Version)
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
That is very very simple to understand. If you do not forgive, why should God forgive you?
Matt 5:38-47 talks about turning the other cheek and loving your enemies.. its a crazy concept. Its mind blowing. It does not make sense at all. Loving your enemies you say! In fact, God even wants us to pray for our enemies. WHAT?! Thats insane! You're right. But at the same time, it is neccessary. Because we live in such a fallen world, where it is void of love and meaning and conflict is aplenty. As Christians, we are called to make a difference. If you read the last part of ths scripture, it says what good is only loving when you are loved back. Even unbelievers do that. Making a difference is loving and praying for the people who have wronged you. Being nice to that snob, saying hello and smiling to that person who gossps about you. Showing the love of Christ through you.
So here I am, still bitter and angry. Still wanting answers. But you know what, at the end of the day, it doesnt matter if she apologises or not, if she answers my questions or we have a formal sit down and talk about it. Because the end result is still the same. I have to forgive.
Forgiving someone sometimes makes it seem like you are the one who is being shortchanged, like you lost. But let me tell you this. In God's eyes, you have already won. Proverbs 21-22 says if you bless your enemy you heap burning coals on his head and God will reward you. You see, it does not matter what the world says or thinks, because God is the one running the world. And there will be justice. God will repay. It is not up to you (Romans 12:17-21). Do what you have to do, and leave the rest to God.
In conclusion, I want to talk about forgetting as well. We are called to love our enemies, and what is love? Read 1 Cor 13. It mentions that love keeps no records of wrongs. Forgiveness and forgetting goes hand in hand. Let me explain.
Imagine a player in a football game. A pass is given to the player that sets him up in the position to score. That pass is forgiveness. Now, what happens next is important as well. If the player converts that chance into a goal, it was all worth it! But if he does not, the pass no matter how good goes to waste. Forgetting is scoring that goal. Just like that illustration, forgiveness without forgetting is not complete.
When I talk about forgetting, I don't mean you totally disregard what happened, but I mean you no longer let it affect you. It can serve as a reminder and a lesson, but please, don't let it drain your life away. There are so many days and possibilities ahead. Life is too short to be dwelling on such things. That person may have taken a lot from you, so why let them take anymore?
Let me add, that unforgiveness and not forgetting a wrong can and will bound you to a life of bondage. There will be no peace nor freedom in not forgiving someone. Trust me, I have experienced it first hand. Bitterness and resentment is a prison that does not discriminate, do not allow your pride to fall into that trap.
So who have you not forgiven? Pray and ask God to reveal that to you. Be free my friends. Forgive and forget.
Father, forgive my act of not forgiving. I repent.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Prayer
Good day ladies and gentlemen, today I wanna talk about something that alot of us tend to take for granted, prayer.
It is an interesting what many people regard prayer as. Some even think, why bother praying? If God is the beginning and the end, if He is omniscient, if He knows everything, and has already predestined things, why pray? But I beg to differ, Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons and tools as children of God that we can wield. Because the bible says, whatever you bind on earth will be bounded in heaven(Matt 16:19), prayer has the power to move the heavens, to break chains, to bring peace, sometimes when all else fails and nothing can be done, there is still prayer, because there is still God.
