Purposeful Death

Reading Paul's epistle to the church in Galatia highlights an age-old issue in the history of the Church. In Galatians 2:21 Paul beautifully summarises the essence of this post, 'I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!' He does not stop there, but goes on to make a very striking statement, 'Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace.' Reading this sent chills down my spine, especially because there are many I love who oppose the doctrine of Sola Fide. It saddens and frustrates me to know that many today still miss the point of the greatest event in history!

If we were able to work our way up to heaven, why on earth did Jesus have to be born, let alone die? The Christian faith, unlike any other, offers redemption; it is built on the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. Christianity is robbed of its worth if Jesus' death was purposeless and if He remained dead!

One of the most common oppositions refers to the law - the ten commandments: 'Why would God give us His law if He didn't want us to follow it? If we had to follow it, surely it determined our eternal well-being.'

While He does want us to follow it, the purpose of the law was not to save, but to lead to salvation. The law humbles one and reiterates their need for a Savior; it is also what characterises repentance, the result of salvation. Can any of us boast of observing the whole law? No! James in his epistle to the scattered Jews reminds us that 'whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.' Hence we're all law breakers.

God's judicial system does not differ greatly from ours, in fact it is the perfected version of our own. A law breaker is not justified and set free by his 'good deeds' elsewhere - a mass murderer could have been a very charitable man, however that by no means dismisses the fact that he has taken lives away! Like wise, no matter how many of the laws we have observed and no matter how good a life we have lived, we are still obliged to serve our sentence.

Forgiveness does not work in a court, but redemption does...He was our ransom; He paid our fine so that we can go free. God graciously in His love, offered us an easy way out. It is up to you and me to accept or reject it.

Obedience to the law needs to be the RESULT of our FAITH in Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross - salvation leads to a change of heart, brought about by God alone, making obedience possible. He HAD to die for you, for me and for humanity itself. If there was a better way, any other way, by which we can be saved, He need not have come! 

'Twas indeed a purposeful death. Don't you agree?

May this Gospel truth continue to fill each of us with wonder and gratitude this Easter and Good Friday as we never cease to recognise our need for the Savior. 

Happy Easter.

Our Response to a 'No'

Entering the new year, we all are forced to look back on the year that has gone by. There is one particular event that truly shook me at the end of last year - a forceful lesson that God decided to teach me. While I struggled learning it, and still struggle digesting it, I'm grateful for it as it has surfaced my incompetency and my constant need to trust the Savior.

There were prayers last year, which were answered with a heart breaking 'No', regarding my university applications. I'm ashamed to say that I was slightly upset with God for not fulfilling a dream I've longed for, for over 10 years. 

When life slumps down on us, dropping us into such pits of despair and disappointment, there are two common responses...

1. We can choose to let our anger and resentment towards God fester and grow our heart cold.

2. We can trust Him, despite our disappointment and hold onto His promises.

The first option is the easier, however, on the long term, it is spiritually unhealthy - in fact it is the carnal option out of the two. By growing cold towards God, not only do we fail to see His beautiful and powerful hand at work in our lives, we also close the doors through which He blesses us. Eventually, we will lose the joy of our salvation - King David will be happy to tell you and me that, that is the worst experience ever, hence his heartfelt cry, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation".

The latter option, is what I eventually chose. God promises Israel through Jeremiah, that He has 'plans to prosper [them] and not to harm [them], plans to give [them] a hope and a future'. Elsewhere, He promises that 'all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and seek His purposes'. His 'No' and 'Not yet' should assure us that He has a better plan; it should lead us to trust Him and rely on Him more. His ways ARE higher than our own and thus we cannot question Him. Also, He uses these periods to draw near to us, He teaches us a few lessons to make our walk with Him more worthwhile, meaningful and enjoyable.

Looking back, I am glad it was a 'No'. My university applications are still uncertain, however, there is a peace within me which He has given. I am assured that He has the best in store and is weaving this situation into something beautiful which He will unveil to me soon. I have learnt to trust His ways more and have recognized areas of my life where I had slacked and need to amend.

If you are in a similar position, dealing with a 'No' or a 'Not yet' from God, remember, you can go down one of two paths, the one you choose will make all the difference.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

While I pondered on what exactly to write on this post, my mind was just consumed by the hymn with which we began the new year at church. This beautiful hymn summarizes all I want to convey - this is my prayer for you and for me.
For those who do not know the Savior, make haste, time is running out! My wish for you this year is that you open your heart to what He has done for you on the Cross. Those who truly seek Him, find Him.
For those who profess to follow the Lord, reignite the fire! My wish is that we fall deeper in love with the Savior and courageously proclaim it to win many souls for Christ. May we also practice what we passionately preach.
Wishes for a happy, prosperous, blessed and a God-centered New Year.

