God can use anything we allow Him

God can use anything we allow Him.
Commit to Him our businesses, our careers, our professionals tools

Forgiveness is for our benefits as well

Forgiveness, the Way to Freedom
- by Henri Nouwen

To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, "I no longer hold your offense against you" But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the "offended one."

As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.

***********
In another devotional article:

Forgiving Ourselves
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2
by Os HillmanWednesday, January 28 2009

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

The murderer was condemned to life in prison. Then one day something amazing happened. The guard came and opened the jail cell. "You are free to go. Someone else is taking your place," said the guard. "How can this be? I am still guilty!" said the prisoner. "Your debt has been paid. You are free to leave," said the guard once more. The prisoner decided not to leave. "I cannot allow another to pay my debt," said the prisoner. Because of his pride he chose to remain in bondage.

Imagine the guilt Peter must have felt when he betrayed the Son of God three times by saying he never knew him. Imagine what he must have felt the moment he reunited with Him after the resurrection.

The hardest person to forgive sometimes is ourselves. It is especially hard for high achievers to forgive themselves. We think we are above such failure. However, the Bible says we all sin and it is impossible to remedy that sin by ourselves.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives?" (1 John 1:8,10). The question is not whether we will sin, the question is what we will do when we do sin.
There is only one thing for us to do. Go to the cross. Jesus paid for that sin by dying on the cross. Picture yourself writing your sin on a white piece of paper, then pinning it to the cross. Now, leave it there. The cross is for sinners. When Jesus looks at you, He no longer sees your sin. He cannot see the sin because He can only see the cross.

When you come to Jesus with your sin, there is nothing more you can do besides confessing and renouncing your sin. Sometimes it may require restitution with others. However, once you confess your sin and ask forgiveness, it is no longer on the ledger of debts.

Why not choose to walk free. The cell has been opened.

*************

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 6)

The problem with idolatry is that it involves producing a substitute for the true God. Although we don’t make idols of stone and wood anymore, we are all too prone to take the biblical revelation of God, look at those attributes of God that we find distasteful, such as His sovereignty, holiness, justice, and wrath, and toss them aside. We then construct a god who is all love, grace, and mercy. In other words, we create a god who is not God. That god is an idol. But the only God we are to worship is the God who reveals Himself in sacred Scripture, and true worship focuses on the whole counsel of God, not on isolated aspects of God with which we are comfortable.

- Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow

We need to see God as He is.
As mentioned by Dr. R.C. Sproul, we enjoy focussing on attributes of God that we like.
That's why it is so important that we need the Word of God.
The Word of God to tells us who the Author is.

In fact, according to a Barna study, by a three-to-one margin (71% to 26%), Americans are more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than accept a comprehensive set of beliefs taught by a church or denomination. George Barna observed a growing number of people are serving as their own "theologian-in-residence," resulting in Americans embracing an "unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs." Leading the pack are those under age 25—82% of them have developed their own blend of beliefs rather than adopting a set offered by a church. Although born-again Christians are the least likely to adopt an "a la carte" approach, 61% say they have mixed their set of beliefs.

(Church Intelligence Report, 28 January 2009)

In another part of the same chapter of the book Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow, Dr. R. C. Sproul outlined several practical steps to help us as we approach the Holy God in worship:

1. Prepare our hearts
We need to prepare our hearts - and that is to physically quieten down, reminding ourselves that we are approaching a Holy and just God.

Although Hebrews 4:16 reminds us that we may come boldly before the throne of God, as Dr. R.C. Sproul reminds us, this must be balanced by the fact that we are approaching a Holy God.

The incident of the sudden death of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, as recorded in Leviticus 10:1-3 serves as a grim reminder to us that as we approach the Holy God, we need to approach Him on His terms, not our terms.

Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent. (Lev 10:1-3 NIV)

In the very first place, we need to remind ourselves that by our own efforts, we can never approach the Holy God. The veil that separated the Holiest of Holy from the Holy Place was never torn because of our own self righteousness but through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

So, friends, we can now--without hesitation--walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body. So let's do it--full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. (Heb 10:19-22 MSG)

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb 10:19-22 NIV)

To quote Max Lucado:
"Christ lived the life we could not live and took the punishment we could not take to offer hope we cannot resist."

