October 14, 2010 - Posted by mong - 0 Comments
To Pray Till You Really Pray. How often do we talk about prayers and rarely pray? How often do we really pray when we say, “I’ll pray for you later”? “I’ll pray for you later” has become a convenient way of comforting a troubled soul, but was rarely executed by a prayerless Christian. A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian. A prayerless Christian offers nothing but feeble prayers and repetitive prayers; they only hit the ceiling and go nowhere.
Some find prayer a boring endeavour, while others see it as a routine duty. Those who see it as a routine duty, reap none of its power and harvest none of its benefits. Some fell prey to the wandering mind, while some conveniently decide that prayer can wait another day.
When some of us really do pray, we do not take our time to wait on the Lord. We pray for an item the way we wanted it to be answered, squarely, without waiting to hear from God His reply to our petition. We assume that as long as we mutter the right formulae, in Jesus’ name, it should be answered the way we prayed. And the tragedy is, to some of us, that is what faith is all about.
Oh how guilty of ignorance we all are!
What makes us think that saying a one-time prayer wrapped in repetitious and feeble words would get our prayers to Him? Here are some verses which had been greatly abused by us.
“men always ought to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1)
“the prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16)
“Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)
Remember the story of Abraham interceding for the salvation of Sodom and Gomorrah? He bargained with God a few times before the founder of the Jewish race actually got what he wanted from God. He communed with God. God said no at first, but because Abraham persisted, God changed His mind.
What about the story of Jacob wrestling all night with the angel? It showed that God desires perseverance and persistence in prayer?
Moses prayed for forty days and forty nights to stop the wrath of God against Israel. Elijah on the other hand, repeated his prayer seven times before the rain clouds appeared from the horizon and heralded the success of his prayer and the victory of his faith. Daniel, though faint and weak, prayed and pressed in for three weeks in Chapter 10 before the answer and the blessing finally came.
What about the classic story of the persistent widow? Here’s the story of it from the Bible. Luke 18:1-8.
1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
What about the case of the Syrophenician woman in Mark 7? At first, Jesus appeared cold hearted, paying no attention to her cries, ignoring her. He gave her no ear, no word, and putting it in Malaysian colloquial language, “no eye see”. But she was neither disheartened nor discouraged. She pleaded with perseverance. She begged him and she could not be bothered with how low she went at that time. All she wanted was her need attended to. And Matthew 15:25 recorded that she cried loudly, “Lord, help me!!” and at that point, Jesus paused, turned back and answered her request favourably.
What about us? We have sometimes forgotten how to pray. We only know how to mutter a magical Christian-like-jargon to ensure we get what we want. Yes, Jesus died on the cross, and He has reconciled us to God. But it does not mean that a breath of prayer will get us through this life easily. He still requires that we seek and knock. Oh yeah, we are good at asking, but how many of us are equally as good at seeking and knocking? How many of us qualify ourselves immediately as the righteous man who prays, in James 5:16? We are one bunch of arrogant Christians if we see ourselves and refer ourselves as the righteous ones in the letter that James wrote.
It is time we engage ourselves in prayer that perseveres, prayer that changes God’s mind, and prayer that makes a difference.
It is time to put away those feeble prayers. (Funny, I could almost hear some people whispering aloud in their thoughts, “feeble prayers, huh, what’s that?”).
October 11, 2010 - Posted by mong - 0 Comments
I am not sure why I kept bumping into verses like this. Surely there may be a strong message from the One above? Do I have any unconfessed sin in my life? Or perhaps a grudge I hold against anyone? Have I hurt anyone deliberately and justified myself to it?
.. but if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord, and
you may be sure that your sin will find you out…
- Numbers 32:23 -
Oh God, hide my sins and count them no more. May I be forgiven, that I may be called blessed.
September 27, 2010 - Posted by mong - 0 Comments
James 2:10 Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
I have a friend who is selective in obeying the Bible. His obedience to the Bible is only limited to where it is convenient to him. He does not cheat, nor sleep with any other random women, nor murder another soul. In fact, he loves cats! And does a lot to save them from the street. Yet, he is a slacker. He has no ambition to excel in life and spends his time flirting online. And to him, as long as he seek God’s forgiveness every night before he sleeps, then his world is going to be ok. And so he thinks.
I have another friend. A few years ago he wanted to get married in church. Knowing well that the church only wed couples who have kept themselves pure, he cheated in his application form in order to pass the prerequisites. Have you performed any sexual act of any kind prior to this marriage? He answered no. But he has had sexual intercourse with many women prior. Have you cohabitated with a friend of the opposite sex prior to this engagement? He ticked no, but he has had many women moving in and out of his apartment before. The pastor, upon receiving the form, satisfied with the answers given, performed the rites and got the couple married in church. Today, in his attempt to have a baby, his wife is plagued with back problems, unable to get pregnant. He is also spending a lot of money on his wife’s medication.
Another guy friend abandoned his fiancée at the altar. Faced with extreme embarrassment, his fiancée got into depression while he is happily married with a son. Does God turn a blind eye to all these? No, today his two-year-old son is plagued with leukemia. Poor little son has to pay for the sins of his father.
Oh yeah, I have another story of a widowed daughter-in-law beating her mother-in-law when her husband passed away. Her mother-in-law was too old and fragile to defend herself during the fist fight then. She went thru hell with her daughter-in-law consistently exploding unnecessarily. The worst case was when she took the knife to threaten to kill her. All I know is, today she an old-lady now, is severely beaten by her own daughter-in-law when her son goes to work.
