A twenty something youth checked in with this question: Is it wrong if I visit the casino in Genting Highlands and indulge in a spot of gambling?
God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 1 Thessalonians 4:7
I responded to the youth's enquiry, guiding him with Jesus' teachings that our Saviour Jesus assure us there is no temptation so great that he could not handle. Jesus has given us His victory at the cross and from His resurrection. He will always be at hand to provide us an escape from any variety of temptation. Just cry out to Him for help as our Saviour's presence is always with us.
But this young man is insistent, elucidating that he could not perceive why it can be wrong if he just dabble in gambling as some kind of entertainment and not "gambling." He disputed that Jesus will be angry with him and will not punished him as it is only a minor sin compared to the more serious ones listed in the ten commandments.
"It's not really a significant sin I think!," he reasoned, still trying to win approval to free himself from feeling guilty in committing the wrong.
"I am just playing and not gambling, and I guessed that's okay with Jesus!" he again tried justifying his later on intentions.
As sons of the living God, we should always guard our eminence that we are "Christians", a privilege only as the chosen ones are blessed. The Father has gifted us with the Holy Spirit to keep us safe from evil and we must draw strength and wisdom from Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit to live our earthly lives to honor and glorify Him.
Stay away from every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22
We cannot chose to believe that Jesus is okay if we are to be half the beast (333)!
So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scripture say, "You must be holy because I AM holy" 1 Peter 1:14-16
Temptations comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it will give birth to death! James 1:14-15
Our downfall as "Christians" resulted from our pretence that when we are tempted to do wrong, we tried to justify by reassuring ourselves that God, our heavenly Father understands.
Perhaps God is trying to understand why we always thought He understood our ordeal when He has already provided Himself to help us run away from evil!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Lord Jesus, Please Help Me! My Mum Is Complaining.......
I checked with my mum why she hasn't been regularly attending service on Sundays at the local church.
Her rejoinder, "It's getting too expensive attending church services on Sundays! Each visit cost me about RM10! Apparently salvation is no longer free! God's work when administered by man is no longer free. Going to church is as expensive as going for a movie."
I explained to her that she need not give if she didn't want to. Her reply was that the church will make her feel guilty by preaching that everyone must learn to give cheerfully.
"It's always a blessing to be able to give to God," as mum echoed what the church says. My mum continued with her dissatisfaction, "Honestly, I am always not cheerful about giving to all these church building projects!"
"And the church is always having a lot of projects that needed a lot of money to accomplish. They are always building something; exactly like the government!"
"I would rather spend time with a few of my friends going around feeding and meeting the needs of poor folks amidst us" she replied merrily this time.
As I ponder over what my mum bemoaned, I wonder whether the churches care or are concerned over these burdens upon the church goers who were in church to seek fellowship with their beloved Saviour Jesus. My distress is the poor in our midst?
I wonder whether this is the universal trend among the churches throughout the world to do God's will which is building the church. But having examined Scripture thoroughly, I found that there weren't any verses that depicts God's desires to build the church. Was this church building perception birth from man's wisdom or is it a part of God's plan?
"He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, Acts 17:24
In the New Testaments, Jesus constantly express God's plan that Jesus Himself will ultimately be God's church. The chosen children of God will be knitted into Jesus body which is the church where Christ Himself is the Head.
I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! Matthew 12:6 (This verse distinctly expound that Jesus, who is Head of the church which is his body, is greater than the temple.)
"All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19
Let me be brief here explaining about the Temple. The man made temple, is only man's ephemeral place of worship, until Jesus' death. Upon Jesus death at the cross, a switch took place; Jesus became the Church! That's why Scripture recorded thrice about the temple being torn in two the same time as Jesus' death.
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew 27:50-51, Mark 15:37-38, Luke 23:45-46 (What is the significance of this episode)
My question seeking for truth is whether today, we are building the right temple- the temple of man which is the building or the temple of God which is the people. Perhaps we have misinterpreted the meaning of 'Church'. Perhaps evil has led us to believe that we are executing God's will correctly.
I know you, the reader believed (could be deceived) a church is necessary to keep an assembly of God's people together, under a roof, to worship God, the Father and Jesus our Saviour. But Jesus Himself assured us that He will be with us when two or more people gathered together in his name. Jesus streamline a requirement of only two people to worship Him. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." Matthew 18:20
I wonder how people in impoverished communities gathered together to worship our Saviour Jesus? The following thoughts trudge across my mind asking, "Will our heavenly Father be pleased and approved of worship if two poor people worship Him under a coconut tree, in a forest, at the paddy field or in any kind of habitation?"
Is our heavenly Father only delighted when His children worship Him at mega churches?
I am not questioning whether people should build mega churches, rather my concern is whether we are building the right church!
2000 years ago, Jesus taught for free in an open area with meals thrown in...Matthew 14.
My mum could choose not to tithe or make any offerings.....
Honestly, the truth is not about my mum.... neither it is about the collection of money....rather it is about the Truth...
The truth is about God's church, His precious children redeemed by the blood of His beloved Son, our Saviour Jesus.
So guard yourselves and God's people. Feed and shepherd God's flock- his church, purchased with his own blood- over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Acts 20:28-30
Our Creator, heavenly Father intended salvation to be free....paid in full by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord Saviour.
