I love the fact that I have an omnipresent God.
That means He's always there for me. I don't have to go to a church, a temple or a mosque to look for Him.
My God can be with me when my boat is rocking in the middle of the storm. He can be with me when I'm backsliding down the road to Emmaus. He will protect me when the accuser comes to stone me. He will raise the lame when I pray for them. He will be there in Fire when I gather with my brothers to praise Him.
What a mighty God we serve.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Reading the Bible in Context
It can't be overstated how important it is to read the Bible in context. Here's one e.g:
This would lead us to believe that the Bible promotes bribery. What it is actually doing though, is truthfully stating the facts. Proverbs is a book about life, wisdom and education. Therefore it states what bribery accomplishes. However, reading further a few verses down,
A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds. - Proverbs 17:8
A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice. - Proverbs 17:23Lesson learnt: Read the Bible in context, always.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Rules and Regulations (or Lack of it)
The Old Testament is extremely detailed about holiness. You are to do certain specific things, and you are to abstain from other specific things. Everyone had a clear picture of what they should and shouldn't do.
However, when Christ came along, He did not come with a rulebook. He did not come with specific instructions on what to do and what not to do. This leaves us today with questions most of us have faced at one point or another like, "the Bible never says not to consume alcohol", "the Bible never says not to have pre-marital sex", "the Bible never talks about smoking".
The simple answer is, the Bible didn't need to. In programming, we have frameworks, which are pre-built systems that provide a programmer with everything they need to build upon it. We have the single most important ingredient that the OT people did not have, the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the framework, and the Holy Spirit is our guide. When we are sensitive to the Spirit, He will tell us what we should do and what we should not. Our conscience and our guilt are our friends. They are the guiding rails God placed in our bowling alley.
When I was small, my mom had to tell me everything I needed to do, from what I wore to what I ate. When I grew up and she stopped doing that, I felt lost. But it was not long before I learnt how to do things on my own. I love parallels.
However, when Christ came along, He did not come with a rulebook. He did not come with specific instructions on what to do and what not to do. This leaves us today with questions most of us have faced at one point or another like, "the Bible never says not to consume alcohol", "the Bible never says not to have pre-marital sex", "the Bible never talks about smoking".
The simple answer is, the Bible didn't need to. In programming, we have frameworks, which are pre-built systems that provide a programmer with everything they need to build upon it. We have the single most important ingredient that the OT people did not have, the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the framework, and the Holy Spirit is our guide. When we are sensitive to the Spirit, He will tell us what we should do and what we should not. Our conscience and our guilt are our friends. They are the guiding rails God placed in our bowling alley.
When I was small, my mom had to tell me everything I needed to do, from what I wore to what I ate. When I grew up and she stopped doing that, I felt lost. But it was not long before I learnt how to do things on my own. I love parallels.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
The Promises of God
While growing up, I was taught that promises should never be broken. Saying "I promise" was the acid test of honesty. Whenever an important issue arose, a typical dialogue would go as:
me: Did you lose my new ball?
my sis: No. I didn't even touch it.
me: do you promise?
my sis: silence....
me: LIAR LIAR LIAR
So sacred was a promise, that we were thought that we would receive all of Heaven's wrath if we broke a promise. So the "promise card" was only brought out during critical issues (which for a 10 year old happens to be the loss of a brand new tennis ball). It wasn't used for trivial issues like "did you take my candy".
Promises are important to everyone. Witnesses in court have to promise to tell the truth. Contracts are written promises. A credit card payment is a promise of future payback. Politicians make promises all the time. Promises are everywhere.
If us mere mortals can regard promises so highly, how much more then, will a holy and just God honour His promises?
The Bible, which is God's contract with man, is full of promises. Countless books have been written detailing the promises of God. We've heard them, we know them. For most of us, God's promises are written in our hearts. However, years of personal struggles, disappointment and discouragements have caused the dust of unbelief to settle on them, and the cobwebs of doubt to weave around them.
Just like spring cleaning brings out of hiding something that was once close to our hearts, this week God brought me back to His promises during my pastor's preaching last Friday.