1)Prayer + persistence
Luke 11 is a powerful and interesting passage. Its Jesus' take on prayer. He starts off by saying, "Father, hallowed be Thy name, your kingdom come."(11:2). First, Jesus acknowledges that God is God. God is father, friend, healer, lover, comforter, saviour, but above all, God is God. We tend to forget sometimes, that in the midst of everything, good or bad, God is actually still God. Then he goes on to tell the parable, one of my favourites, about the man asking for bread. In verse 8 he says "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's BOLDNESS he will get up and give him as much as he needs." Sometimes, all we have to do is to be bold enough to ask God. Not defy Him, but to be bold, to have the attitude that we are children of God, to go and and say "Hey Dad, I got something to say about this." Just like in Genesis 18:16-33, in the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom. First Ab tells God, if there are 50 righteous ppl in Sodom, spare them! God says, ok. Then he changes his mind, he says, now that I am so bold, how bout just 40 ppl instead? God agrees. Eventually Ab changes all the way to 10 ppl! God agrees all the way. Jesus says, ask and it will be give to you, knock and the door will be opened(Luke 11:9) and i love verse 13 which says if we as men are evil and know how to give good gifts, what more God in heaven? Romans 8:32 says "He who did not spare his own son, but gave his up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Somethings are already meant for the taking, its a matter of whether we would be bold and persistent enough to go to God and claim it. Just like how Jacob wrestled with God, and how God granted King Hezekiah 15 more years of his life after telling him thru Isaiah that his time was up. IF only we would be bold enough to be persistent.
2) Prayer = personal
I find how some people treat prayer as a mechanical exercise distasteful. What a lot of people do not realise that prayer is in fact conversation with God. Its just that, plain and simple. Most times, people fail in the first step of prayer, and that is turning up. All we have to do when we pray, is turn up. God is already there, where are we? And its funny how we tend to beat around the bush when it comes to prayer, I mean come on, we are talking to GOD, who already knows what we want b4 we actually tell him. Thats the beauty of it, with God, we can be as honest as we want. Imagine a child carrying a christmas wishlist and sitting on the lap of her father, though some of the requests would be unreasonable, but won't the father be glad just to have her pour her heart out to him? I believe prayer should really be a time of honesty and all forms of pretense should be out left out. Speak your heart out when you are with God, complain, lament, praise, curse, do whatever, bcos God already knows whats in your heart, and when you are open with it God really appreciates it. Sometimes we tend to think, somethings i really shouldnt pray about, or talk with to God, somethings are inappropriate. The psalms are prayers to God, and not of them are singing praises, some of them are lamenting, complaining, but all of them were honest. It is when we can come to God with that kind of trust and vulnerability that things begind to change. And its not doing God a favour, its doing ourselves good. Sometimes just by coming to God and telling him your deepest desires and fears, you learn something about yourself, sometimes prayer does not neccessarily have to change the situation, but more likely changing how we view by revealing to us how God views it.
I urge and encourage you my brothers and sisters, to make prayer a priority. After all, if we can spend hours on the phone with friends, msn all night, facebook all day, can't we even spare some time to hang out with God? I used to feel bad falling asleep praying halfway, but it never occured to me that there is no other better way to fall asleep than in the arms of a loving Father.
I thank you all for reading this space, for now I will post what I have posted on Facebook but in the future there will be definitely new material here. So keep your hearts open and pray for fresh new revelation each day, God bless you!
It is an interesting what many people regard prayer as. Some even think, why bother praying? If God is the beginning and the end, if He is omniscient, if He knows everything, and has already predestined things, why pray? But I beg to differ, Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons and tools as children of God that we can wield. Because the bible says, whatever you bind on earth will be bounded in heaven(Matt 16:19), prayer has the power to move the heavens, to break chains, to bring peace, sometimes when all else fails and nothing can be done, there is still prayer, because there is still God.
1)Prayer + persistence
Luke 11 is a powerful and interesting passage. Its Jesus' take on prayer. He starts off by saying, "Father, hallowed be Thy name, your kingdom come."(11:2). First, Jesus acknowledges that God is God. God is father, friend, healer, lover, comforter, saviour, but above all, God is God. We tend to forget sometimes, that in the midst of everything, good or bad, God is actually still God. Then he goes on to tell the parable, one of my favourites, about the man asking for bread. In verse 8 he says "I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's BOLDNESS he will get up and give him as much as he needs." Sometimes, all we have to do is to be bold enough to ask God. Not defy Him, but to be bold, to have the attitude that we are children of God, to go and and say "Hey Dad, I got something to say about this." Just like in Genesis 18:16-33, in the story of Abraham pleading for Sodom. First Ab tells God, if there are 50 righteous ppl in Sodom, spare them! God says, ok. Then he changes his mind, he says, now that I am so bold, how bout just 40 ppl instead? God agrees. Eventually Ab changes all the way to 10 ppl! God agrees all the way. Jesus says, ask and it will be give to you, knock and the door will be opened(Luke 11:9) and i love verse 13 which says if we as men are evil and know how to give good gifts, what more God in heaven? Romans 8:32 says "He who did not spare his own son, but gave his up for us all, how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Somethings are already meant for the taking, its a matter of whether we would be bold and persistent enough to go to God and claim it. Just like how Jacob wrestled with God, and how God granted King Hezekiah 15 more years of his life after telling him thru Isaiah that his time was up. IF only we would be bold enough to be persistent.