Her rejoinder, "It's getting too expensive attending church services on Sundays! Each visit cost me about RM10! Apparently salvation is no longer free! God's work when administered by man is no longer free. Going to church is as expensive as going for a movie."
I explained to her that she need not give if she didn't want to. Her reply was that the church will make her feel guilty by preaching that everyone must learn to give cheerfully.
"It's always a blessing to be able to give to God," as mum echoed what the church says. My mum continued with her dissatisfaction, "Honestly, I am always not cheerful about giving to all these church building projects!"
"And the church is always having a lot of projects that needed a lot of money to accomplish. They are always building something; exactly like the government!"
"I would rather spend time with a few of my friends going around feeding and meeting the needs of poor folks amidst us" she replied merrily this time.
As I ponder over what my mum bemoaned, I wonder whether the churches care or are concerned over these burdens upon the church goers who were in church to seek fellowship with their beloved Saviour Jesus. My distress is the poor in our midst?
I wonder whether this is the universal trend among the churches throughout the world to do God's will which is building the church. But having examined Scripture thoroughly, I found that there weren't any verses that depicts God's desires to build the church. Was this church building perception birth from man's wisdom or is it a part of God's plan?
"He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn't live in man-made temples, Acts 17:24
In the New Testaments, Jesus constantly express God's plan that Jesus Himself will ultimately be God's church. The chosen children of God will be knitted into Jesus body which is the church where Christ Himself is the Head.
I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple! Matthew 12:6 (This verse distinctly expound that Jesus, who is Head of the church which is his body, is greater than the temple.)
"All right," Jesus replied. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:19
Let me be brief here explaining about the Temple. The man made temple, is only man's ephemeral place of worship, until Jesus' death. Upon Jesus death at the cross, a switch took place; Jesus became the Church! That's why Scripture recorded thrice about the temple being torn in two the same time as Jesus' death.
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew 27:50-51, Mark 15:37-38, Luke 23:45-46 (What is the significance of this episode)
My question seeking for truth is whether today, we are building the right temple- the temple of man which is the building or the temple of God which is the people. Perhaps we have misinterpreted the meaning of 'Church'. Perhaps evil has led us to believe that we are executing God's will correctly.
I know you, the reader believed (could be deceived) a church is necessary to keep an assembly of God's people together, under a roof, to worship God, the Father and Jesus our Saviour. But Jesus Himself assured us that He will be with us when two or more people gathered together in his name. Jesus streamline a requirement of only two people to worship Him. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." Matthew 18:20
I wonder how people in impoverished communities gathered together to worship our Saviour Jesus? The following thoughts trudge across my mind asking, "Will our heavenly Father be pleased and approved of worship if two poor people worship Him under a coconut tree, in a forest, at the paddy field or in any kind of habitation?"
Is our heavenly Father only delighted when His children worship Him at mega churches?
I am not questioning whether people should build mega churches, rather my concern is whether we are building the right church!
2000 years ago, Jesus taught for free in an open area with meals thrown in...Matthew 14.
My mum could choose not to tithe or make any offerings.....
Honestly, the truth is not about my mum.... neither it is about the collection of money....rather it is about the Truth...
The truth is about God's church, His precious children redeemed by the blood of His beloved Son, our Saviour Jesus.
So guard yourselves and God's people. Feed and shepherd God's flock- his church, purchased with his own blood- over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Acts 20:28-30
Our Creator, heavenly Father intended salvation to be free....paid in full by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord Saviour.
Monday, July 23, 2007
The Cheerful Giver
Jesus loves the cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Indeed it is always a blessing to be gifted by God to give generously and cheerfully. Nevertheless, remember the ability to give result from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be reminded that your ability to give should not cause you to be narcissistic.
Ensure your generosity comes from a cheerful heart that is filled with Christ love and humility.
O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 1 Chronicles 29:13-14
It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Indeed it is always a blessing to be gifted by God to give generously and cheerfully. Nevertheless, remember the ability to give result from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Be reminded that your ability to give should not cause you to be narcissistic.
Ensure your generosity comes from a cheerful heart that is filled with Christ love and humility.
O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us! 1 Chronicles 29:13-14
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Pride Makes You A Fool
The reason why people sometimes became stupid or made an ass of themselves is due to their arrogance and pride. Arrogance and pride, is such a dominant evil force that it can influence a person to lie and do stupid things.
When you mastermind your fabrication, be it in words or deeds, someday when it is exposed, you become a victim of your own produce.
All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech. Proverbs 8:13
When you mastermind your fabrication, be it in words or deeds, someday when it is exposed, you become a victim of your own produce.
All who fear the LORD will hate evil. That is why I hate pride, arrogance, corruption, and perverted speech. Proverbs 8:13
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Who Is Your Boss?
Who is your master; Jesus or money?
Many claimed to be working for God, the Father but every effort of their work demanded monetary payment of sorts. Who are you working for actually, Jesus or money?
Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News!
If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News for free or without charging anyone. That's why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. 1 Corinthians 9:15-18
Why would these servants of God takes umbrage when you raised these issues to them?
