God’s Words For Your Decision Making

1. Tough Decision

What should you do when you have to make a tough decision in your life. What if you are asked to make a decision regarding a surgical  operation for your medical condition. You hear from the doctors that there are risks involved. They tell you the percentages of the risk and although mathematically, you hear that the risk is 10%, somehow the risk of 10% seems worse than the 90% success rate. It also doesn’t help that you get all kinds of well intentioned advice – take this herb, try this alternative treatment, go to this faith healer, take this type of food etc. You become confused as to which advice to take.

2. Let the light of God’s Word shine on your situation

By now, many thoughts would have come into your mind – some helpful, some not so helpful. At times, you may even sense darkness all around you. When darkness surrounds us, we need to let in the light of God’s Word. We don’t resist the darkness by fighting the dark thoughts. The best way to fight the darkness is to let in the light. That will help us see what God wants us to see rather than be burdened by the dark thoughts within us. I will share with you what God’s Word says about decision making.

3. God is with you in the thick darkness surrounding your decision making

God’s Word reminds you in Exodus 20:21 that God is in your thick darkness. He is always with you. You are not alone. As you go through your decision making, you can claim Jesus’ assurance that the Holy Spirit lives within you and will never leave you. The Holy Spirit “will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13). Jesus assures you, “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me…the Holy Spirit … will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:1; 25-27).

4. No such thing as a bad decision in the Kingdom Of God

In the Kingdom of God, there is no bad decision. When you put God in the centre of your decision making, you can’t go wrong. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” God promises that He will guide you as you decide. Therefore, “commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for His own ends.” (Proverbs 16:3-4). You live a guided life as you are God’s special child. He loves you beyond your wildest imagination. You are God’s beloved child in whom He is well pleased because you chose to believe in your elder brother Jesus. When it comes to decision making, your Heavenly Father “works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

5. God’s grace is sufficient for you one day at a  time

When troubled thoughts come into your mind as you think about your situation, don’t resist the thoughts – replace them with God’s Word which I have quoted to you. When you get weary, remember that God is strongest when you are weakest because God’s “grace is sufficient for you for (His) power is made perfect in (your) weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9). Remember also that when you are weak, then you are strong. (2 Corinthians 12:10)

God wants you to trust Him daily- it’s His daily bread which is sufficient for your needs (Exodus 16). Jesus wants you to rest in Him. He tells you to go to Him when you are weary and burdened. He promised that you would find rest for your soul. This picture of rest is found in Matthew 11:28-30. It is a picture of a young inexperienced ox being yoked to a mature and much stronger ox. The young ox will learn from the mature ox which direction to take when ploughing. When the young ox encounters an obstacle in its path and has no strength to plough through the difficulty, he borrows the strength of the mature ox to see him through the difficulty. You are that young ox and Jesus is the mature ox whom you are yoked to. You live on borrowed strength from Jesus. That’s how you can rest in Him and trust Him to direct you in difficult paths. You trust in Jesus one day at a time. Therefore, don’t let tomorrow’s worries steal today’s joy (Matthew 6:34).

6. You are a Victor in God’s eyes

In my previous blog, I said that you are a Victor in God’s eyes. You are “the crowned one”. You are crowned by God and He considers you a winner. You are a Victor and not a victim of your circumstances. With God’s help, you rise above your circumstances. You don’t need to be better than others. You only need to be better than yourself. You trust God for today. And you will be better today than you were yesterday. You trust God one day at a time and you will be better tomorrow than you are today.

7. Faithfulness

In God’s eyes, the crown is awarded not to those who cross the finishing line first. The crown is awarded to those who cross the finishing line. It is awarded to the faithful. Keep on trusting God daily. Your God is faithful and He will never let you down. His Holy Spirit gives you His strength and walks beside you in your journey of faith (John 14:16). You never walk alone and the Holy Spirit crosses the finishing line with you

8. Total Surrender

Finally,  know what total surrender to God is. Like your elder brother Jesus said to your Heavenly Father, you too can pray, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will… My Father , if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Matthew 26:39,42). You let God have His way and let God have His say in your life. Keep on meditating on these Words from Scriptures and they will bring light into your decision making.

What is The Meaning Of Christmas To Me? (B)

I said in my previous blog that for Jesus to be born, God has to find a woman who is willing to give up what she wants and do what God wants. This brings us to Part 2 of the Christmas story.

