What Are We Striving For?

"His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." (Psalm 147:10-11)

These verses reveal God's "unseen" heart in a psalm that contains praise about God's outward "seen" acts.

We usually feel good when we excel in our work and ministry. People around us cheer, celebrate and admire us for our great talents.

Do we play it that way too when we try to win God's pleasure?

We get upset and depressed when we do not "do well" in the ministry, our work and our studies. We think we are less favoured because there are those who are more talented and anointed. We give up and think God likes other people more.
But in the process, we may just lose focus on what really matters to God. Are we barking up the wrong tree?

God is delighted when we revere Him and when we take Him seriously and honour Him in what we do. It is an inward condition of our heart.

God is delighted when we trust Him, especially in difficult situations when He seems absent. It is a deliberate action we can take.

Today, even if you're facing poorer exam results, or disappointments in the ministry, you are no further from delighting God.

Even if you are barely coping with a difficult work situation, you can melt the Father's heart by putting your hope in His unfailing love.

Don't stay outside! Come into your Father's presence!

The Crossing

"For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)

The moment you experienced Christ, you do not belong to this world. You have crossed over from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from slavery to freedom. You have a new identity. No longer slaves in Egypt but sons and daughters of the Living God. No longer do you need to "worship from afar", but you can draw near to where your Heavenly Father is, without fear or hesitation. He calls you, just as He called the Israelites - to draw near to Him in worship and intimacy.

Many Christians have accepted God's gift of salvation but are still "flirting with the world". Like the Israelites, they are still carrying Egypt with them in their hearts and minds. When the going is tough, they do not have the tenacity to persevere but kept on looking back at the world they left behind, instead of moving on to claim the promises of God (Exodus 14 and 16).

The greatest freedom you can experience is the freedom to say "No" to worldly temptation and sin. It is still your choice whether to allow sin to continue to rule in your life. Having the power and exercising it are two different things.

Have you crossed over completely?

Who needs Favour?

Pastor Tommy Tenney's message last Sunday must have been very well received by all, particularly the young people.

First, there was a compelling story to share. Esther's story is a rags-to-riches story, like Cinderella or "Pretty Woman". The kind of story every young person likes. Don't we all dream of that "one day" or that "one encounter" that will change our individual destinies.

Can we believe the same God who was at work in Esther's life is at work in our lives?

Then, Esther's story is a story of favour. Don't we all need that? Especially for that exam, the job interview, the special assignment or window of opportunity ahead of us. Esther "won the favour of everyone who saw her" (Esther 2:15) but more importantly, she won God's favour (v. 17). I'm reminded of the example of our Lord Jesus too.

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men." (Luke 2:52)

Pastor Tenney pointed out that Esther's obedience gave God a reason to bless her. I thought that was so well put. God wants to bless us, at every chance He gets. But are we making it easy or difficult for Him to do so?

Growing in Interdependence

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Galatians 5:16 NASB)
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25 NASB)

In the first quarter of this Year of Sabbath, we got back to basics in our PERSONAL walk with the Lord. We've focused on reading the Word and Prayer, on Fasting and Repentance. Individually, we need to continue walking (Galatians 5:16) in the Spirit, so that we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

Yet the Greek word for "walking" by the Spirit in Galatians 5:25 refers to a CORPORATE walk in the Spirit. We need to learn to walk in step with one another "in the Spirit".

Consider the following checks and guidelines gleaned from a teaching by Pastor Benny Ho.

3 things that can cause dis-unity in the Body of Christ:

Do we get conceited, "do our own thing" and pull ahead of the Body?

Are we excessively competitive and cause others to pull aside in the ministry?

Do we get envious of others' successes and pull out of the race in order to "save face"?

3 things we must do to keep in step with one another:

Is there someone who has fallen and needs a helping hand?

Is there something you can do to help those who are overloaded?

Is there a place where you need to take personal responsibility to carry your own load?

Let's commit to march as one army, so that we can corporately enter God's rest. A step-by-step walk individually, as well as corporately, into God's glory.

Psalm-thing for you!

I had an interesting dinner conversation with my daughter the other day. I asked her what the Fear of God means to a youth nowadays. She asked me how I had been able to grow so much in so short a time as a young Christian. Did I find the desire within to read and love the Word of God? Or did I follow what some leader told me to do? We talked about the pressures a young person faces these days and how difficult it is to find good models of those who consistently live out God's truth and the reality of the Christian faith.