Let me inquire again, are you working for the Kingdom of God or money?
Jesus Christ did everything for free. Paul claimed he, too, did everything for free because it was a sacred trust from God, compelling him to do it.
No one can do the will of God, the Father without the equipment of the Holy Spirit. So, those who claimed to be doing everything for the Kingdom of God, are they doing it by and for themselves or by the power of God's Spirit?
If your ability to do God's will results from the gifting from the power of the Holy Spirit, then by demanding payment for it will directly mean that God, Himself is asking to be paid for His work to love us? Does that mean God, our Father no longer care and love us, His precious children redeemed by the precious blood of His begotten Son, our Saviour Jesus, for free?
Again I ask, are you a worker for money or a worker for the Kingdom of God?
Are you doing God's will by your own initiative or by the equipment from the Holy Spirit?
Did I heard you with clarity that you needed money to survive?
Are you saying that you can live apart from God, the Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour but not money?
Please be clear about who you are working for- the Kingdom of God or money?
Please don't tell me that without money it's impossible to do God's will.
What??? (screaming very loudly)
Are you saying that God who created heaven and earth and filled everything in it has lost his power and now require money to accomplish his plans?
But it says in 1 Timothy 5:18, that those who work deserves their pay and you must not muzzle the ox that work the fields.
Aha! So you are applying your rights to demand payment rather than boasting that you could do it for free?
Anyway, it is God, the Father and Jesus Himself that will judge and examine your heart for your true motives.
May God the Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour bless, protect and reward those who serve for the honor and glory of His Kingdom.
Many claimed to be working for God, the Father but every effort of their work demanded monetary payment of sorts. Who are you working for actually, Jesus or money?
Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News!
If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News for free or without charging anyone. That's why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. 1 Corinthians 9:15-18
Why would these servants of God takes umbrage when you raised these issues to them?
Let me inquire again, are you working for the Kingdom of God or money?
Jesus Christ did everything for free. Paul claimed he, too, did everything for free because it was a sacred trust from God, compelling him to do it.
No one can do the will of God, the Father without the equipment of the Holy Spirit. So, those who claimed to be doing everything for the Kingdom of God, are they doing it by and for themselves or by the power of God's Spirit?
If your ability to do God's will results from the gifting from the power of the Holy Spirit, then by demanding payment for it will directly mean that God, Himself is asking to be paid for His work to love us? Does that mean God, our Father no longer care and love us, His precious children redeemed by the precious blood of His begotten Son, our Saviour Jesus, for free?
Again I ask, are you a worker for money or a worker for the Kingdom of God?
Are you doing God's will by your own initiative or by the equipment from the Holy Spirit?
Did I heard you with clarity that you needed money to survive?
Are you saying that you can live apart from God, the Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour but not money?
Please be clear about who you are working for- the Kingdom of God or money?
Please don't tell me that without money it's impossible to do God's will.
What??? (screaming very loudly)
Are you saying that God who created heaven and earth and filled everything in it has lost his power and now require money to accomplish his plans?
But it says in 1 Timothy 5:18, that those who work deserves their pay and you must not muzzle the ox that work the fields.
Aha! So you are applying your rights to demand payment rather than boasting that you could do it for free?
Anyway, it is God, the Father and Jesus Himself that will judge and examine your heart for your true motives.
May God the Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour bless, protect and reward those who serve for the honor and glory of His Kingdom.
The Perils Of Money: Living With An Enemy
Money, like sex is the pre-eminence of man. Tell me who doesn't love money?
Today's posting is about money and it's evil characteristics, affecting every breathing man. Money is good if it is our slave and not our master!
The subject of money dilemma must be the number one common factor that affects mankind the most.
Money dilemma is always the central issue existing in every aspect of our living.
Trust me, almost all of us live under the pretension that 'we' are all doing fine. The moment someone in our midst is brave enough to admit suffering from problems with money, you can expect many more, coyly disclosing suffering the same fate and predicament.
I want to address the issue of money as briefly as I can. For a few, my experience may shed a new light on your situation. Some may have a radically different opinion, that is expected; but for many, this will help change your view and possibly your approach to your money situation. But still, at the end of it all, to many, money will remain our best friend.
In the last 6 years of my financial struggle and spiritual rediscovery, I have arisen from both experiences to understand the power of money and how it affect our lives. The only way to fully comprehend money is when you are empty of it.
(When you have lots of money, you have lots of friends. When you are down to nothing, your friends too disappear. When you have lots of money, everyone knows who you are but when you are down to nothing, and without friends, then you know who your friends were. It is during this moment you fully comprehend the meaning of friendship.)
Like friendship, you only understand money when you have none of it.
Hopefully the eight principles below provide you enlightening about money; it's advantages and disadvantages and how it can distressed our lives when we are not the master over it.
#1 - Money: Who Doesn't Want More.
At a recent meeting with some close friends, they thought I was bragging when I disclosed that I had enough money and how I dread having more. I was absolutely serious. I have always had enough money, albeit not always earning a lot of money.
When I earned less than minimum wage, I had enough money. When I earned minimum wage, I had enough money. I have enough money now.
Someone asked the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller the question of "How much money is enough?"