(I) What did Mary give up?

Part 2 of the Christmas story takes place in Israel; in a little town called Nazareth. Please read Part 2 of the Christmas story from Luke 1: 26-38. In Part 2 of the Christmas story, God found in Mary a suitable person whom He can use because she was willing to say the three words, “ I give up” :-

(a) She gave up trying to understand how God is going to work but she trusted that God can do what He said He would do – “For nothing is impossible with God” (v37)

(b) She gave up the right to control her life and said she would serve the Lord – “ I am the Lord’s servant” (v 36) – she was not afraid of what people would think or say about her being an unwed mother; of what people would do to her like stoning her to death, or the likelihood of being divorced by Joseph, her husband-to -be.

(c) She gave up her will to God and trusted in God to direct all that would happen after she surrendered her life to God – “ May it be to me as you have said.” (v38)

(II) The cure for sin became available

Part 2 of the Christmas story began well. Mary was not like Adam and Eve in Part 1. Mary was willing to let God have His say and let God have His way. Jesus was born through her and grew up loving God and men. Jesus taught how we could live according to God’s plan for us. But the spiritual disease called sin caused the people of His time to crucify Jesus on the cross.

As Jesus hung on the cross, the cure for sin became available for us. When Jesus hung on the cross, He absorbed all our sins past , present and future. Our sins entered Jesus’ body for the first time and separated Him from God. That’s why He cried out, “ My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). As God placed all our sins onto Jesus, He burned our sins in Jesus’ body. That’s why when Jesus was on the cross He said, “ I am thirsty.” (John 19:28). Then when all the sins we can ever commit – past, present and future are all fully absorbed and burned up in Jesus’ body, He cried out, “ It is finished.” (John 19:30)

That day on a hill, Jesus died and our sins died with Him. Sin killed Jesus and Jesus killed sin. Now you and I are freed from our sins because after Jesus died, God raised Him from the dead and gave Him new life. If you believe in Jesus, you also will have a new life . The cure for sin has been found. Believe in Jesus and you will be saved.

(III) Who is involved in Part 3 of the Christmas story?

Now we come to Part 3 of the Christmas story. In Part 1, the Christmas story took place in the Garden of Eden. In Part 2, the story took place in a little town called Nazareth in Israel. Do you know where Part 3 of the Christmas story takes place? Part 3 takes place in your heart.

In Part 1, God planned to give up His Son Jesus to die for you so that you may live. In Part 2, Mary chose to give up her will to follow God’s will so that God can work out his will through her. In Part 3 , you are the actor of the story. You are the one who will decide what Part 3 is like. Will you follow Mary’s example of total surrender to God? For this Christmas, will you be willing to say the 3 words,“ I give up”. Will you choose like Mary? Will you :-

- give up trying to understand how God is going to work in your life and trust that God can do what He said He would do?

- give up the right to control your life and say to God – “ I am your servant”?

- give up your will to God and trust in God to direct all that will happen after you surrender your life to God?

Part 1 and Part 2 of the Christmas story had been fulfilled. In Part 1 , God did His Part. In Part 2 , Mary did her part. But in Part 3, you have to do your part.

(IV) What will you say to God?

It would be helpful now for you to pray to God. He is waiting for you to ask yourself, “What can I give up for God? Is there a bad habit I need God’s help to give up? Are there hurts in my relationships, I need God’s help to give up? Are there doubts about God that I want to give up?” What is there in your life you want to give up to God? Tell Him now and then give them all to Him.

What I have shared so far are for those who believe in Jesus Christ. If you do not know Jesus as Savior, I want to give you this opportunity to let Him come into your life. Just repeat this prayer in your heart after me, “God , I am sorry for my sins. I lived according to my way and my life has been messy. I want to be in control my life but I know I can’t. I want to give up control of my life to you and invite Jesus to come into my life right now. Jesus, thank you for dying on my behalf on the cross so that I can live a new life with the help of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for forgiving my sins. Thank you that from now on, I will never be alone because you are always with me. Amen.”

(V) Surrender your life to God

I have said earlier that the Christmas story comes in 3 parts. Parts 1 and 2 had been written. It is up to you now to write Part 3. Part 3 is about surrendering your life to God. You can surrender your life to God any time. This Christmas is as good as any time to say to God, “ God, I give up, please take over.” Remember I said that Part 3 of the Christmas story takes place in your heart.

