Listening to God ...

Often we hear people saying, “God spoke to me. He told me this and that.” But exactly, how do we actually hear from God?

Jesus said in John 12:50 that “whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” We are called to be like Christ, and if Christ attempts to listen to the Father, should we not do likewise?

We have to understand that spiritual connectedness is on three levels:

1. The spiritual decision to accept Christ – the basic connection

"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." - John 12:46

Speaking as a rationalist, accepting an invisible God, somebody whom you cannot see or touch physically, is way weird. However, many Christians have made this similar decision all around the world, despite it being as irrational as possible. God often invites us to accept Christ in the oddest of timings. Sometimes, it may not even be in a Church service. However, our lives will never the same after that. Question is how do we get this connection everyday?

2. Practicing the presence of God – the intermediate connection
"12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground" - Ephesians 6:12-13a

Paul talked about temptations and sins that attempt to draw us away from God. Yet, he mentions that it is only by “put[ting] on the full armor of God” can we “stand [our] ground”. Putting on is an action which indicates habits. The armor is things like prayer, the Bible, Christian resources. The Christian needs to take time away from all other distractions, lock himself up, and only then can God speak to him.

3. In the presence of God 24/7 – the advanced connection

"and after you have done everything, to stand." - Ephesians 6:13b
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5

Have anybody tried praying in your mind the whole day before? It is only when we stay in God’s presence continually, do we make a “stand” to the people around us. Only then can God speak to us whenever He wants to. You see, if we can spend time singing a song in our brains, while chewing gum, watching TV and doing our homework, surely we can give a portion of our brain to praying/connected to God while on the go. As it is in 2 Corinthians 10:5, whenever a thought seeks to block that connection with God, like a worry, or a sinful thought, catch it and change it into a prayer.

Psalm 46:10 (New International Version)
10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

When Adam knew Eve, a baby was born. Knowing God requires a change in our lives. If we seek to hear God and what He wants to tell us, do you not thing that transformation will occur in your life? Surely, it will!

Amen.

Double Rainbow ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D68ymfjpw98

"12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds," - Genesis 9:12-14

Yesterday, after doing my research and doing up half my essay assignment, I left the NTU library feeling quite tired. I still had to go teach tuition. And somewhat, I was whistling "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Well, I do have my emo days! It was just after a heavy rain, so naturally I will be feeling a bit emo. Lol.

But well, as I was crossing the overhead bridge, I caught a beautiful sight. It was a double rainbow!

When I boarded my bus to head towards Choa Chu Kang, I kept seeing the rainbow, as if God was trying to tell me something. And I recalled God's promise with Noah.

You know, sometimes in our lives, we think that life is failing us. But really, God is there! The rainbow reminds us of the covenant that God has set with us, that He will always be there to take care of us!

Remember, if you are going through a stormy period in your life, there will always be a rainbow at the end! God bless you all!

Amen.

Responsibility for others ...

The ethics philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, once wrote, "Responsibility is not a return to self but an irremovable and implacable crispation, which the limits of identity cannot contain." To Levinas, when somebody is called to take responsibility towards somebody or something, he/she is caught in the spot, not knowing exactly how to respond. This moment of not knowing how to respond is equivalent to being burn into a crisp.

Levinas might sound too high-up-there for us to understand, however it is somewhat true. With so many troubles and problems in the world, how are we suppose to respond to them all? For one human being, it is difficult. Two Oscar-nominated movies got me thinking about the issue about responsibility towards others. For those who have not watched the movies, please do not read on.

Firstly, "Slumdog Millionaire". Many people applaud the film for its depiction of Mumbai and India at large. Others also applaud it for its celebration of the success of the underdog. However, I applaud it for its portrayal of one significant figure, the elder brother of Jamal, Salim. Salim being Jamal's elder brother, probably failed in many ways. When both brothers were still young, Salim sold Jamal's Amitabh Bachan autographed photograph, betraying his younger brother. When they were running away from some thugs and got on the train, Salim did not pull Lathika up the train, but left her stranded as the train carried both brothers off. Salim once again betrayed his brother, when soon after Jamal and Salim found Lathika after several years, Salim took Lathika and sold her to a new gang he just joined. And once again, Salim betrayed Jamal, by not telling him where Lathika was.

By now all of you must be thinking, "Man, this Salim is really a jerk!" However, towards the end of the move, when Salim helped Lathika escape from his gang leader, he took responsibility! Salim knew full well that he could no longer remedy for all the past mistakes he had done before, but for that moment, he knew he could take responsibility for all the wrong things he had done.