His answer was, "One more dollar than I have." He therefore, would never have enough, no matter how many billions he had.
I have seen people earn more than double of what they were earning in the previous year and they still experience a lack of money.
Money is one of those things where unless the spirit gets right, you never have enough. Having enough money is primarily a matter of spirit, not amount, so I hope everyone understand this.
#2 - Rich Means Contentment.
Don't be like Rockefeller or else you will forever be dissatisfied.
Often our change from poor to rich is more spiritual than financial. It is why the Apostle Paul could say if you have food and clothing then you should be contented.
Perhaps we should realize that instead of struggling so hard to get more, we should simply want less. The problem with wanting more is that it never stops, and most find that even when they get "the stuff," it's not what they thought in terms of real contentment.
Jesus said:
a. The Kingdom of God is within
b. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Everyone wants the kingdom, yet everyone also wants to be rich.
Just maybe, for many of you, you have enough already.
#3 - Jesus Lives 33 Years On Earth Without Money Because He survived Trusting In God's Provision.
Some will argue against this to an extreme, but I have searched for it over and over in the New Testament of the Bible. It simply isn't there unless you take a Scripture and twist it to mean what it really didn't say or you must make speculations about things that aren't written in Scripture.
No words in the New Testament promote wealth when looked at in context. Unbelievable? You may want to try searching for that elusive verse under a magnifying glass! Trust me there is NONE!
"What about when Jesus told the disciples where to fish and they had the great haul of fish?" you may ask.
Read what they did with the increase after they got it. The disciples ate the fish then left the fish to follow Jesus. When you read exactly what they did, the pattern becomes clear .
We can sometimes be masters at making Scripture say what it never meant because it is what people want to hear and it often justifies our own agenda.
Jesus NEVER pointed us towards material wealth; he did quite the opposite when you read what he actually said.
Many passages plainly point you away from riches but none plainly point you towards it, not in the New Testament.
And no, the verse, "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health," is not talking about riches.
Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, that if you have food and clothing you should be content. I thought about that verse as I was alone one day. I had a BIG problem with it then, and I still struggle to fully understand and accept it.
"What about shelter?" I thought. How in the world does God expect you to be content with no house? That just didn't make any sense to me.
So I asked God during a quiet moment, "Father, how can a person be content with no house?" And God, my heavenly Father answered me and though I didn't like the answer, the minute I heard it, I recognized the truth of it.
The answer was, "Did my son have a house?"
"Whoa!"
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:20
Not only are we not happy and contented with food and clothing, we often aren't happy even in medium or large houses. We want mansions and guess what? Given enough time, we often aren't happy in those either.
#4 - Rich And Poor, We Are The Children Of God, The Creator.
I never regretted that I chose a holiday at National Rainforest in Pahang. I wanted to see the rain forest before man destroyed it. The native children in the jungle were excited to see a mobile phone.
We trekked through the jungle all day with a native guide. He said our hike would culminate by visiting the rumah orang kaya (rich man house).
I was expecting a huge mansion overlooking a river and the rich expanse of the rain forest. When we got to this orang kaya's house, it indeed sat on a hill, but it was hardly a mansion. It was more like a shack on a hill. His house was distinguished by the fact that it had a generator. The rich man had electricity. When the rest of the village was dark, he had light, therefore everyone in the village considered him "Orang Kaya" or "The Rich Man."
I learned a great lesson from that. The native headman had no indoor plumbing, no air conditioning, no marble counters or carpeted floors. His house would not even meet minimum building regulations in the poorest neighborhoods in the entire country. However, he had electricity when everyone else was in the dark, therefore he was rich.
In many parts of the world, what we consider poverty is considered great wealth. We have so much food in almost the entire country that eating too much causes Malaysia's biggest health problems.
#5 - Money Is Not Necessarily The Source Of Happiness.
The Pahang National Park jungle was perhaps the poorest area that I have ever visited. There was no industry. The huts did not even have doors. Yet, in the midst of what many would consider extreme poverty by Malaysian standards, again I saw something.
The people were happy.
The ability to sense spirit is something God gave me long ago. When I sold newspapers as a young lad through many of the neighborhoods in Penang, the minute people opened the door, I could sense whether the house was happy or sad one.
I sold newspapers in the richest and poorest of neighborhoods. Both had their share of happy and sad homes.
The guide told me as we walked through the village with the doorless huts, "We marry around 13 or 14."
"13 or 14?" I repeated, amazed at such a young marrying age.
"What is the divorce rate?" I asked.
"Less than 5%," he replied.
Again I saw that material possessions don't necessarily guarantee happiness. In our society today, we have relatively huge wealth along with a relatively huge divorce rate.
#6 - Bad Attitudes Is The Producer Of Bankrupts.
The Joneses.
Because we often try to keep up with the Joneses, it strains our finances to the limit and beyond. My father, often quoted, "If your outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will become your downfall."
Too often we live way above our means. Today, I have always had enough money because I have always kept my expenses well below my income. And of course I learned all these through the 6 years of very painful lessons. Whether you earn millions or minimum wage, the principle applies.
Years ago a girl friend of mine began selling a nutritional system. The system had a cassette tape explaining it. She went throughout several of Petaling Jaya's affluent neighborhoods putting the tapes in mailboxes.