I would like to end my blog with the lyrics of a song which goes like this:-

“Christmas isn’t Christmas till it happens in your heart;
Somewhere deep inside you is where Christmas really starts.
So give your heart to Jesus, you’ll discover when you do;
That is Christmas, really Christmas for you.”

This song reminds us that Christmas starts in our hearts. God is waiting for you to surrender your life to Him – not just this Christmas but everyday of your life. Will you do it?

What Is The Meaning Of Christmas To Me? (A)

(I) Three Words

When the kids were young, my wife would play mental games with us. She would give us a quiz – “I have a car that’s twice as long as yours, twice as fast as yours, twice as light as yours. When we both drive to KL, I will always arrive later than you. Why is that so?” The children will always try to give their answers. But I will always answer, “I give up!” That’s my standard reply to any quiz.

One day, my kid came up to me and said, “Dad, let’s play a game. If my army comes against your army, my army will surely beat yours. Why is that so?” I gave my standard reply, “I give up!” My kid said, “There you are. I won!! You said “I give up!”

As I reflected on what Christmas means to me, I think of these 3 words, “I give up.” For me, these three words “I give up” are the words God wants me to say to Him this Christmas. But first, let’s begin with the Christmas story.

(II) The Christmas story comes in 3 Parts:-

(A) Origin Of Pain

Part 1  takes place in the Garden of Eden.In Genesis 2-3, we read that God created the first man and woman whom we call Adam and Eve. When God created them, He said to them, “I made all kinds of trees that are pleasing to the eye and good for food. You will never starve. You will always have more than enough. I have given you everything you will ever need. But I only ask you to give up one thing – don’t eat from one tree which is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Why did God do that to Adam and Eve? Because He created them and knows what is best for them. God knew that if they don’t listen to Him and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they and those who are born after them, (that’s us) will have a lot of pain in their lives. The pain will drive them away from God and away from each other.

Life will become hard. Relationship with God will be broken and relationship with each other will also be broken. God wants Adam and Eve and all of us to learn to say, “God, I trust you. I trust what you say. If you say, don’t eat, I won’t eat. I give up this tree but will eat from all the other trees. Why? Because that is what God says. I will let God have His say. I will let God have His way.”

(B) Sin is a spiritual disease

But Adam and Eve didn’t listen to God and sin came into them. What is sin? Sin is a spiritual disease. A disease is a dis- ease; you don’t feel at ease when you have a disease. A disease bothers you and affects your daily living. You can’t see the disease but you can feel the effects of the disease. In the same way, Adam and Eve can’t see the spiritual disease of sin but they can see the effects of sin in their lives. Their relationship with God got broken and their relationship with each other got broken. They were afraid of God so they don’t want to be near God. They were ashamed of themselves. So they hid from God and from each other.

What happened to them also happened to us. We inherited their spiritual disease called sin. Sin was transmitted from them to us. Therefore today, we prefer to hide from God and from each other. We don’t want to go near to God. We don’t want people to know who we really are. We hide because we are afraid that if people know who we are, they won’t like us.

(C) A cure is needed

Part 1  of the Christmas story showed us that because sin entered us, we needed a cure for this disease. Part 1 may start off bad but it ends on a hopeful note. God is not going to give up on us. God will find a way to cure the disease called sin. What is that cure for sin? The cure comes at a very high price. God has to give up the most important person in His life; His most precious Son called Jesus. The only way to cure sin is to send Jesus to earth and let Him be like one of us. Let Him come as a baby and grow up in a sinful world. Let Him feel the pain which we feel so that He can free us from the sin that causes so much pain. Let the sin in men kill Jesus. Then let the death of Jesus kill sin.

First of all, how can Jesus be born? For Jesus to be born, God has to find a woman who is willing to give up what she wants and do what God wants. This brings us to Part 2 of the Christmas story which will be told in my next blog.

Because He Stumbled

1. Bring God into your problems

When you are facing difficulties in your life, you tend to be more preoccupied with your problems and leave God out of your situation. Your challenges are real and they are visible. But God is invisible and it’s so easy to leave Him out. The irony is that it is God who can solve your problems. Yet the one who can solve your problem is the one being left out while you try to solve the problem yourself.

2. Focus on God, not your problems

God has always been there for you but sometimes your challenges are so real in your mind that you take your focus off Him. Remember Peter walking on water in the midst of the storm ? (Matthew 14:22-32)  He was doing fine as he focused on Jesus. The minute he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the storm around him, he lost heart and sank. But Jesus was always there with him. His one cry to Jesus was all it took to bring the power of heaven to bear on his situation.