2) Prayer = personal
I find how some people treat prayer as a mechanical exercise distasteful. What a lot of people do not realise that prayer is in fact conversation with God. Its just that, plain and simple. Most times, people fail in the first step of prayer, and that is turning up. All we have to do when we pray, is turn up. God is already there, where are we? And its funny how we tend to beat around the bush when it comes to prayer, I mean come on, we are talking to GOD, who already knows what we want b4 we actually tell him. Thats the beauty of it, with God, we can be as honest as we want. Imagine a child carrying a christmas wishlist and sitting on the lap of her father, though some of the requests would be unreasonable, but won't the father be glad just to have her pour her heart out to him? I believe prayer should really be a time of honesty and all forms of pretense should be out left out. Speak your heart out when you are with God, complain, lament, praise, curse, do whatever, bcos God already knows whats in your heart, and when you are open with it God really appreciates it. Sometimes we tend to think, somethings i really shouldnt pray about, or talk with to God, somethings are inappropriate. The psalms are prayers to God, and not of them are singing praises, some of them are lamenting, complaining, but all of them were honest. It is when we can come to God with that kind of trust and vulnerability that things begind to change. And its not doing God a favour, its doing ourselves good. Sometimes just by coming to God and telling him your deepest desires and fears, you learn something about yourself, sometimes prayer does not neccessarily have to change the situation, but more likely changing how we view by revealing to us how God views it.
I urge and encourage you my brothers and sisters, to make prayer a priority. After all, if we can spend hours on the phone with friends, msn all night, facebook all day, can't we even spare some time to hang out with God? I used to feel bad falling asleep praying halfway, but it never occured to me that there is no other better way to fall asleep than in the arms of a loving Father.
I thank you all for reading this space, for now I will post what I have posted on Facebook but in the future there will be definitely new material here. So keep your hearts open and pray for fresh new revelation each day, God bless you!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Love.
Lets talk about love. Not just the kinda love when you see that person you loveee and you get all kinds of animals in your tummy (butterflies, worms, pigs, whatever works for you), but love, not just in general, but in God's eyes. What is love?
Love is such an overused and under-rated term these days. "Oh how I love my girlfriend!", "Oh my, I think its true love!", " I think I am in love..", " Love is in the airrrr.." etc etc etc. So, how many people actually understand the true meaning of love here? I can already sense a multitude of people going, "oh I do." Well I'm sorry my friends, I'm here to prove you wrong. But of course if you already know whatever I am going to say below, then you're on the right track!
To start off, love is everything. Not fortune not fame. Why do I say that? Because God is love. God is everything. Jesus died for you and me because He loved. Grace comes from love. Love is the origin of everything. So God = Love. The bible emphasises on 2 big commandments, and that is to love your God with all your heart, all your strength and all your mind, and to love your neighbour as yourself.