She only selected the fancy houses as she only had a limited number of tapes.
Six people responded wanting the system. The system cost RM100.
Of the six people who responded, not ONE had RM100. Each had a story of why they had to wait until payday or could only pay a part now but none had RM100.
"How could that be?" my girl friend asked. "I specifically only put these tapes in BIG houses. They all had two fancy cars and RM200,000 plus houses. How could their finances be so tight that they don't have RM100?" she kept bothering me with that question.
My reply was that everyone lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to ...
#7 - The Importance Of Good Planning And Discipline.
From my experience over all that I have endure the past 6 years, today, I tried each day to share with people I meet what is money and managing it. Don't laugh because you thought I am not an authority about it but I teaches people how to manage their money.
I often remind people in the church that after tithing 10% of their money to the church, the remaining 90% still belongs to God, the Provider. And they should learned to honor how to manage what God has allowed them to keep.
People came to me with testimonies about what I shared changed their financial lives. The first thing I did was to teach everyone create a budget.
Surprisingly, NO ONE had a budget. No one could say exactly how much they were spending. Sure, they all knew what the rent or mortgage was, but it was often the "other" stuff that sunk them. No one could tell you with any degree of accuracy exactly what they were spending as a total.
I loved to tell the story of how one lady had come to me for a loan. She wanted to buy a car. She was going to pay for the car by the week at one of those "pay by the week" places.
She got angry at me when I would not lend her the money. I had her to do a budget. When she did, she was shocked to see that the weekly payments plus what she was spending on other stuff added up to more than what she was earning. If I had loaned her the money for the down payment on the car, it would have been a sure financial disaster.
WRITE IT DOWN exactly how much you spend each month on EVERYTHING. You may be surprised. Just something as simple as a two pack a day cigarette habit is RM200.00 per month.
#8 - Give And You Will Be Given.
I cannot logically explain this, but I know it is true. I am of the opinion that Malaysians are the most prosperous and generous people on the face of the earth, because each time there is an appeal for funds or donations, Malaysians will never disappoint and will consistently rise to the occasion.
Yes, I know we has flaws but that doesn't change the principle or the result. We benefit from our benevolence; we suffer for our malice.
God spoke a Word of Wisdom to me personally concerning money.
"Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."
It has taken me a long time to understand that but the longer I live, the more convinced I am of that truth.
Money is similar to food. You need it; if you run short, it gets very uncomfortable and even unhealthy. Yet excess consumption has great dangers. Having excess food is wonderful if you do the right thing. The problem is not in having the excess; the excess is a blessing. The challenge is in doing the right thing with the excess.
Even the Old Testament of the Bible listed lack of both money and food as a curse and its abundance a blessing. The problem was that it wasn't long after the abundance that the people became corrupt. It is very hard to keep abundance in balance.
That's why Jesus said it is HARD for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Money has always been and always will be an issue. It remain a bondage to most in this world; unmindful of who you are.
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, (ministers and priests) who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
Luke 16:13-15
I am hopeful that you have benefited what I have shared with you on the principles for abundance and some guidance for using the abundance.
Do remember that the Almighty Majestic God is the Provider and we are all born into the world with nothing and will someday leave with nothing. Our riches are stored in the Kingdom of Heaven where we truly belongs.
Each time we share what we have in this world, we are actually storing up our riches in our true home, Heaven!
Everything that we have comes from our heavenly Father. Whatever we share with others were of the Father. We don't actually owned anything and the fact that we are owners are a lie from the Devil.
I know some of you will argue that you have 'earned' it through your hard labor, toiling in the field of work under harsh working conditions. Don't forget that your job itself was a blessing from God! He provides!
O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious Name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!
1 Chronicles 29:13-14
In closing, I want to assign you with this paltry chore. Ask Jesus in your quiet time with Him, this seemingly insignificant teaching why he taught us to pray asking for our daily, and not weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly bread? Why daily?
This is not the answer to my above question but when a person lives day to day trusting Jesus for His providence, then this person is truly rich because he lives free from the bondage of insufficiency. Because Jesus, our Provider is the Owner of Heaven and earth and everything in it!
Father, give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from the worthless things of the world and give me life through your word and your ways.
Psalm 119:36-37
Today's posting is about money and it's evil characteristics, affecting every breathing man. Money is good if it is our slave and not our master!
The subject of money dilemma must be the number one common factor that affects mankind the most.
Money dilemma is always the central issue existing in every aspect of our living.
Trust me, almost all of us live under the pretension that 'we' are all doing fine. The moment someone in our midst is brave enough to admit suffering from problems with money, you can expect many more, coyly disclosing suffering the same fate and predicament.
I want to address the issue of money as briefly as I can. For a few, my experience may shed a new light on your situation. Some may have a radically different opinion, that is expected; but for many, this will help change your view and possibly your approach to your money situation. But still, at the end of it all, to many, money will remain our best friend.
In the last 6 years of my financial struggle and spiritual rediscovery, I have arisen from both experiences to understand the power of money and how it affect our lives. The only way to fully comprehend money is when you are empty of it.