3. Weakness turned into strength

Peter made many mistakes when he was following  Jesus. Yet he grew to become a strong and dependable leader of the early church. How did bumbling Peter become Peter the rock? Because he stumbled. The Bible says, ” We all stumble” (James 3:2). Our weaknesses become occasions for God’s grace to infuse us with resurrection strength – that’s why Paul can declare, “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

4. Keep talking to God

When you focus on God and saturate your mind with His truths as found in the Bible, you will see His perspective of your situation. Don’t just stop there. Bring Him into your problem by asking Him to intervene.

Talk to Him in your heart all the time about what you are facing. If you are about to take steps to resolve your problem,say to God, ” Father, help me as I deal with this issue”. That is the sort of cry that brings God’s full resources into your task. On other occasions when the pressure is off, just say ” Father, thank you for these moments of peace.” As for the person who is causing you the problem, tell God, “Father, help me to love this difficult person. Hurting people hurt people. Please heal what is hurting this person and bless him/her”. Keep talking to God (1 Thess. 5:17) and you will sense His presence more and more.

5. Setbacks can be stepping stones

God allows you to make mistakes. Therefore, use the mistakes to grow in the Lord. As you overcome one problem, another may arise. Your stresses will come back in different forms as you grow in the Lord. But with God on your side, you can only go forward even if it seems you are not progressing. Your setbacks are God’s stepping-stones for spiritual growth.

6. Get up and start again

Focus on His Words. Replace your doubts with Biblical truths. Stay close to your heavenly Father who loves you more than you can ever imagine. He will never fail you or forsake you. His one advice to you whenever you fall – get up and start again (Jeremiah 8:4). Will you get up and move on with God’s help?

Free To Choose But Choose To Be Free

1. Exercise your choice wisely

A Christian once asked me a pertinent question, ” Did God make a mistake when He created Adam and Eve who then chose wrongly and brought sin into the world?”. I answered that we are created as human beings who can love . If I am to love, I must be able to choose. If I can’t choose, then I am a robot and thus not human. Given this power to choose, I need to exercise it wisely with regard to God, others and myself so that my free choice will not result in bondage to me. As such, let us learn this truth – “You are free to choose, therefore choose to be free”.

 

2. From free choice to no choice

For Adam and Eve, they were created with the power to choose. God made all the trees in the entire world good for food and pleasing to the eye so that they could enjoy the eating process (Genesis 2:9). Out of the countless trees He made, God told Adam and Eve that they were not allowed to eat from one tree only – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore they were not lacking in food or eye pleasing food. Nearby was the tree of life which was also pleasing to the eye and good for food. Yet they chose to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and contaminated the rest of us with sin. By exercising their free choice, they ended up having no choice but to sin .

3. Eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil

Some Christians may feel that if they were Adam and Eve, they would have chosen to eat from the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, I still see many  Christians choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When a Christian continues to dwell on his past hurts and remains bitter towards another person for the wrong they did, such Christians are eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – they continue to be intimately involved (know) with such bitter thoughts (evil). They are eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil without even knowing it. They have free choice but they have not chosen to be free by being bound to their past hurts.

 

4. Eating from the tree of life

Instead, they should eat from the tree of life by forgiving those who hurt them (Colossians 3:13). You can’t have life if you hang on to death (bitterness). Jesus has come to give you life and life more abundantly (John 10:10). Don’t be like Adam and Eve. Choose to listen to what God says. Choose to follow God’s way. When you let God have His way and let God have His say, you have chosen to eat from the tree of life. As you do so, you have freedom of choice and you have chosen to be free from your hurtful past.

Which tree do you still want to eat from?

Living With A Tension In My Faith

1.Predestination

There are some issues in our Bible which have verses that appear to contradict one another. Both types of verses are true in themselves. Yet their truths do not seem to agree with each other. Predestination is an example of such an issue.

The word “Predestination” carries the meaning of “determine beforehand,” “ordain,” “to decide upon ahead of time.” So, predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. The most common objection to the doctrine of predestination is that it is unfair. Why would God choose certain individuals and not others? Predestination also implies that when God chooses some people for salvation, they have no choice but to accept Jesus as Saviour. Yet, we are told from Scriptures that people have to choose salvation. Both views found in the Bible seem to contradict each other.