Dr. R.C. Sproul also reminds us that there is a difference between coming boldly into the presence of God and coming arrogantly.

2. We need to encourage each other to come together in worship.
Again the advice given here is a very important.
We need to remind ourselves at times when we don't feel like coming to church to worship that being able to come to church is a privilege. It is a privilege to have an audience with any earthly kings of the nations, how much more it is a privilege for us to be able to come and approach the King of kings.

That's why we need the encouragement and exhortation of fellow believers.
The Christian life is never meant to be lived alone.

Hebrews 10:25 talks about that:
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb 10:25 NIV)

Note: The image above is taken from www.heartlight.org

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 5)

Many years ago, I heard a sermon in which the minister gave a detailed description of starving people around the world. When he reached the crescendo point of his sermon, he leaned over the pulpit and said, “Now you people have to do something about this.” I remember walking out of the room feeling guilty but also feeling a bit befuddled because I didn’t know what to do. So many times that’s what we ministers do to people.

We tell them, “You ought to do this or that.” We lay guilt trips on them, but we never show them how to do what we are exhorting them to do.

- Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow

If we are not careful, we can do likewise. Laying guilt trips on people.
Instead of leading the way to the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we may drown them to the bondage of condemnation.


Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets.
(2Co 7:10 MSG)

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 4)

".....marriage involves mutual delight in each other and an ongoing persistent state of affection. Two people who have an ardent, passionate affection for each other take delight in being with each other and in each other’s presence.

We didn’t write those (love) letters because we had to. We wrote those letters because we wanted to. I wanted to express to her my affection for her and my desire to be close to her, and she wrote to me for the same reasons. Our letters weren’t newsletters, they were love letters. That’s what prayer is. It’s a communication of love from the bride to the Bridegroom."

(Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

This passage challenges me in my prayer life.
We must enjoy praying.
Praying must never be seen as a chore. It should be a delight.

Few helpful model prayers that help us focused when praying.
One of them is the Lord's Prayer. This is also mentioned in this book by Dr. R.C. Sproul.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. for ever and ever. Amen

In this Lord's Prayer model, it begins by seeing who God is - our Father, yet a Holy Almighty God who is in control of all circumstances. Instead of beginning praying by focusing inwardly on ourselves, we begin by focusing on who our heavenly Father is. As Dr. R.C. Sproul rightly said:

"So we need to begin our prayers by bowing in reverence before our God, acknowledging Him as our loving and holy heavenly Father. And just as the Lord’s Prayer emphasizes the kingdom of God and His glory, so should our prayers. This means praying beyond our own circumstances and needs—seeing the bigger picture and praying for God’s work in the rest of the world."

(Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

The other model mentioned in the book is ACTS model.
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 3)

"This union with Christ, in turn, is the foundation for all of Christian unity. If I am in Christ and you are in Christ, then we are both, right now, spiritually united in Him. We may be at odds with each other as Christians; we may disagree in our theology. Nevertheless, we enjoy a transcendent unity by virtue of our spiritual union with Christ"

(Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

Sometimes we may argue among ourselves, exerting our own opinions, our ego, our pride so much so that it causes strains to the unity of the body of Christ. Is that worth it?

The Divine Interruptions

Sometimes God disrupt our activities. Man-made programs lined up for the day.
He disrupt them in order to reveal his glory.
He manifests His Glory in our weaknesses, not in our human strength.

A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Pro 16:9 NKJV)

But often times, we dislike these kinds of disruptions.
We went to a meeting, and someone started bringing up some less related issues. But, in essence, it brings out the and glory and praises of God. Shouldn't we let it continue on?
How about disruptions in the programs of our lives?



One day children were brought to Jesus in the hope that he would lay hands on them and pray over them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus intervened: "Let the children alone, don't prevent them from coming to me. God's kingdom is made up of people like these." (Mat 19:13-14 MSG)

The little children in this case are little disruptions. Little children shouldn't be here. That was an adult meeting. No place for children. But not so with Jesus! Jesus wanted this children to come to Him with the simplicity of faith.

Similarly when the sinful woman tried to break the alabaster flask of oil and wash and anoint Jesus' feet, the disciples interrupted. We have protocols. We have our own sets of rules and regulations. We have our own standard-operating-procedures (SOP). But Jesus disrupted all these. Furthermore, for a woman of her societal stature to come forward in a front of a group of men and did what she had done, it was really something done out of the ordinary. Out of the culture.