(When you have lots of money, you have lots of friends. When you are down to nothing, your friends too disappear. When you have lots of money, everyone knows who you are but when you are down to nothing, and without friends, then you know who your friends were. It is during this moment you fully comprehend the meaning of friendship.)
Like friendship, you only understand money when you have none of it.
Hopefully the eight principles below provide you enlightening about money; it's advantages and disadvantages and how it can distressed our lives when we are not the master over it.
#1 - Money: Who Doesn't Want More.
At a recent meeting with some close friends, they thought I was bragging when I disclosed that I had enough money and how I dread having more. I was absolutely serious. I have always had enough money, albeit not always earning a lot of money.
When I earned less than minimum wage, I had enough money. When I earned minimum wage, I had enough money. I have enough money now.
Someone asked the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller the question of "How much money is enough?"
His answer was, "One more dollar than I have." He therefore, would never have enough, no matter how many billions he had.
I have seen people earn more than double of what they were earning in the previous year and they still experience a lack of money.
Money is one of those things where unless the spirit gets right, you never have enough. Having enough money is primarily a matter of spirit, not amount, so I hope everyone understand this.
#2 - Rich Means Contentment.
Don't be like Rockefeller or else you will forever be dissatisfied.
Often our change from poor to rich is more spiritual than financial. It is why the Apostle Paul could say if you have food and clothing then you should be contented.
Perhaps we should realize that instead of struggling so hard to get more, we should simply want less. The problem with wanting more is that it never stops, and most find that even when they get "the stuff," it's not what they thought in terms of real contentment.
Jesus said:
a. The Kingdom of God is within
b. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Everyone wants the kingdom, yet everyone also wants to be rich.
Just maybe, for many of you, you have enough already.
#3 - Jesus Lives 33 Years On Earth Without Money Because He survived Trusting In God's Provision.
Some will argue against this to an extreme, but I have searched for it over and over in the New Testament of the Bible. It simply isn't there unless you take a Scripture and twist it to mean what it really didn't say or you must make speculations about things that aren't written in Scripture.
No words in the New Testament promote wealth when looked at in context. Unbelievable? You may want to try searching for that elusive verse under a magnifying glass! Trust me there is NONE!
"What about when Jesus told the disciples where to fish and they had the great haul of fish?" you may ask.
Read what they did with the increase after they got it. The disciples ate the fish then left the fish to follow Jesus. When you read exactly what they did, the pattern becomes clear .
We can sometimes be masters at making Scripture say what it never meant because it is what people want to hear and it often justifies our own agenda.
Jesus NEVER pointed us towards material wealth; he did quite the opposite when you read what he actually said.
Many passages plainly point you away from riches but none plainly point you towards it, not in the New Testament.
And no, the verse, "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health," is not talking about riches.
Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, that if you have food and clothing you should be content. I thought about that verse as I was alone one day. I had a BIG problem with it then, and I still struggle to fully understand and accept it.
"What about shelter?" I thought. How in the world does God expect you to be content with no house? That just didn't make any sense to me.
So I asked God during a quiet moment, "Father, how can a person be content with no house?" And God, my heavenly Father answered me and though I didn't like the answer, the minute I heard it, I recognized the truth of it.
The answer was, "Did my son have a house?"
"Whoa!"
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:20
Not only are we not happy and contented with food and clothing, we often aren't happy even in medium or large houses. We want mansions and guess what? Given enough time, we often aren't happy in those either.
#4 - Rich And Poor, We Are The Children Of God, The Creator.
I never regretted that I chose a holiday at National Rainforest in Pahang. I wanted to see the rain forest before man destroyed it. The native children in the jungle were excited to see a mobile phone.
We trekked through the jungle all day with a native guide. He said our hike would culminate by visiting the rumah orang kaya (rich man house).
I was expecting a huge mansion overlooking a river and the rich expanse of the rain forest. When we got to this orang kaya's house, it indeed sat on a hill, but it was hardly a mansion. It was more like a shack on a hill. His house was distinguished by the fact that it had a generator. The rich man had electricity. When the rest of the village was dark, he had light, therefore everyone in the village considered him "Orang Kaya" or "The Rich Man."
I learned a great lesson from that. The native headman had no indoor plumbing, no air conditioning, no marble counters or carpeted floors. His house would not even meet minimum building regulations in the poorest neighborhoods in the entire country. However, he had electricity when everyone else was in the dark, therefore he was rich.
In many parts of the world, what we consider poverty is considered great wealth. We have so much food in almost the entire country that eating too much causes Malaysia's biggest health problems.
#5 - Money Is Not Necessarily The Source Of Happiness.
The Pahang National Park jungle was perhaps the poorest area that I have ever visited. There was no industry. The huts did not even have doors. Yet, in the midst of what many would consider extreme poverty by Malaysian standards, again I saw something.
The people were happy.
The ability to sense spirit is something God gave me long ago. When I sold newspapers as a young lad through many of the neighborhoods in Penang, the minute people opened the door, I could sense whether the house was happy or sad one.
I sold newspapers in the richest and poorest of neighborhoods. Both had their share of happy and sad homes.
The guide told me as we walked through the village with the doorless huts, "We marry around 13 or 14."