2. A finite being

As a Christian, I can live with this tension because both views are true. I believe that God is sovereign and have free choice. I also believe that we have free choice. Both statements are true and can be backed up by Biblical verses and experiences. Since I am a finite being trying to understand an infinite being, I will always have my limitations. It is like a pet dog trying to understand its master. Although the dog knows its master loves him and he also loves his master , it is still an animal and of a different level of life. It can never fully understand all that its master thinks and does.

3. A relationship and not a religion

Similarly, I acknowledge that as a finite being, I will never fully understand an infinite being like my Master God. But I can have a loving relationship with Him in spite of my gaps in understanding. It is not a religion with doctrines which I seek to understand but it is a relationship I have with a God who loves me. Does it mean I don’t seek to understand how God thinks? Of course not. That’s why I study the Bible. But when I study the Bible and find contradictory verses, I can accept them both because my relationship with God is based on His love for me and not on me sorting out with my finite mind things which are infinite (Job 42:3)

4. What is the main doubt?

I will now explain how I deal with an issue like predestination. I begin by first trying to understand the main doubt underlying such a question. The main doubt behind predestination is that God does not give people any choice and has predestined them to His desired outcomes. Having studied the Bible, I don’t agree with this underlying thinking. Instead, I discovered that while God in His grace and sovereignty chooses some to be saved, He never predestined anyone to go to hell. The Bible says that God wants all to be saved (2Peter 3:9). And whoever chooses to believe in Jesus will be saved (Acts 16:31). Even though in His sovereignty God knows who will accept His offer of salvation, people still have the right to choose whether to accept Jesus or not.

5. Can God be moved to change His mind?

Another doubt behind predestination is that since God predestines, He can’t be moved by our prayers. Again, I don’t see this happening in Scriptures. God can be moved by our prayers. In the story from 2 Kings 20:1-11, we read that the Lord told Hezekiah that he would die from an illness ( predestined?). However, Hezekiah prayed to the Lord and appealed for healing. God heard his prayer and granted Hezekiah another 15 years of life.

This story shows that although the Bible says that God is not a man that He would change His mind, yet God would listen to a sincere prayer and be moved to change His mind. It shows that our prayers can move God which also shows that when we choose to be saved, God will hear us and give us salvation. The Bible records that when a person decides to cry out to the Lord for salvation, the answer from God is always “YES”.

6. I don’t need to be satisfied

I have tried to explain my simple understanding of the issue of predestination from a layman’s perspective. Will you be satisfied with my answer? I don’t expect you to be fully satisfied with my answer, or for that matter any other answer. I have read numerous explanations regarding this issue of predestination. They never fully satisfy me but that again does not bother me.

7. Transcend ; not understand

Over the years I have in my relationship with God, I have come to humbly accept that there will be issues I don’t fully understand. After I have tried to reason out the issues and sometimes reached a dead end, I find that when I have faith in the goodness of God in my life (Psalm 119:68), I transcend the dead end of my doubts and rise above them to believe that on this side of eternity there will be no clarity until we see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).

As I gaze into His face, I will finally know that in His love for me, He has fulfilled His destiny for me (predestined) – which is – He chose me before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) even as He knew that I would one day choose Him. This is the tension in my faith which I live by. Such is the mystery of my heavenly Father who knows me and loves me before He made Adam and Eve.

God Guides Through Choices

1. It’s not about me

A Christian was sharing about how he was approached to serve in a Christian organisation. They did not ask him to serve in a front line position which, because of his natural abilities, he would do well in. Instead, they asked him to serve in a backroom position which was also new to him. Through the conversations he had with those who asked him to serve, he sensed that God was guiding him to accept an appointment which he did not expect.

As he prayed to God about the choices he had to make, he realized he was there to serve God and not to serve in a position that he could do well in. He humbly accepted the position which they asked him to serve in. In seeking to serve God in a position which will not bring him into the limelight to be esteemed by people, he was esteemed by none other than God Himself. He later learned from Scriptures that God esteems the person who is humble and takes His word seriously (Isaiah 66:2).

When he was prepared to serve God in whatever position he was placed in, he later found out that the position he humbly agreed to serve in was actually a position of great responsibility as he was accountable to public authorities. In agreeing to serve in a humble position, he ended up serving in an esteemed position. That was how God honoured him in the eyes of the world.