I have my own fair share of stories to tell. I used to turn up late for my appointments. (And I am still not a very punctual person. But I am working on it!) Now, a very precious friend, is ALWAYS LATE for our appointments!! I kinda know how it feels like by now. But I cannot not forgive her because I am a big culprit myself. And my bible study students are also constantly coming late for classes.
I believe that we all need to pay for our sins. I personally have a bitter experience on this. But I know God is a God of justice and mercy. While I have tasted the bitter taste of my own medicine, God gave me the strength to go through them and learn and grow from it.
Oh while writing this, I have a guy friend who kept flirting with girls. One day he fell in love with a girl who does not seem to stop rejecting him despite his strong pursue. He couldn’t seem to move on in life.
And yesterday I heard the story of an old man who is dying a lonely death with no family and friend by his side. In his youth, he married a second wife and left all the children to the care of his first wife. His children refuse to help him because they have never known him.
How can we not have the fear of God in us? Aren’t we afraid of what the future might hold for us? Our sins will catch up, and guess what, they do catch up.
In the New Testament, the sins of Ananias and Saphira took centerstage at Acts 5 when the Holy Spirit of God took their lives because of their lies. They died an embarrassing death. Forward a few chapters in Acts 12, the angel of death came looking for Herod when he set himself up like God. God tolerates no such nonsense.
Forward some more in Acts 13:6-12
6They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10″You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
And what makes us think we can escape all these when we do not make our lives right with God? What makes us think that the sins we do in private will one day not be exposed? Isn’t that spelled out all over Psalms and Proverbs and all over the Bible? Whatever that is done in secret will one day be exposed to light?
Better repent now while it is still not too late. 1 John 1:9. And yes, there is a time to repent. When the time expires, then we have to face the consequences of our actions. Let’s not get there lahhh…
September 26, 2010 - Posted by mong - 0 Comments
I read this today.
The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell. -William Booth, founder, Salvation Army-
And on top of that, allow me to add, there is no coming to God without a prostrated soul, and no communion with Him without a repentant heart.
There is a saying that goes, “if you kneel before God, you can stand before anything”. While this phrase is man-coined, it holds much truth. Kneeling is a very humbling posture. When I kneel, I feel a great sense of my helplessness and God’s sense of majestic glory. When I am on my knees, I feel my pride and my ego, are dirtier than filthy rags. They are disgusting. It is at that contact point where my knees kiss the floor, heavens open before me, granting me access to the very throne room of God. It was on my knees that I bring myself before God, fully transparent, fully exposed, hiding nothing, unable to lie, unable to hide.
However, in some Christian meetings today, the emphasis has been on the individual. Individualism is highly emphasized, perhaps at some point, over-emphasized. “God wants to meet your needs”, If I were to hear it one more time, I can go berserk! (But God in His grace and mercy, will meet our needs at His perfect time). At times, I do not think that God wants to meet the need of the individual. I believe God wants to communicate a strong message to the person in need.
After church service today, I was manning the Bible study counter. Next to my counter was the “Understanding Depression” counter. A man came up to me and asked me if he should sign up. I told him if it helps, I would definitely encourage it. He then made a passing remark, which I think was a bit profound, “people get into depression because they worshipped the wrong god. If they worship their work, surely they will get into depression! Some worship their girlfriends or their boyfriends, of course, they are asking for it!” While it may be a joke to him, it actually hit the bull’s eyes!! They have worshipped the wrong god!
Here are some excerpts from the book of Jeremiah.
1:16
I will pronounce judgments on my people, because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshipping what their hands have made.
2:13
My people have committed two sins:
They have forsake me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
2:27-29
They say to wood, ‘You are my father’ and to stone, ‘you gave me birth’. They have turned their backs to me and not their faces, yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
V29
“Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me”, declared the Lord.
3:9
… they have committed adultery with stone and wood
4:3
.. my wrath will break out and burn like fire, because of the evil you have done – burn with no one to quench it. (ouch!!)
5:19
And when the people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own”.
7:23b
“Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in al the ways I command you, that it may go well with you”.
I think that is enough to tell the story. People run themselves into problems, trials, troubles because they have bowed their knees to the wrong god. They have come to God only with their needs, dictating to God their “prayer requests” and expecting God to bow to their whims and fancies when their lives are actually not right with God. Sure, they go to church, but that is all they do in their Christian walk.
God will certainly answer our prayers when we walk right with Him and obey His Word. And when we walk right with Him, we will know how to ask rightly. Not out of selfish ambitions but out of an ambition that desires to glorify Him.
When we think we know better than God, God will then take one step back, fold His arms and wait till we repent. Yet, all along He stood alongside us, cheering and hinting to us to call on Him all the time. He is more than ready to extend a helping hand. But we chose to ignore Him instead.
Repentance, is not a mere “I am sorry”, or a “forgive me of my sins today God”. It is in the strictest sense, about making our lives right before God. And He has spelled it all out in His Word. We need to spend time reading and studying His Word to know His will. His will is that we all come to repentance.
True repentance comes then, when we spend time on our knees. May we all find Him there.
September 24, 2010 - Posted by mong - 0 Comments
The Apostles’ Creed (written in AD400)
I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
Born of the Virgin Mary;
Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell;
The third day he rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Christian Church;
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.