"13 or 14?" I repeated, amazed at such a young marrying age.
"What is the divorce rate?" I asked.
"Less than 5%," he replied.
Again I saw that material possessions don't necessarily guarantee happiness. In our society today, we have relatively huge wealth along with a relatively huge divorce rate.
#6 - Bad Attitudes Is The Producer Of Bankrupts.
The Joneses.
Because we often try to keep up with the Joneses, it strains our finances to the limit and beyond. My father, often quoted, "If your outgo exceeds your income then your upkeep will become your downfall."
Too often we live way above our means. Today, I have always had enough money because I have always kept my expenses well below my income. And of course I learned all these through the 6 years of very painful lessons. Whether you earn millions or minimum wage, the principle applies.
Years ago a girl friend of mine began selling a nutritional system. The system had a cassette tape explaining it. She went throughout several of Petaling Jaya's affluent neighborhoods putting the tapes in mailboxes.
She only selected the fancy houses as she only had a limited number of tapes.
Six people responded wanting the system. The system cost RM100.
Of the six people who responded, not ONE had RM100. Each had a story of why they had to wait until payday or could only pay a part now but none had RM100.
"How could that be?" my girl friend asked. "I specifically only put these tapes in BIG houses. They all had two fancy cars and RM200,000 plus houses. How could their finances be so tight that they don't have RM100?" she kept bothering me with that question.
My reply was that everyone lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to The Joneses, who lived next to ...
#7 - The Importance Of Good Planning And Discipline.
From my experience over all that I have endure the past 6 years, today, I tried each day to share with people I meet what is money and managing it. Don't laugh because you thought I am not an authority about it but I teaches people how to manage their money.
I often remind people in the church that after tithing 10% of their money to the church, the remaining 90% still belongs to God, the Provider. And they should learned to honor how to manage what God has allowed them to keep.
People came to me with testimonies about what I shared changed their financial lives. The first thing I did was to teach everyone create a budget.
Surprisingly, NO ONE had a budget. No one could say exactly how much they were spending. Sure, they all knew what the rent or mortgage was, but it was often the "other" stuff that sunk them. No one could tell you with any degree of accuracy exactly what they were spending as a total.
I loved to tell the story of how one lady had come to me for a loan. She wanted to buy a car. She was going to pay for the car by the week at one of those "pay by the week" places.
She got angry at me when I would not lend her the money. I had her to do a budget. When she did, she was shocked to see that the weekly payments plus what she was spending on other stuff added up to more than what she was earning. If I had loaned her the money for the down payment on the car, it would have been a sure financial disaster.
WRITE IT DOWN exactly how much you spend each month on EVERYTHING. You may be surprised. Just something as simple as a two pack a day cigarette habit is RM200.00 per month.
#8 - Give And You Will Be Given.
I cannot logically explain this, but I know it is true. I am of the opinion that Malaysians are the most prosperous and generous people on the face of the earth, because each time there is an appeal for funds or donations, Malaysians will never disappoint and will consistently rise to the occasion.
Yes, I know we has flaws but that doesn't change the principle or the result. We benefit from our benevolence; we suffer for our malice.
God spoke a Word of Wisdom to me personally concerning money.
"Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."
It has taken me a long time to understand that but the longer I live, the more convinced I am of that truth.
Money is similar to food. You need it; if you run short, it gets very uncomfortable and even unhealthy. Yet excess consumption has great dangers. Having excess food is wonderful if you do the right thing. The problem is not in having the excess; the excess is a blessing. The challenge is in doing the right thing with the excess.
Even the Old Testament of the Bible listed lack of both money and food as a curse and its abundance a blessing. The problem was that it wasn't long after the abundance that the people became corrupt. It is very hard to keep abundance in balance.
That's why Jesus said it is HARD for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Money has always been and always will be an issue. It remain a bondage to most in this world; unmindful of who you are.
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, (ministers and priests) who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.
Luke 16:13-15
I am hopeful that you have benefited what I have shared with you on the principles for abundance and some guidance for using the abundance.
Do remember that the Almighty Majestic God is the Provider and we are all born into the world with nothing and will someday leave with nothing. Our riches are stored in the Kingdom of Heaven where we truly belongs.
Each time we share what we have in this world, we are actually storing up our riches in our true home, Heaven!
Everything that we have comes from our heavenly Father. Whatever we share with others were of the Father. We don't actually owned anything and the fact that we are owners are a lie from the Devil.
I know some of you will argue that you have 'earned' it through your hard labor, toiling in the field of work under harsh working conditions. Don't forget that your job itself was a blessing from God! He provides!
O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious Name! But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!
1 Chronicles 29:13-14
In closing, I want to assign you with this paltry chore. Ask Jesus in your quiet time with Him, this seemingly insignificant teaching why he taught us to pray asking for our daily, and not weekly, fortnightly, monthly or yearly bread? Why daily?
This is not the answer to my above question but when a person lives day to day trusting Jesus for His providence, then this person is truly rich because he lives free from the bondage of insufficiency. Because Jesus, our Provider is the Owner of Heaven and earth and everything in it!
Father, give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from the worthless things of the world and give me life through your word and your ways.
