The King Beckons...
What are you doing with the invitation from the King? Go on with life as usual and come back to the invitation when you have the time? We trust not. You drop everything you're doing and you re-schedule your priorities so you will be able to make it to His Presence!
"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
While we can be assured of "finding God", this verse also gives a key condition. The condition is to search for Him "with all your heart". We cannot find God if we are not seeking Him with all our heart. It will be naive on our part to think that we could just experience intimacy without giving God all our heart.
"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me." (Proverbs 1: 8)
"All our heart" does not refer to diligence (in effort or action) alone. It is an issue of complete dedication (heart) to the person. And it is best reflected in our attitude.
"Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD." (Proverbs 1:29)
The attitude needed would be the "fear of the Lord" i.e. a deep reverence for Him.
Can Intimacy and Fear go hand in hand? Yes, fear of the Lord is the key to intimacy because it ensures we hate sin and all the things that turn the King's face away from us. We cannot enter His presence with a casual attitude and expect God to come near.
Let's press on to the King's presence and find each other there!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Dying To Self
Somewhere in Senior Pastor's message last week was a nugget of truth worth repeating.
That Delight in the Lord and Denial of self are both sides of the same coin. Did you catch that?
We cannot bring delight or find delight in the Lord if we come to Him like a sugar daddy or a vending machine which can be manipulated at our every wimp or fancy.
Luke 9:23, Jesus said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up His cross daily and follow me."
I reflected over three counselling cases which I was involved in recently. In all three cases, the problem would have been solved by Jesus’ prescription - to deny oneself. Ahh, the self is too much with us. Selfishness, self-centredness and self-love. What does it take to come to a point where our delight is God's delight, where we desire what He desires and we care for what He cares?
Impossible to do? Absolutely. It calls for death. Someone who understood this cost of discipleship was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and Christian martyr who wrote this prayer, "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free."
That Delight in the Lord and Denial of self are both sides of the same coin. Did you catch that?
We cannot bring delight or find delight in the Lord if we come to Him like a sugar daddy or a vending machine which can be manipulated at our every wimp or fancy.
Luke 9:23, Jesus said to them all, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up His cross daily and follow me."
I reflected over three counselling cases which I was involved in recently. In all three cases, the problem would have been solved by Jesus’ prescription - to deny oneself. Ahh, the self is too much with us. Selfishness, self-centredness and self-love. What does it take to come to a point where our delight is God's delight, where we desire what He desires and we care for what He cares?
Impossible to do? Absolutely. It calls for death. Someone who understood this cost of discipleship was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and Christian martyr who wrote this prayer, "Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free."
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Growing In True Devotion
Psalm 40:4, "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods."
As we seek God's face by reading the Psalms daily, we can discern differences in how we relate to God, using a structure shared by Ps Edmund Chan at the Love Singapore Pastor's Prayer Summit.
The Psalmist through his writings reveals a FUNDAMENTAL dependence upon God – he cannot live for one moment without being sustained by the breath of God. Not a single day apart from God's guidance and direction, not just when he is under siege. He actively puts aside false gods to turn to the Lord.
There is the person for whom devotion to God is merely ORNAMENTAL. Even though he or she may come to church and read the Bible, life goes on relatively unchanged and independent of God.
Yet there are others for whom devotion to God is INCIDENTAL. From time to time, he runs across an inspiring touch of the Holy Spirit through the word and is encouraged by the grace and goodness of God.
Then there is also the man who reads the word, draws from Him intentionally, but that inspiration is only SUPPLEMENTAL to all other sources of support in his life.
Whatever position we are in, let's press in to drink deeply from God, to have Him as our FUNDAMENTAL source and sustenance. It requires tasting of the deeper things of God and a humble thirsting for it, renouncing all other sources of dependence. We find rest when we find our sufficiency in God alone.
Psalm 27:5, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."
As we seek God's face by reading the Psalms daily, we can discern differences in how we relate to God, using a structure shared by Ps Edmund Chan at the Love Singapore Pastor's Prayer Summit.
The Psalmist through his writings reveals a FUNDAMENTAL dependence upon God – he cannot live for one moment without being sustained by the breath of God. Not a single day apart from God's guidance and direction, not just when he is under siege. He actively puts aside false gods to turn to the Lord.
There is the person for whom devotion to God is merely ORNAMENTAL. Even though he or she may come to church and read the Bible, life goes on relatively unchanged and independent of God.
Yet there are others for whom devotion to God is INCIDENTAL. From time to time, he runs across an inspiring touch of the Holy Spirit through the word and is encouraged by the grace and goodness of God.
Then there is also the man who reads the word, draws from Him intentionally, but that inspiration is only SUPPLEMENTAL to all other sources of support in his life.
Whatever position we are in, let's press in to drink deeply from God, to have Him as our FUNDAMENTAL source and sustenance. It requires tasting of the deeper things of God and a humble thirsting for it, renouncing all other sources of dependence. We find rest when we find our sufficiency in God alone.
Psalm 27:5, "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Lights off by 5, Home by 6
This is February. If you did not get a good start to the New Year on 1 January 2008, you can still claim a new beginning on the first day of the Chinese New Year (CNY) on 7 February 2008. Second chances… how we need it so often in life.
Whether you’re Chinese or not, CNY is a time for family and friends. How do you enjoy the reunion dinners and rounds of house visits? These are great opportunities to renew and rebuild relationships which often get neglected in the busyness of life. This is one key focus in this Year of Sabbath.
In fact many of the things we do during CNY, are in the spirit of the Sabbath.
Like ceasing from work, getting our house in order, preparing special meals, celebrating with family and friends, giving and receiving blessings.
So, for the month of February, it’s lights off by 5 at expo hall 9 and let’s all be home to be with our family by 6.
Be ready to open up your home or embrace anyone who may need a home to go to!
新年快乐,
恩福满堂
Whether you’re Chinese or not, CNY is a time for family and friends. How do you enjoy the reunion dinners and rounds of house visits? These are great opportunities to renew and rebuild relationships which often get neglected in the busyness of life. This is one key focus in this Year of Sabbath.
In fact many of the things we do during CNY, are in the spirit of the Sabbath.
Like ceasing from work, getting our house in order, preparing special meals, celebrating with family and friends, giving and receiving blessings.
So, for the month of February, it’s lights off by 5 at expo hall 9 and let’s all be home to be with our family by 6.
Be ready to open up your home or embrace anyone who may need a home to go to!
新年快乐,
恩福满堂
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
