UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Where have we Christians come up with this idea that we are required to be right and good and perfect before we can be loved? If this is true, then God does not love His children unconditionally. The Bible tells us that nothing can separate us from His love. Not 'badness', imperfections, weaknesses or sin. When we are not unconditionally loved, we will work to be good and right in order to be loved. This is legalistic Christianity. We will hide the parts of ourselves that are sinful and bad and work harder each day to become 'Christian'. Ephesians 1 tells us that we are righteous before Him in love. Before God the Father, we stand in Christ as someone who is righteous and holy. We work so hard to become what we already are- to gain what we already possess.

STRESS

Stress grows from our vain attempt to control and direct our own future according to the imaginations of our minds. It comes from believing that we know the way that we should go. We don't- unless we want to go the way of the world. Jesus alone is the Way. We need to surrender our lives daily to the Lord so that His Way takes over from ours. God's way is a way of life and peace. Great peace have they who love His way.

YOUR PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE

What is the focus of our lives? It must be for the glory of God.

1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Selwyn Hughes wrote, "If we do not know what it means to sacrifice self-interest in our lives day by day, then in reality we are not living for God's glory. We must therefore ask ourselves: Wohose concerns dictate what I am doing and the way I am living- mine or God's?

Dr. Larry Crabb in 'Finding God', wrote that we have been reducing God to someone useful- a power to make our lives more personally satisfying. In every Christian's heart there is a desire to know God but all too often it is not so that we might bring Him glory but so that we might gain some benefits for ourselves.

JOY

We must daily enter into the joy of the Lord.

We tend to equate “happiness” with joy but they are two totally different ideas because they each spring from a different source. One comes from the world around me. The other originates directly from the Spirit of the Living God.

Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”

We often seek happiness away from circumstances that are not favorable. We cry, 'If only we were somewhere else.' God wants us to DAILY enter into His joy despite the rough situations and the valleys that each of us find ourselves.

Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Matthew Henry, a Bible scholar from the 1700’s wrote in his diary after some thieves robbed him and took his wallet: “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my wallet, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because, it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”The only way to have an attitude like this is to release our problems to the Lord. Because He’s in charge we can have joy – no matter what happens. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 7:4: “…in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.” James 1:2 challenges us to “consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds.”

Joy comes from within and is not dampened by what happened without.

OPEN DOORS AND ADVERSARIES

I visited our Ampang Outreach two Sundays ago and this article in their bulletin spoke to me. I hope it will bless you as well. Here is an adaptation of it:

"For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." 1 Corinthians 16:9

Open doors of service may also let in adversaries. Paul had many of both. Paul chose to remain longer in Ephesus because of the open doors of ministry. Paul was not going to leave regardless of how many enemies he faced. We might assume that he would reach the opposite conclusion (because of the adversaries). In light of the opposition he faced, he could have concluded that it was best to serve in less hostile regions. Instead, Paul based his decisions on God's activity rather than on what people were doing.

As you respond to God's invitations, don't be caught by surprise when adversaries try to thwart what you are doing. If you concentrate on your opponents, you will be sidetracked from God's activity. Don't base your decisions on what people are doing. They cannot prevent you from carrying out God's will (Rom 8:31). Many times the most rewarding spiritual work is done in the crucible of persecution and opposition. While Paul was in Ephesus, a riot broke out in reaction to his ministry. The city theater resounded with an angry mob who shouted for two hours in support of their god, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:23-41). Despite this fierce rejection of the gospel, Ephesus became one of the chief cities from which the gospel spread throughout Asia.

It takes spiritual discernment to see beyond human activity to God's will. As you seek places of service, look beyond what people are saying to find what God is doing.

TOTALLY YOURS

I have started this blog as a journal for my reflections from the my daily morning devotions with the Lord. The Lord willing, I am hoping that these reflections will be of encouragement to my beloved church folks at New Life Restoration Centre in Malaysia. The title of this blog 'Totus Tuus' is Latin and it means, 'Totally Yours'. I hope that gives you glimpse of the sincerity of my heart.

The subject of my first reflection is on the reasons why so many Christians backslide and fail in their commitment to the Lord. Selwyn Hughes (CWR) is right when he said, "Initially when we enter into a relationship with God, everything is so new and unfamiliar that we lean upon the Lord in great dependence." God's blessings soon remove our daily reliance upon the Lord to our confidence in what we ourselves can do to make things happen. This is precisely what happened to the Laodicean Church in Revelation 3. They became lukewarm because they have become dependent on their riches. Deuteronomy 8 gives us the answer- that we must remember that it is the Lord who gives us power to get wealth and thatwe must continue to worship and follow Him and Him alone. We must be 'Totally His'.