Psalm 119:36-37
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Home Sweet Home
Why wouldn't I want to die?
Could it be because I love the world more than I love to be home with my Father, who alone loves me in Christ Jesus?
Isn't going home early to heaven, a more aspired place to be than having to struggle against evil each day for the next 80 years (assuming I live 80 years) in this world, and maybe in the course of it, I missed home in heaven and ended up in a fiery place?
Why would I want to live longer when my passion for the world and everything in it has fizzle out? For to me, it's like being held captive in the most boring and unwelcome place.
When I finished work, I wanted to go home. When I am tired after a day out, I wanted to go home. When I break from class in school or college, I wanted to go home. Wherever I am, my heart is always longing for home. I think of the warm bed and cozy room where home is the only place I can actually rest in peace!
I wanted to be home to enjoy being love by my loved ones. I wanted to be in their company where true love is alive. Home is the most wonderful place to be.
Honestly, I hate living in the world, because each day I have to dodge sinning to stay pure and holy. It's tiring work to stay away from sinning and I may end up away from my heavenly home when I finally died.
Do you think my opinion about life's boredom is balderdash? Actually I am pragmatic and humble about what I want for my life. However, it may be different for those who have everything to live for! Simply put, some may love the world much much more than me!
Sometimes, I envy those who were never born into the world. The Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 3 has it on record stating, But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.
I guess not too many people can comprehend what's in my mind about 'going home.' Don't misunderstand or misinterpret my thoughts; I am not talking about suicide. I am expressing the joy and the excitement and the longing to be with my heavenly Father who alone loves me in my Saviour Jesus.
When my relationship with Christ is so intimate, the love sets me free from the fear of death. I only wanted to go to be with Him. And I guessed that's what understanding His love for me is. In fact, because of His deep love for me, He came to show me how much He love me by setting me free from the fear of death at the cross.
Because God's children are human beings-made of flesh and blood-the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15
In the Book of Isaiah chapter 57 verse one, our heavenly Father explained that sometimes He loved us so much that He is compelled to bring us 'home' before evil consume us. Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
Until we understand how much God, the Father loves us in Jesus and how much we also love Him, we will be reluctant to want to be reconcile with Him. It's just the same when we don't love someone, we wouldn't want to be near them.
Let me conclude by expounding on how much Paul aspired to 'go home' and be with Jesus Christ. Paul divulged his longing in Philippians 1:21, 23, For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. I'm torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
I am looking forward to 'go home' and be with my Saviour Father, Jesus who alone loves me. After all, this is not where I belong....I am just a visitor, a foreigner in a foreign land.
Father Saviour, Jesus, I know how much you miss me....I miss you too!
Could it be because I love the world more than I love to be home with my Father, who alone loves me in Christ Jesus?
Isn't going home early to heaven, a more aspired place to be than having to struggle against evil each day for the next 80 years (assuming I live 80 years) in this world, and maybe in the course of it, I missed home in heaven and ended up in a fiery place?
Why would I want to live longer when my passion for the world and everything in it has fizzle out? For to me, it's like being held captive in the most boring and unwelcome place.
When I finished work, I wanted to go home. When I am tired after a day out, I wanted to go home. When I break from class in school or college, I wanted to go home. Wherever I am, my heart is always longing for home. I think of the warm bed and cozy room where home is the only place I can actually rest in peace!
I wanted to be home to enjoy being love by my loved ones. I wanted to be in their company where true love is alive. Home is the most wonderful place to be.
Honestly, I hate living in the world, because each day I have to dodge sinning to stay pure and holy. It's tiring work to stay away from sinning and I may end up away from my heavenly home when I finally died.
Do you think my opinion about life's boredom is balderdash? Actually I am pragmatic and humble about what I want for my life. However, it may be different for those who have everything to live for! Simply put, some may love the world much much more than me!
Sometimes, I envy those who were never born into the world. The Book of Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verse 3 has it on record stating, But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.
I guess not too many people can comprehend what's in my mind about 'going home.' Don't misunderstand or misinterpret my thoughts; I am not talking about suicide. I am expressing the joy and the excitement and the longing to be with my heavenly Father who alone loves me in my Saviour Jesus.
When my relationship with Christ is so intimate, the love sets me free from the fear of death. I only wanted to go to be with Him. And I guessed that's what understanding His love for me is. In fact, because of His deep love for me, He came to show me how much He love me by setting me free from the fear of death at the cross.
Because God's children are human beings-made of flesh and blood-the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15
In the Book of Isaiah chapter 57 verse one, our heavenly Father explained that sometimes He loved us so much that He is compelled to bring us 'home' before evil consume us. Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
Until we understand how much God, the Father loves us in Jesus and how much we also love Him, we will be reluctant to want to be reconcile with Him. It's just the same when we don't love someone, we wouldn't want to be near them.
Let me conclude by expounding on how much Paul aspired to 'go home' and be with Jesus Christ. Paul divulged his longing in Philippians 1:21, 23, For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. I'm torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
I am looking forward to 'go home' and be with my Saviour Father, Jesus who alone loves me. After all, this is not where I belong....I am just a visitor, a foreigner in a foreign land.
Father Saviour, Jesus, I know how much you miss me....I miss you too!
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