Abundant Life

In a letter from Grace to You Asia

When Jesus spoke of the abundant life, was He promising material wealth, early happiness, or a life ease?
None of the above, really. The abundance promised in the gospel consists mainly of spiritual and eternal riches. In fact, don't be surprised or dismayed if the heavenly blessings of salvation come to you packaged with early trials and persecution.
According to Scripture, trials are blessings if we receive them correctly by faith, knowing that God governs our lives through His loving providence, managing even the earthly hardships we suffer for our good.
That truth is what makes a believer's earthly life so abundant. We have the assurance that as long as we live in faithful obedience to God's Word, the stresses, worries, and cares of this world will not be able to distract us from following Christ.
If we genuinely embrace that truth by faith, our perspective won't be tied to events around us and our joy won't be dependent on the ups and downs of life. Endless wars, failing economies, corrupt politicians, rampant secularism and unchecked cultural perversion cannot cast a shadow over us when we're living each day believing in and obeying God's truth. In a word, we're unshakable.
That doesn't mean there won't be hard times or disappointment for the faithful Christian. Our faith will be tested, we will encounter temptation, and we will undergo trials. We won't be completely free from the powerful influences of this sinful world until we are called home to be with Him or when the Lord returns. But living in obedience to God's Word keeps our feet on solid, stable ground. It's our anchor when the storms of temptation and trials threaten. It gives us balance and security even while the world around us appears to be collapsing in sin and despair.
Whether you're a stay-at -home mom, businessman, mailman,teacher, doctor, or student, God's Word is the only trustworthy compass for your life. Whatever your situation is, the truth of Scripture is timeless, universally applicable and always relevant. The Bible alone sets on the path of godliness, insulates us from the cares and worries of this world, strengths our faith, grows us in the likeness of Christ, and equips us for faithful ministry to others.
Our commitment to God's Word and to living out His truth is vital, and it starts at a foundational, practical level: our willingness to believe God. Specifically, it begins with out faith.

Will of God

The following "Question" was asked of John MacArthur Jr., the pastor of Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California. Copyright 2001 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

How does a person making decisions know what is the will of God?

Answer

The will of God is not meant to be a secret we must uncover. God wants us to understand His will far more than we want to understand it. He always makes His will clear to those who seek it with an obedient heart.

Most of the real problem areas in the question of God's will are settled for us in Scripture. The Bible reveals that it is God's will for all of us to be:

Saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4; 2 Peter 3:9)
Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18)
Sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)
Submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15)
Suffering ( Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12)

If all those things are true in your life, you may do whatever you want. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart." That means that if you are conforming to God's will in all the five ways listed above, He will place in your heart desires that reflect His will. So do what you want to do!

I have written a little book on this subject called, Found: God's Will, available from Chariot-Victor.

信心

撞啊撞，
人生小船。
漂啊漂，
在狂浪中。
但我有耶稣同船，
可平安渡到对岸。

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

²⁶He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Matthew 8：23-27

Paul Called by God

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. ¹²I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

¹³For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵But when God, who set me apart from birth^a">[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

¹⁸Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter^b]">[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. ²⁰I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. ²¹Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²²I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." ²⁴And they praised God because of me.

Paul's conversion remains a great inspiration and encouragement for me too!
Paul is certainly one of the last person any believers of Christ at that time will have imagined to convert.
Yet, Paul's conversion was in the plan of God long before times. There is nothing God cannot accomplish. He wills everything to his purpose and plan.
I pray for the salvation of my parents, that the Lord will soften their hearts to accept the Gospel.
Do pray for them :)

Happy Chinese New Year!

In this festive season, let's not forget the wisdom of God :)


(Images by Randall Bowman, in Journeying Down Life's Never-ending Road, accessed http://rblog.thebowmans.us/labels/Scripture%20Slides.html )

Fireproof

⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

14 Feb is around the corner but looking around today, are we having misconceptions about what love is? Similarly divorce rate is rising...what's happening?
Lets look to the Cross for an answer.

On Marriage

A sacred institution designed by God

Gen. 2:18, 21-24

The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him'...and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Different Yet Equal

1 Peter 3:1-5, 7

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands, even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words. They will be won over by watching your pure, godly behavior.

Don't be concerned about the outward beauty ... You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God ... In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. If you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard. (NLT)

What Does the Bible Say?
• Wives - demonstrate godly character and quiet inner beauty.
• Husbands - honor their wives and be kind and gentle.
• Husands and wives are equal partners.

Outcome

1 Corinthians 7:1-2

... It is good for a man not to marry. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.(NIV)

This verse suggests that it is better not to marry. Those in difficult marriages would quickly agree! Throughout history it has been believed that a deeper commitment to spirituality can be achieved through a devoted life of celibacy.

Clearly this verse refers to immorality in sexual relations. In other words, it is better to marry than to be sexually immoral. But if we elaborate the meaning to incorporate all forms of immorality, we could easily include self-centeredness, greed, wanting to control, hatred, and all of the issues that surface when we enter into an intimate relationship.

Could one of the deeper purposes of marriage be to make us confront our own character flaws, the behaviors and attitudes we would never have seen nor faced otherwise? If we allow the challenges of marriage to force us to confront ourselves, we will be applying a spiritual discipline of tremendous value.

What Does the Bible Say?
• Strive to overcome immoral living.

I believe God designed marriage as an instrument to make us more like Christ. In his book, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas asks this question, "What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?" Is it possible that there is something much more profound in the heart of God than simply to make us happy?

Can we lay down our own ambitions to love and serve our spouse? Through marriage we can learn about unconditional love, respectful honor, how to forgive and be forgiven. We can see our shortcomings and grow from that insight. We can develop a servant's heart, and draw closer to God. As a result, true soul happiness can be discovered, and this, I believe is one of God's ultimate desires and purposes for designing the covenant of marriage.

On Love

Proverbs 15:17
A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman.

Song of Solomon 8:7
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8a and 13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Ephesians 5:25
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Ephesians 5:33
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.


"Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained."
C.S Lewis

On Death

“Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind”
C.S. Lewis