My mind went back to Psalm 119 which we've just read for the week. If you manage to read all 176 verses of this longest Psalm in one go, I congratulate you! Psalm 119 is the psalm for a young person. In it, you will find precious nuggets of truth which will guide you in your walk towards a victorious life in Christ. One of my favourite portions is found in Psalm 119:9-11.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

PS. Pastor Julie will have a little gift for anyone who can memorise these verses and recite it to her in church this week!

Celebrate What's Right with Your World

There's so much beauty in this world God created. When was the last time this thought crossed your mind? Well, I had the delightful opportunity to have my senses recharged and my tired mind refreshed once again after watching a short video called, "Celebrate What's Right With The World". This is the vision statement of National Geographic, a magazine few of us will have in our range of interests. Through a wonderful collage of images and shots, photographer Dewitt Jones captures beauty so pure and simple, in nature and in people. I'm challenged about my vision, my perceptions and my world view. All these colour my world.

We're caught so often in trying to fix what's wrong with this world, we fail to celebrate what's right with it. Do we believe people can change? That things can change? For the better, of course. If we believe it, we will see it.

Can we do that this week? Celebrate what's right with your world.

"He (God) has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." (Ecclesiates 3:11)

How Can I Keep from Singing

When was the last time you burst into song? You know what I mean... not just because you have to sing but because you want to sing. And it has nothing to do with whether you have a good voice or whether you have an audience listening. It's a song from your heart -- an expression of gratitude, of joy and delight.

Some of us have stopped singing. Maybe you're going through troubled times, maybe you've lost your step, maybe you're just too tired to try again... but you know what? God gives us songs even in the night (Job 35:10). He knows what you're going through and He does not forget His Word and His promises. That's why we can still sing.

Chris Tomlin's song expresses it well with this chorus...

"How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your praise
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing"

May the Lord "put a new song in your mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." (Psalm 40: 3)

What's on your mind?

I'm so glad that Senior Pastor is challenging the church to memorise scriptures. Not just a verse or two but whole chapters of Psalms. With a few skipped verses here and there, I have been able to memorise some of my favourite Psalms like Psalm 1, 8, 16 and 23.

I have since been inspired to add Psalms 63, 84, 90, 91 and 103 to the storehouse of my memory. What about Psalm 119? I think I need another big dose of inspiration from hearing Senior Pastor recite all 176 verses from this longest Psalm! But let's take up the challenge of memorising Scripture.

Psalm 16:8 says, "I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. "

How can we set the Lord always before us?

Memorising scriptures help us keep God's Word with us all the time. We are thus able to meditate on it day and night, with or without the Bible at hand with us (Joshua 1:8). This is the key to successful Christian living.

Let's revive the interest in scripture memory. It is an indispensable discipline in spiritual formation for a young Christian.

After 40 Days

40 days of corporate spiritual discipline, of fasting, prayer and reading the Word of God. No games, no TV, these were but samples of the "toys" that frequently threaten to eat up our time.

We gave God total freedom in the one hour set aside each day for Him, shutting out every other competing agenda. This was so that we would begin to develop a taste and appreciation of the fundamental building blocks of Christian life.

So what's next after 40 days? What will our schedules look like after the "corporate campaign"?

Our hour of devotion time is just what we set aside as non-negotiable - we will give it to God, no exceptions. Yet it is important to open our calendar and ask God, "Holy Spirit, tell me what I should do with the other 23 hours?"

The truth of the matter is, ALL of our lives belong to God - every second of it. We do not segment our lives into blocks of which belong to God, and which belong to us. We learn to ask God what we need to do for every second we breathe.

Sleep? Play games? Sure! Let's do it with freedom as we seek God's agenda. We should not live life in a legalistic manner.

Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

As we prepare for the new week ahead, let's open up our calendar and go to God in prayer first to organise our days for us.

Hot For Jesus

On last night of Sanctification Week, Senior Pastor brought a sobering message to the church.

"How does God see FCBC?" ; "How does God see you?"- were you taken by surprise to be likened to the church at Laodicea, one of the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation?

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth....." (Rev 3:15, 16)

Ouch! Did we miss the good news first before the bad news? Without first a word of commendation to soften the blow, these words were strong and harsh, whichever version of the Bible we read from.

But wait a minute, here's something from the heart of a loving Father ...and it's not said for any of the other churches...

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
(Rev 3:19, 20)

Sanctification week may be over but let us continue to press on with the Lord's sanctifying work in our lives. Let us pray that the fires of revival will continue to sweep through our church and turn every lukewarm spirit HOT FOR JESUS!