But today, I am going to talk very practical things about love and to dispel all kinds of myths about it. So what I am going to talk about is only from one scripture, and that is the book 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
Verse 1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The first point I wanna to put across is, in everything we do in ministry, we do it because we love. You see, we can do a whole lot of things, like community work, charity stuffs, have church week in week out and getting 10000 people saved, running our small groups, etc etc. But at the end of the day, the only thing that is going to make all we do count is, well, love. Do you truly love the people whom you are serving? Yes! You are actually serving them! In case you didn't realise that from the beginning. You see ministry is not about a feel good factor where you do all kinds of things and then you somehow seem like a person so righteous you will be number one in line into heaven. No! Ministry is about furthering the kingdom of God! What is God's heartbeat? To love! Its simple. Just like the scripture says, you can be a prophet who can see a gazillion years into the future, or a annointed evangelist who gets 1000 people saved at the snap of your fingers, or the person who gives thousands of dolars to charity, it is not done out of love.. well, I'm sorry to say it is pointless.
Eventhough ministry is what I do, its what I love, its my purpose, its my reward, I'll be the first to admit that it is not easy. It is ok to feel jaded at times, to feel frustrated, to feel that sometimes you just want out, and its really ok, we are human after all. But hear this, we as people of ministry, we are entrusted with lives here.
1 Cor 4:1-21
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
We must be FAITHFUL in what God has entrusted us with. How do we do that? Simple! Be sure that everything you do, is out of love. When you want to rebuke someone, do it in love. When you want to bring them to church, do it in love. Go about everyday in love.
Ok, so you're probably saying now, so Mr Ngan, what is really love then and how do I go abouts doing this? I'm glad you asked! Lets go deeper.
1 Cor 13:4-74
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Read all of that and think about it. Does your love really encompass all that? Are you patient and kind to the person you love? Are you envious? Are you selfless rather than selfish? Are you unforgiving? Does your love endure?
Can I be frank here? I am actually sick of the fact that so many people throw this word around without really knowing what it is to love. Love is well, really not about you. I'm not saying how you feel doesn't matter, but too many people have made that the focal point.
Sometimes without realising it or not, we love other people for ourselves, not for them. If our partner or friend starts disappointing us, we suddenly feel less for them. In fact, sometimes we start to blame them. Sometimes we hold people back or hold on too tightly because we are too afraid to lose them or that they would find someone else. Is that love?
Love is about wanting the best for that person and respecting that person and their wants in whatever circumstances. I can go on and on on elaboration, but to put it simply and plainly, its about THAT PERSON FIRST, YOU SECOND.
That is why, loving someone is not enough justification to be with them. Just because you think you're the best for them is not reason enough. What do THEY want? Or feel?
Perfect love comes from none other than God. Not what you feel for your lover no matter what you say, not in the movies, not in anywhere. We love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). With God, it is a love beyond all reason.
Has someone ever asked you, why do you love so and so? And you come up with a string of answers. Ok think about that person you love, and answer the question, why do you love him/her? Does that reason include a lot of MEs?
God loves us because He can. He does not need a reason. He gave his life up for you and me, even when He knew many would reject Him. He still redeems and restores all who fail without question, he accepts all with open arms, He is eternally gracious, all can call upon Him and be saved. He loves those who curse him, who persecuted him, who laughs at him. Even when he was in the darkest and most painful hour of his life, he prayed for all those who were brutalising him, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
God is God, and He could force all men to bow down and worship him, after all, He is entitled to it. But NO! God, being the all loving father, allows his children to choose their own paths, because He loves. The only question is.. what would you choose?
Love is a beautiful thing. In love there is no condemnation, no bondage. No suffering. Love is liberating.
So I leave you with something to really ponder about. Do you truly know what it is to love?
God does. Jesus is thinking about you at this very moment. He loves you
Love is such an overused and under-rated term these days. "Oh how I love my girlfriend!", "Oh my, I think its true love!", " I think I am in love..", " Love is in the airrrr.." etc etc etc. So, how many people actually understand the true meaning of love here? I can already sense a multitude of people going, "oh I do." Well I'm sorry my friends, I'm here to prove you wrong. But of course if you already know whatever I am going to say below, then you're on the right track!
To start off, love is everything. Not fortune not fame. Why do I say that? Because God is love. God is everything. Jesus died for you and me because He loved. Grace comes from love. Love is the origin of everything. So God = Love. The bible emphasises on 2 big commandments, and that is to love your God with all your heart, all your strength and all your mind, and to love your neighbour as yourself.