May the mind of Christ my Savior

live in me from day to day,

by His love and power controlling

all I do and say.

May the Word of Christ dwell richly

in my heart from hour to hour,

so that all may see I triumph

only through His power.

May the peace of Christ my Savior

rule my life in everything,

that I may be calm to comfort

sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me,

as the waters fill the sea;

Him exalting, self abasing,

this is victory.

May I run the race before me,

strong and brave to face the fog,

looking only unto Jesus

as I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon on me

as I seek the lost to win,

and may they forget the channel,

seeing only Him.

Ethics and Morality

I've always regarded 'ethics' as a 'Christian' field and have always associated it with 'morality'. However, I came across a few instances in which ethics have driven people to justify acts which were obviously contrary to the will of God i.e. morally wrong. This led me to seek a few answers which I have summarized below...

Ethics is defined as 'that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions'.
Morality is defined as 'conformity to the rules of right conduct.'

Don't you see the difference? Morality refers to an unchanging set of rules as to what IS right and what IS wrong, regardless of the society, culture, situation or era. However ethics is based on perception. Ethics weigh the pros and the cons of an issue or action from a human point of view - this balance may sometimes lead to a 'morally wrong' decision.

As Christians, we're not to focus on the 'ethics' of an issue, but its 'morality'. We ought not to weigh up its advantages and disadvantages i.e approach it with 'worldly wisdom' but focus on the truth explicitly stated in the word of God. The truth is unchanging, inerrant and infallible as it is from God - God makes the rules - however, we determine ethics, and if you haven't already noticed, we make mistakes!

When Blessings Become Idols

Recently, God has been reminding me about the real value of the things in my life. It is a lesson that He has taught me many times, but I still haven't grasped it!

What are blessings?

Friends, family, material success, are all blessings that God has lavished upon us. While the world may view these everyday things with indifference, the Christian very well knows they're good gifts that God alone can give. Israel experienced this like no other nation ever has; victorious battles against nations double their size, prosperity during the most parched of times, name it!

Blessings are the little things in life we long and pray for. The privileges that embellish our lives to make it that one bit sweeter. 

Why does God bless us?

Psalm 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto children's children 

Psalm 1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in path of sinners...

...well you get the gist! Numerous verses in the Bible answer the above question...the list would practically be endless!

He is a good God. He loves those who fear and seek Him and thus bestows His grace and mercy on them. We cannot earn blessings, we neither deserve them; He blesses purely because He loves. The purpose of the blessings He bestows are to lead us to trust Him on everything else with a spirit of gratitude i.e. bring us closer to Him.

Where does the problem arise?

The spirit of complacency? Self sufficiency? Pride?

Back to Israel...in the book of 'Hosea', we see what often happens to our hearts when we are blessed. Although Israel enjoyed God's mercies, goodness and riches, they lost their focus - they drifted away from God. The very things that were designed to bring them closer to Him had become a hindrance as they forgot where these originate from. Anything that comes between us and God is an 'idol', thus the blessing is now an 'idol'. Israel turned her back to the one true God and sought worthless idols and the help of fellow nations, instead of God.

[Food for thought: I can't help but relate it to creation. The created world around us, nature in all its splendor, has been 'designed' to bring us closer to God by reminding us of His presence. However, sadly, humanity uses that very blessing to deny His existence.]

God's Solution

What follows in Hosea is a beautiful love story; a King seeking His worthless adulterous wife just because He loves her. (Read Hosea 10)

How does He do it?

He does it by taking away the 'blessings'. It might seem harsh, however isn't it harsher for Him to leave us in our sinful, Godless state that is headed for hell?

My friend Bea put it this way...

A father gives his son a toy because he loves him. It makes the father happy to see his son play and enjoy the gift. However, eventually, the son ONLY plays with his toy. He stops spending time with the father. The gift now has become a hindrance. In desperate measure to nurture his relationship with his son, the father will have to remove the toy! He doesn't want to, but has to, because of what is more important.

It is right to be grateful for the blessings God has placed in our life. Let us cherish them. However, let us ensure that we ALWAYS remember that they are 'good gifts' given to us by the Father. Blessings are temporary, however God alone can give us lasting peace and joy. Make sure you don't place the blessings before God Himself; remember that He'll do anything to get His place in your life (even if that means removing the blessing).
This is an area that I struggle with, but I know that God will empower me to overcome it. Let us put God first and make sure we don't turn His blessings into our idols.