2. No choices can thwart God’s plan for you

From this Christian’s experience, you can see that God can guide you to fulfil His purpose for you through choices that you or others make. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”. This verse means that nobody can make a decision which is outside God’s plan for you. Over the past years, people who made decisions that affected you, for example, your parents, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers, examiners, spouses, the government etc, all operate under God’s sovereign will so that God can fulfill His purpose for your life (Psalm 138:8). In short, no human choices made in the past could ever thwart God’s plan for your life.

Even your own choices which had turned out wrong could not spoil God’s plan for your life. When you have decided wrongly and are prepared to turn back to God to help you, God in His grace will put things right. Proverbs 16:9 says, ” In his heart a man plans his course but the Lord God directs his steps”. Trust God to work out His will in your life even when you have made wrong choices.

Through all the many choices made by you and others , God will use them to shape you into the godly man He wants you to be. God will continue to be faithful to you as you humbly let Him have His way in your life. Trust God one step at a time. In all that you face, God will never leave you or forsake you. He will give you good success. God’s favour continues to rest upon you always.

Grip Tight or Give Up

1.         Depends on the situation

There are things, thoughts in our lives which require us to consider whether we should grip tight to them or give up on them.  What will you choose to grip tight or give up because you believe in God?

(a) Grip tight to God’s truths

That will depend on the situation.  When it comes to our relationships, there will be instances where we need to grip tight to God’s truths.  For example, we are advised in Ephesians 4:31-32 to get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger… every form of malice.  To be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.In this verse, we are told to grip tight to kindness and compassion and trust God for the strength to forgive just as Christ forgives us.

(b) Give up our bitterness

In the same verses, we are told to give up our bitterness.  We are to choose to forgive those who have hurt us.  Forgiveness is not a feeling.  It is a choice.  We choose to forgive even if we don’t feel like it. In forgiving, we let go of our hurts and free ourselves from the bondage of resentment and bitterness . That is God’s advice.

We can’t forgive on our own strength.  It is the Holy Spirit living in us who will give us the strength to forgive.  Without Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

(c) We tend to do the opposite

Although we are to grip tight to God’s truths and give up our bitterness, we tend to do the opposite.  We grip tight to our bitterness and give up on God’s truth.  Our human nature goes against God’s advice.

Ask yourself, “what am I gripping tight?  What am I giving up?

2.         Example from the Bible

(a) Mary of Bethany

When we read Mark 14, we see the things and thoughts which some people had either to grip tight or had to give up.  We see Mary of Bethany who gave up her very expensive alabaster jar of perfume just to anoint Jesus.  She did what she could . Jesus saw her sacrifice and said that “what she has done will be told, in memory of her (verses 3 – 9).  Whatever we give up for Jesus’ sake, will be remembered by Him.

(b) Judas

We also read in verses 10 -11 that Jesus’ disciple, Judas, chose to give up his friendship with Jesus so that he could grip tight to money.  Are we sacrificing our relationships  with those we love just so that we can earn that extra money.  Is that overtime pay worth more than the time spent attending to say , your children’s concert?

(c) Peter

We then read of Peter who gave up his loyalty to Jesus at a critical moment of fear for his own safety.  He gripped on to his survival instinct at the expense of his declared loyalty (verses 66 – 72).  What about our own relationships?  Have we given up on those we care about when the situation isn’t  turning out the way we expect?

(d) Jesus

We see the choice Jesus had to make.  We see that Jesus chose to give up His life because of God’s will.  His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26: 36-46) reminds us how we should always pray.  We start with (i) My Father, if it is possible…. Yet not as I will but as You will.  We end with (ii) My Father, if it is not possible….. May Your will be done.  In our prayers, we tell God how we feel but always end with asking that His will be done.  When we give up our will and grip tight to His will, we will learn to truly live life on earth according to God’s purposes.

Human Decisions & God’s Directions

 

1.         Things are not turning out right

There are times  in our lives when our situations are not turning out the way we expect.  It could be that the company has decided to downsize and you are affected.  It could be that your child is not achieving the grades that he is capable of.  It could be a road accident that leaves you injured. 

All these incidents are the result of human decisions of the company’s management, your child and the driver of the other car that crashed into you.  As Christians, we believe that even though people may choose, it is always God who directs the outcome (Proverbs 19:21).