But today, I am going to talk very practical things about love and to dispel all kinds of myths about it. So what I am going to talk about is only from one scripture, and that is the book 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
Verse 1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The first point I wanna to put across is, in everything we do in ministry, we do it because we love. You see, we can do a whole lot of things, like community work, charity stuffs, have church week in week out and getting 10000 people saved, running our small groups, etc etc. But at the end of the day, the only thing that is going to make all we do count is, well, love. Do you truly love the people whom you are serving? Yes! You are actually serving them! In case you didn't realise that from the beginning. You see ministry is not about a feel good factor where you do all kinds of things and then you somehow seem like a person so righteous you will be number one in line into heaven. No! Ministry is about furthering the kingdom of God! What is God's heartbeat? To love! Its simple. Just like the scripture says, you can be a prophet who can see a gazillion years into the future, or a annointed evangelist who gets 1000 people saved at the snap of your fingers, or the person who gives thousands of dolars to charity, it is not done out of love.. well, I'm sorry to say it is pointless.
Eventhough ministry is what I do, its what I love, its my purpose, its my reward, I'll be the first to admit that it is not easy. It is ok to feel jaded at times, to feel frustrated, to feel that sometimes you just want out, and its really ok, we are human after all. But hear this, we as people of ministry, we are entrusted with lives here.
1 Cor 4:1-21
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
We must be FAITHFUL in what God has entrusted us with. How do we do that? Simple! Be sure that everything you do, is out of love. When you want to rebuke someone, do it in love. When you want to bring them to church, do it in love. Go about everyday in love.
Ok, so you're probably saying now, so Mr Ngan, what is really love then and how do I go abouts doing this? I'm glad you asked! Lets go deeper.
1 Cor 13:4-74
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Read all of that and think about it. Does your love really encompass all that? Are you patient and kind to the person you love? Are you envious? Are you selfless rather than selfish? Are you unforgiving? Does your love endure?
Can I be frank here? I am actually sick of the fact that so many people throw this word around without really knowing what it is to love. Love is well, really not about you. I'm not saying how you feel doesn't matter, but too many people have made that the focal point.
Sometimes without realising it or not, we love other people for ourselves, not for them. If our partner or friend starts disappointing us, we suddenly feel less for them. In fact, sometimes we start to blame them. Sometimes we hold people back or hold on too tightly because we are too afraid to lose them or that they would find someone else. Is that love?
Love is about wanting the best for that person and respecting that person and their wants in whatever circumstances. I can go on and on on elaboration, but to put it simply and plainly, its about THAT PERSON FIRST, YOU SECOND.
That is why, loving someone is not enough justification to be with them. Just because you think you're the best for them is not reason enough. What do THEY want? Or feel?
Perfect love comes from none other than God. Not what you feel for your lover no matter what you say, not in the movies, not in anywhere. We love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). With God, it is a love beyond all reason.
Has someone ever asked you, why do you love so and so? And you come up with a string of answers. Ok think about that person you love, and answer the question, why do you love him/her? Does that reason include a lot of MEs?
God loves us because He can. He does not need a reason. He gave his life up for you and me, even when He knew many would reject Him. He still redeems and restores all who fail without question, he accepts all with open arms, He is eternally gracious, all can call upon Him and be saved. He loves those who curse him, who persecuted him, who laughs at him. Even when he was in the darkest and most painful hour of his life, he prayed for all those who were brutalising him, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."
God is God, and He could force all men to bow down and worship him, after all, He is entitled to it. But NO! God, being the all loving father, allows his children to choose their own paths, because He loves. The only question is.. what would you choose?
Love is a beautiful thing. In love there is no condemnation, no bondage. No suffering. Love is liberating.
So I leave you with something to really ponder about. Do you truly know what it is to love?
God does. Jesus is thinking about you at this very moment. He loves you
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)