When God makes a promise, He intends to keep it. If that promise hasn't come true in our lives, there are reasons for it. Whatever the reason is, it's not because God forgot, or that God just didn't care.
God remembers His promises down to every last detail, and He's constantly working to guide our way into receiving them. Finding the way to the promise takes some getting used to though. Nothing of value was ever attained easily.
Every promise of God will come to pass if we, in my pastor's words, simply be patient, and trust and obey.
me: Did you lose my new ball?
my sis: No. I didn't even touch it.
me: do you promise?
my sis: silence....
me: LIAR LIAR LIAR
So sacred was a promise, that we were thought that we would receive all of Heaven's wrath if we broke a promise. So the "promise card" was only brought out during critical issues (which for a 10 year old happens to be the loss of a brand new tennis ball). It wasn't used for trivial issues like "did you take my candy".
Promises are important to everyone. Witnesses in court have to promise to tell the truth. Contracts are written promises. A credit card payment is a promise of future payback. Politicians make promises all the time. Promises are everywhere.
If us mere mortals can regard promises so highly, how much more then, will a holy and just God honour His promises?
The Bible, which is God's contract with man, is full of promises. Countless books have been written detailing the promises of God. We've heard them, we know them. For most of us, God's promises are written in our hearts. However, years of personal struggles, disappointment and discouragements have caused the dust of unbelief to settle on them, and the cobwebs of doubt to weave around them.
Just like spring cleaning brings out of hiding something that was once close to our hearts, this week God brought me back to His promises during my pastor's preaching last Friday.
When God makes a promise, He intends to keep it. If that promise hasn't come true in our lives, there are reasons for it. Whatever the reason is, it's not because God forgot, or that God just didn't care.
God remembers His promises down to every last detail, and He's constantly working to guide our way into receiving them. Finding the way to the promise takes some getting used to though. Nothing of value was ever attained easily.
Every promise of God will come to pass if we, in my pastor's words, simply be patient, and trust and obey.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Proverbs 18:9
One who is slack in his workSlackness is destructive. Slackness diverts. Slackness brings regret. Slackness is not for you.
is brother to one who destroys. - NIV
Slack habits and sloppy work
are as bad as vandalism. - The Message
He who is loose and slack in his work is brother to him who is a destroyer and he who does not use his endeavors to heal himself is brother to him who commits suicide. - The Amplified Bible
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Spiritual Optimization
Optimization is good. I spent the most of last week optimizing a website to make it run as fast as possible. I have a friend who races cars, or at least he likes to think he does. So he strips off all unnecessary weights from his car, switches to a carbon hood, titanium wheels, etc. Cyclists spend hours stripping off every possible gram from their bikes. Why? When unnecessary weights bog you down, it hinders your journey.
These past few days God has been talking to me about optimizing my life. We are here on this earth for one purpose, and all we do should be aimed at achieving that purpose. Here's a few things God has spoken to me about optimizing:
1. Forget what is behind
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead - Phillipians 3:13
The past belongs in the past. Good memories or bad memories, they all go in the great archive of your life, ready to be retrieved when needed. That's what archives are for, for storing things you don't need in the present for easy retrieval when you do need them. Past events help shape who you are now, but holding onto them only bogs you down.
2. Pursue Holiness
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming......But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. - Colossians 3:5-8
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. - Hewbrews 12:1
Sin bogs you down. If I count all the times I've spent repenting at the alter, and fighting temptations, that would make up a big chunk of my life. If I had spent a little more time planning my journey to steer away from potential temptation potholes, I would have a much more efficient journey. When in doubt, don't. If you know you're going to be playing with fire, then don't play.
3. Let the Peace of Christ take over
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:15-17
That verse says it all. The peace of Christ brought about by the His Word in our hearts, is the tailwind that will make the journey seem lighter that it really is.
4. Bring the flesh into submission
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. - 1 Corinthians 9:25-27
A well trained and controlled physical body will take the spiritual body further and faster. An untrained, un-submitted physical body will only divert, and slow down.
5. Strip off unnecessary weights
No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. - 2 Timothy 2:4
Time is precious. With the clock ticking on Armageddon, spending time on things with no eternal value not only wastes time, but also has the potential to unsuspectingly slip us into reverse gear.
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