2.         Their world turned upside down, or is it right side up?

In Acts 18:1-4, we read of what happened to a Jew called Aquila who lived in Italy with his wife Priscilla (verse 2).  They were probably Christians who were converted in Rome by those returning from Pentecost or by others at a later time.  Even as they expected to live a peaceful Christian life in Italy and was settled in their occupation as tentmakers, their world suddenly turned upside down.  Or so it seemed. If we believe that God is directing the events in their lives, we would say that for Aquila and Priscilla, their world turned right side up because God had intervened in their lives.

According to verse 2, they along with all the other Jews were ordered by emperor Claudius to leave Rome.  Forced to leave, they settled in Corinth where some time later, they met Paul who went to Corinth.   Because they were tentmakers and Paul was also a tentmaker, they were able to have Paul stay and work with them.  Later on, both Aquila and Priscilla became notable Christian workers who risked their lives for the work of Christ (Romans 16:3).

3.         God arranges your relationship

God had used a human decision by Claudius to drive Aquila and Priscilla away from Rome so that they could settle in Corinth ahead of Paul.  When Paul then went to Corinth, he already had people who could further assist his ministry.

Our God always goes ahead of us (Deuteronomy 31:8) to prepare the way for us.  He will arrange people who will help us.  Even if the situation seems so uncertain, we can trust that God will never leave us or forsake us.  He always has a plan and will work out His plan by arranging the right people, the right opportunity, the right circumstances which will further work out His plan in our lives.

4.         God places us at the right time and the right place

Like Aquila and Priscilla, we need to trust God to place us at the right time and the right place so that He can further advance our faith and walk with Him.  Acts 17:26-27 says that God determines the times set for us and the exact places where we should live.  He does this so that we would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him as He is not far away from us.

Are you facing an unpleasant situation….?  Remember Aquila’s and Priscilla’s experience of being forced out of their home to settle in another city.  God allowed this unfair human decision to achieve His divine direction.  In your case, you could be placed by God in a situation so that He can do what is good for others and for you.  Trust Him in every situation.  He always works it out for good (Romans 8:28) as He is a good God.

Choices Shape Your Destiny

 

1.         Children of Abraham

As Christians, we trace our spiritual heritage to Abraham.  The Bible calls Christians the children of Abraham.  Although we are not physically the descendents of Abraham, the “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham…..so that those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9). 

The genealogy of Abraham therefore becomes our spiritual genealogy.  Whether you are a Chinese, Indian, Eurasian etc, when you become a Christian, you share in the spiritual genealogy of Abraham as the Bible calls us “the seed of Abraham” because we belong to Christ (Galatians 3:29).

2.         Why are we not the seed of Nahor?

According to Genesis 11:27, Abraham had two other brothers.  They were Nahor and Haran who died in the Land of Ur.  When Abraham’s father set out from their homeland to go to Canaan (which would be the Promised Land), he took with him Abraham; Lot (son of Haran) and Sarah (Abraham’s wife).  Notice that Nahor did not go.  We do not know the reason why Nahor did not go with his father.  But we can conclude that his choice to stay behind in his homeland shaped his destiny.  That is why are not the seed of Nahor but are the seed of Abraham.

3.         We are people of destiny

Our choices shape our destiny.  Abraham left his homeland when he obeyed God’s calling to him, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).  Before Abraham chose to obey God, the Lord first chose to bring Abraham into existence before He created the world (Ephesians 1:4).  Similarly, God also chose us before the creation of the world and predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5).  We did not choose God but He chose us (John 15:16).  Therefore we are all people of destiny.  God chose us before we could choose Him.

4.         What is your most important choice?

If you are a person of destiny and your choices shape your destiny, what is your most important choice?  Your most important choice is to receive Jesus, believe in Him so that you can become a child of God (John 1:12).  When you have God as your Father, you have a destiny shaped by the Creator of the Universe who loves you and sent His Son to die for you so that you can be His beloved child.

5.         Serve the Lord

To fulfill your destiny as God’s child, you make a decision just like what Joshua who declared to all the Israelites, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).  You too must choose to serve the Lord so that He can work out for you all the good plans He has in store for you.

6.         One choice can make a difference

Don’t be like Nahor; Abraham’s brother.  Nahor chose to stay behind in his homeland and lost his chance to have descendents who are countless like the stars in the heavens and the sands of the earth.  One choice can make a difference.  What will be your choice?  Will you choose like Nahor or choose like Abraham?