Be Still

Father, Lord Jesus, why you never answer my prayers?

That's exactly what Adrienne was bemoaning with frustrations. She recalled how she prayed and prayed and was down on her knees until they were blistered and swollen. Yet, she claimed that her heavenly Father in Christ Jesus did not answered her. She had so many questions for answers to improve her earthly life. She needed answers to help her repentance.

When Adrienne shared with me her frustrations, I answered her that maybe Jesus did answered her without her realizing it. "How could it be?", she asked with exasperation.

I explained to her that very often we spent a long time telling our Father Saviour about our problems but never spent time quietly listening to Him. We prayed but once finished, we never sat quietly to hear what He has got to tell us. So, how can He ever get His opportunity to speak and reply us? He sat quietly listening to our prayers, but as soon as we finished praying, we never spent any time at all listening to Him. He wanted to answer us, but how could He when you are not staying back to hear Him?

And we ended up misunderstanding our Father Saviour that perhaps He is not interested in our prayers. Perhaps because of our sins, He's ignoring us. But how could a Perfect Father ignore us? He loved us!

When we spent an hour pouring out our hearts content to Him, we should spent maybe two hours listening to our Saviour. He is our Counselor, Teacher, Advisor, Guide, Comforter, Guardian, and He have all the answers for our life. In fact, we should spent more time listening than talking.

I guessed it's because the Church has always asked us to pray but rarely asked us to spent time listening. If you have a problem to share with your earthly father, after sharing, won't you spent time listening to his thoughts? If not, how would you ever know what are his answers for your questions?

The trouble with most of us is we enjoy talking but are impatient when listening. And how can we make stride when we failed to be attentive listening to our heavenly Father?

And how do we listen?

Be Still!

Bill Please, Jesus!

When was the last time you received anything for free? I am specifying free without any conditions attached.

I was sitting with a group of housewives at a coffee shop this morning and the topic was about Taoist gods healing people and fixing our various earthly problems. Consultation is however not free, but accompanied by a subtle request of a free offering.

Nowadays, religious and non religious concerned cleverly concoct means to amass money from unsuspecting bigots. Those who are desperate for healing of diseases and sickness, and remedies for their many earthly troubles especially relationships, give readily and unsuspectingly.

Accordingly to these Taoist housewives, who credited their assortment of deities for the various miracles they witnessed, each consultation comes with a free will offering. That's how all those gigantic joss sticks offerings vying attention in front of these Chinese temples come about.

Not too long ago, a Christian friend also related to me how he was required to attend a special class to understand baptism better. The one day lesson ostensibly cost RM40. I was shock by his claim and complain. Unbelievingly and not wanting only to hear one side of the story, I deliberately arranged to meet an authority of the church to check out the truth about the charges.

The pastor confirmed my unbelief with this scorching answer, "The charges were levied so that they may valued their baptism."

I responded spontaneously by blurting out loudly, "WHAT!!!" I was actually more offended than disgusted with the answer!

Closer examination reveals that no one is spared from the antics of these unscrupulous godlessness of soliciting funds, not even the very poor in our midst, who are close to our heavenly Father's heart.

Honestly, I find it very disturbing with all these episodes chronicling the methods of amassing money as we inched slowly towards the last days. I am particularly disturbed with the manner of how the churches are using God's name in vain.

Our heavenly Father, provided Himself a living sacrifice as Jesus Christ, our Lord Saviour to die on the cross for all our wrong doings against Him, so that we can be reconciled to Him as sons of the living Father. And as sons, everything is provided free by virtue of our faith acknowledging that He is our Father Saviour.

Maybe, like what the pastor articulated about his doctrine that 'nothing is free', then our heavenly Father should charged us for the blood He shed so that we may value our salvation?

I am sure our heavenly Father is extremely remorseful over how His children are burdened. After all He has come to pay in full for the price of our salvation. I am sure His plan was never to burden us.

The richest man on earth could not buy patience, kindness, love, peace, self control and the other various gifts of God. God freely give these to His children who are obedient.

Similarly, our heavenly Father would be pleased if we help build His church who are people with His love and humility rather than being drawn into a deception to build man's church which is the building with money. When we partner Jesus to do the Father's will, we accomplished His will by His power He filled us through the power of the Holy Spirit and not money.

If Jesus were to levy a price for the blood He shed on the cross, I wonder how much it will cost us to be reconciled to our Father?

What is the price of salvation then?

I Love You, I Honestly Love You

While almost everyone who claimed to be Christians celebrate Good Friday and Easter, I was just wondering whether they heard with clarity from Jesus Christ, our Saviour, whispering from His heart at the cross into our ears....' I Love You, I Honestly Love You'

And if those who heard Him, I also wonder whether they will be convicted? Will those who heard Him continue hurting Him with their sins? Or will they turn around and live a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit for Him?

Easter to me is about living the new life through Christ, my Saviour's victory over death. Jesus Christ died so that I can live! His resurrection means I shall rise on the last day and be reconciled with the Father, who loves me.

Easter means the day I confessed Jesus Christ is my Saviour, I died to the old sinful life and was resurrected with Christ in victory to live a new righteous life with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit. I no longer live but now I live my new life trusting in the Son of God, who came and died for me to set me free from sin.