Furthermore, the aromatic nard oil is extracted from an Indian or Arabian root, and the sale of such costly oil would have yielded more than 300 days' wages of a laborer. An extravagant act of worship.

Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.

And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."

And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."
So he said, "Teacher, say it." "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged." Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."

Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
(Luk 7:36-50 NKJV)

But Jesus allowed it. Divine surprises. A manifested G0d's glory. Out of the box. Unexpected.
The human protocols been broken.

Did you put God in a box?
Watch the following sermon by Max Lucado titled "Jesus" Bigger Than Your Box"


Jesus, Bigger Than Your Box - Max Lucado from UpWords Ministries on Vimeo.

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 2)

"As helpful as these study aids (e.g. study bibles, commentaries, etc) can be, it is important to remember the purpose behind our study. We must read the Bible existentially; that is, we must become involved in Bible Study what we’re reading. We must not just sit back as spectators, learning facts while remaining untouched and unmoved by the text of Scripture. We must ask ourselves what the Word is saying to us as we read. Only by considering this question will be come to the completeness Paul longed to see in Timothy."

(Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

Sometimes if we are not careful, we can treat bible studies and bible readings as a form of academic exercise. We may have a lot of head knowledge, but little heart conversion.

This passage from the book Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow, forces me to ask myself - is my heart challenged, convicted, healed from my reading of the Word of God?

Worse is when we are treating daily Bible reading and the so-called "Quiet Time" as a form of chore or routine that we must do as Christians.

My Reflections on Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul (Part 1)

Starting today, I wish to blog regularly on what I have learned from this simple, practical book by Dr. R.C. Sproul. I will do it by quoting excerpts from that book that God uses to speak to me and I will pen my own reflections on how these paragraphs from the book speak to me.

"If I don’t like something I read in Scripture, perhaps I simply don’t understand it. If so, studying it again may help. If, in fact, I do understand the passage and still don’t like it, this is not an indication there is something wrong with the Bible. It’s an indication that something is wrong with me, something that needs to change. Often, before we can get something right, we need to first discover what we’re doing wrong."

(Five Things Every Christian Needs To Grow by Dr. R.C. Sproul)

I don't know about you, but I have experienced times when I feel uncomfortable over what I have read in the Bible. And sometimes, I tend to skip those parts I don't like. And, sometimes, I would want to rationalize things, interpreting them the way I want to see it. How wrong! Just like a fresh wound that needs healing, it will the painful when we do the daily dressings with the antiseptic solution like povidone iodine, hibitane, etc. But that's exactly what is needed during the healing process in order to keep the minimize the risk of wound infections. The pain is temporal compared to the joy of eternal communion.

Do I trust Him?

The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
(Mat 4:3 NIV)


Jesus indeed IS the Son of God.
But why should He show His power to the devil?
Why should He take order from Satan?
He could have done so. But He chose not.
He took order from the Father alone.

It is not just about fulfilling the hunger and the need.
It is about TRUST.

Do I trust my heavenly Father?
Do I trust Him to do what HE WANTS me to do?
Do I trust Him NOT to do what HE DOES NOT want me to do?
Do I trust Him to give me the strength to do what He wants me to do?
Do I trust Him to give me the strength to resist doing what He does not want me to do?
Do I trust Him to provide for me without cutting corners when He places me in this work? If I trust Him, I do not need to compare myself with others.


"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. (1Co 6:12 NIV)

"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. (1Co 10:23 NIV)

When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." (Joh 21:21-22 NIV)

The Basin and the Towel

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. (Joh 13:3-4 NIV)


One of the very very important character a christian leader need to have but take a life time to learn: is to be secured in Father God's love.

The picture that came to me was the basin and the towel.

Jesus was not ashamed to wash his disciples' feet. He was not afraid of what other people will think when He got up and took up the lowliest servant's job.

If we are secured, we need not seek the recognition and acceptance of others.
If we are secured, we need not worry if our works and efforts are well recognized by others.
If we are secured, we are not afraid of what people will think of us as long as we know how the loving Father thinks of us.
If we are secured, we are not afraid to be the second fiddler. Remember John the Baptist's statement "He (Jesus) must increase, I must decrease" (John 3:30)?
If we are secured, we will not always be thinking whether we have done a good enough job in front of the public's eyes.