Easter means my salvation is real because God has placed His hope in me that someday we'll meet again.

Jesus Loves Me, But I DON'T THINK I LOVE HIM

I wonder whether those who claimed themselves Christians actually paused a moment at some stage of their spiritual life and asked, "Who loves me; Jesus or Satan???"

But then again, the irony is whether anyone is aware that Jesus alone loves them. Love is an exclusive hallmark of God, our heavenly Father. He alone is the source of love. Since love belongs only to God, Satan cannot be loving me, right?

Before we embark on this scorching subject, we need to understand and examine what is love and lust. Originally, I wanted to title my post 'Jesus Loves; Satan Lust!' but changed my mind because I wanted us to question ourselves whether we understand the meaning between love and lust and its originality.

What is love? Let us examine the truthful meaning of love.

Citing 1 John 4:19, We love because God, our heavenly Father in our Saviour Jesus, first loves us. God is love. The wholesome characteristic of God who is love is fully articulated in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Love is humble, patient and kind. Love is never jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth prevails. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstances.

Now make the verses contained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 your criterion to compare your love. If your so claimed love does not consist any of the ingredient mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, then it's most probably deceptive love. The simple reason is we cannot love unless God who is the source of love, loves us first. If we have not experienced His love at the cross, then we will never comprehend love.

God filled us with His love when we experienced His love poured out from His heart for us at the cross.

Satan could never love us because Satan is not the source of love. Satan, however, can deceived us that he also loves us. Satan yield the following fruits; greed, sexual immorality, pride, jealousy, lies, fear, selfishness, bitterness, anger, unforgiving and other impurities. If Satan's fruits are present in our daily lives, then we have not died to our old life as we are still slave to sin which separates us from the God who loves us.

After confessing Jesus as our new Master, most of us still held on to their old life, thwarting the new life in the Holy Spirit to reign in us, shaping, molding and growing us into Christ likeness which pleases God, the Father, bringing Him honor and glory.

If we acknowledged that God, the Father in Jesus Christ alone love us, then why are we grieving the heart who alone loved us? I asked a quite similar question some weeks ago; If God is right, then why are we not obedient? If God loves us in His Son Jesus, then why would we hate Him by the way we live?

Honestly, I am baffled by our prudence about love. How could we continuously grieved the heart that love us unconditionally? How could we constantly break the heart of one who died for us? Those who are filled with His truth will be able to comprehend God's agape love and will never live another day hurting our Saviour!

We either live our earthly life in the opulent love of Jesus who alone loved us or we lived in lust with the one out to destroy us by deceiving us. We cannot be torn between two lovers! We either live for the Truth and Light or for Lies and Darkness!

Deep inside me, I knew my heavenly Father in my Saviour Jesus loves me, but my lifestyle is reciprocal of my claim that I love Him. I worship Him with my mouth, but my heart is far away from Him. I claim I knew Jesus, but I deny Him by the way I live.

If I have sampled God's love at the cross, and His Holy Spirit lives in me to fill me with His love, then I will not have a problem demonstrating His love in me by loving others as in 1 John 4:7-8, Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

In the gospel of John, the Jews stood firmly claiming they knew God and God was their Father. However, Jesus in John 8:42, 44 did not agree with their statement, answering them, If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does.

It's obvious that with the gifting of the Holy Spirit to us, God the Father who have love us through His Son, Jesus at the cross, the Holy Spirit will grow in us an undeniable desire to reciprocate His love for us. If those who have experience His true love at the cross, surely we will love Him too because the Holy Spirit equipped us with the ability.

A Loving Sacrifice: Before The Next Teardrop Falls....

There was a blind girl who hated herself because of being blind. Not only did she hate herself but she hated everyone else, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her.

She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One lucky day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. She then saw everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend then asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?"

She was SHOCKED when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too. She said, “I am sorry but I can't marry you because you are blind and it will be too hard.”

Her boyfriend walked away with tears streaming down his face and said, "Please just take care of my eyes.”

This story reminded me of how much Jesus loved us and went to the cross for us. When a person truly loves you, no sacrifice is beyond triumph. Everything is possible.

That's exactly how God, our heavenly Father who is overwhelmed with love for us. After all, each of us were created out of His own perfect hands. He never intended any of us to be lost to eternal death. He will do anything, to the extent of dying our death to ensure each of us returned to His loving arms. He wanted back every of His beloved children.

For the sacrifices He has made, Jesus will be very broken hearted each time we sinned, ignorant of all He has done for us. Each time we sin, it's like telling Him point blank at His face that His sacrifices meant nothing to us.

Like the true lover in the above story who sacrificed his eyes for his lover, with the hope of marrying her, our God and Saviour Jesus sacrificed His life to die our death, hoping we will turn around for Him and lived!

Our God and Saviour made a solemn plea to us in Ezekiel 18:32, I don't want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

I pray our heavenly Father in His Son Jesus Christ, our Saviour sent the Holy Spirit to help us open our hearts to Him so that we can find His strength in us to turn around and let Him heal us.