The Basin And The Towel

by Michael Card


In an upstairs room, a parable
is just about to come alive.
And while they bicker about who's best,
with a painful glance, He'll silently rise.

Their Savior Servant must show them how
through the will of the water
and the tenderness of the towel.

Chorus:
And the call is to community,
The impoverished power that sets the soul free.
In humility, to take the vow,
that day after day we must take up the basin and the towel.

In any ordinary place,
on any ordinary day,
the parable can live again
when one will kneel and one will yield.

Our Saviour Servant must show us how
through the will of the water
and the tenderness of the towel.

bridge:
And the space between ourselves sometimes
is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the Servant's bow
we take up the basin and the towel.

Becoming the U-niquely You

Often times, our self-worth is based on what other people tell us about ourselves.

We allow other people to dictate who we are. We allow others to tell us who we are. And often times, people around us fail us - even those we love, those we trust, those closest to us.

The one, true authority on our self-worth is Jesus Christ, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are.

The Bible tells us that God gave us worth when He purchased us to be His own people (Ephesians 1: 14). Because of this, only He is worthy of honor and praise. When we have healthy self-esteem, we will value ourselves enough not to become involved in enslaving sin. Instead, we should conduct ourselves with humility, thinking of others as better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Romans 12:3 warns, “Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.”


As Henri Nouwen once said: "Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.

We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!"

Moving On

One of the things about the Christian life is that we need to move on. Yes, we have been disappointed. Yes, we have sinned. Yes, we have failed. Yes, we have been hurt.
But we need to move on.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
(Php 3:13-14 NIV)


Stepping over Our Wounds - by Henri Nouwen

Sometimes we have to "step over" our anger, our jealousy, or our feelings of rejection and move on. The temptation is to get stuck in our negative emotions, poking around in them as if we belong there. Then we become the "offended one," "the forgotten one," or the "discarded one." Yes, we can get attached to these negative identities and even take morbid pleasure in them. It might be good to have a look at these dark feelings and explore where they come from, but there comes a moment to step over them, leave them behind and travel on.

Making Sense of Our Suffering

We often question or even blame God when things go wrong.
But we rarely give thanks for the good things He has blessed us with.
We rarely give thanks for the majority of the days when He has protected us.


Often we are the one who do not have the whole picture.
We don't see things as He does.
Actually the painful experiences we are experiencing are nothing compare to the sufferings endured by our Savior King.
What we are experiencing are more minor inconveniences.


Flash animation is from the website: www.donghaeng.net

Solitude

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mar 1:35 NIV)

Jesus often withdrew himself in isolation.

He withdrew himself:
1. To have intimate moments with His heavenly Father
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mar 1:35 NIV)

2. To deal with the pain He experienced
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. (Mat 14:13 NIV)

3. To start off His day before facing the crowd
At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.
(Luk 4:42 NIV)

Solitude frees us from the need to please anyone.
Solitude helps us to realign our priorities. God, family, friends, etc.
Nothingness.
When we are stripped of all the external attractions and distractions, the pulls and pushes, we realize the one truly important person to please is God.
We need not earn the approval of others.
We already have the approval of God.

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.
(Jer 31:3 NIV)


Sometimes, pleasing others is the very thing that leave us dry and in desperate need of a Savior's touch. We get wearied. We get tired earning our approval of others - our loved ones (our parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc), our bosses, our friends.
Pleasing others is the very reason we need solitude.
We need to get into a time of solitude to realize that we do not need the approval of anyone for us to carry on our journey.
Solitude allows us a time to STOP and PAUSE - why we do the things we do.

Like Matt Redman's song, When The Music Fades

When the music fades
All is stripped away

And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart......

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus

As J.P. Moreland said,

"It keeps us from having an inflated view of our importance, it surfaces anxiety, fear, and worry along with our controlling strategies to keep from facing them, and it opens our heart to hear from our real, authentic selves and God."

It is hard for many of us, myself included, to do nothing. Nothing besides us except the watchful presence of the Loving Father.

J.P. Moreland further suggested an evening stroll, or a leisure drive in the slow lane while caught up in the traffic as means we can use to spend our solitude. In those moments, we can focus on Him and Him alone.

Photo in this blog is from this website.