Similarly, in "The Reader", Hanna Schmitz is probably one of the most irresponsible characters we have ever seen. She lured a then 15-year-old Michael Berg into having sex with her the entire of his summer. After which, she joined the Nazi SS, where she actually left a large group of Jewish prisoners burning in a church where they were locked up. In the trial, she actually claimed that as a security officer, she could not allow these Jewish prisoners to escape, and that this showed her responsibility as a security officer. Most important of all, being functionally illiterate, she hid it, therefore not bearing responsibility to herself.

But towards the end of the movie, we see Hanna learning how to read and write. And in the end, when Hanna was to be released from prison, she commits suicide. We learn that she never thought of leaving the prison. Towards the end, she bore responsibility, for though she could not remedy for all the wrongs she did previously.

As Christians, we know that we can never fully take responsibility for the sins we have committed. If we ever look back at our sins, it is probably larger, bigger, taller than Mount Everest. However, Jesus Christ died once and for all, to clear off the responsibility we have for our sins. Jesus took it upon Himself, and released forgiveness upon us. So, are we absolve of all responsibilities then?

Consider Matthew 28:16-20:

"16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.""

This is our responsibility. Let us take it up, and not give up!

Amen.

"Our silly gods"?

Just finished watching the 81st Academy Awards Ceremony. Excellent!

Was really enraptured by the movies that were done in 2008. They also showed preview of some of the movies that are going to come up in 2009.

However, some other thing struck me during the awards ceremony. During the "Best Documentary" awards segment, Bill Maher, one of America's agnostical personality, was hosting that segment. In jest, he asked why his documentary "Religulous" was not selected as one of this year's documentary. He also mentioned about the ridiculity in belieiving in "our silly gods".

Well, for those who do not understand why Bill Maher's documentary was entitled "Religulous", he wanted to point out that to be "religious" means to be "ridiculous", hence "Religulous". For those who are expecting me to scream "Heretic!" and therefore shoot Bill Maher down for his remarks on international television, I am not. In fact, I am saying the Maher is coming from the perspective of an America that has been using religion for their personal means.

In a "Newsweek" magazine article I once read, the Bush Administration had used Biblical verse to justify their warfare policies, those on Afghanistan and also on Iraq. The Catholic Church in America saw a huge amount of priests victimizing young altar boys in their paedophilia. The 9/11 incident in America was also percieved as a clash between Islam and Christianity (which I personally feel it is not). No wonder Bill Maher is so against organized religion.

However, "our silly gods" clearly misses the point on God. If it is gods created by human hands or human ideology, I will understand how Maher's "our silly gods" would work, however, the Christian God is defined not by man, but by God Himself. When we scrutinize the Bible clearly, God has always been revealing Himself to man. The incidents where man revealed God to the public, like the prophets, they did not choose to see God, God chose to reveal Himself to them.

Consider Jeremiah 19:4-5, "4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal--something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind."

God warned against "our silly gods", that demand "the blood of the innocent". Consider how people have worshipped money, and have backstabbed many in the corporate world. Consider how people have worshipped their spouse, only to have been betrayed by them.

Our security should never lie in "our silly gods". They should lie in Christ, in God. This I will agree with Bill Maher, but not his documentary's argument.

John 11:35 - Jesus Wept ...

"Jesus wept."

So short a verse, but yet speaks infinitely.

Were there moments in your life that you felt that God was not there? Were there moments in your life that you thought that God was just merely measuring your sins, weighing it on a scale?

How can that be, if Jesus did wept?

He wept - when He had no choice but to wipe out the people on the Earth with a flood, sparing only Noah and his family.

He wept - when He had to wipe out the sinners in the Land of Canaan.

He wept - when each and every single one of His beloved creation, sins against Him.

He is still weeping, and will always weep, interceding for His beloved children.

Jesus understands, Jesus knows. So take heart, and pour out all your burdens unto Him.

Amen.

Desiring God

When we deal with the word “desire” in Christianity, we are dealing with a very complicated term. There are two schools of thought when we come to this word.

We have those who declare Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” So they ban themselves from having any desires. They retreat to their cloisters, and try as much as possible to purge any forms of desire from their hearts.

We also have those who readily proclaim Psalm 27:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart" Therefore, God becomes a genie in a bottle. They rub the bottle, and hope that God will grant their wishes.

However, is the word “desire” good or bad? In Christianity, "desire” is not a bad word. It is only natural for the heart to desire.

Sinclair "Sy" Rogers expresses three forms of hunger (desire):
1) The mind hungers for knowledge/truth
2) The stomach hungers for food
3) The soul/heart hungers for love

It is not the act of desiring that is wrong, but WHAT WE DESIRE that has the potential to be wrong.

But how how do we practice desiring God in the Christian context? Let us then refer to Psalm 42.
1. We need to remember our need for God.

Some key phrases to take note. "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?" (42:5), "Deep calls to deep ..." (42:7). These two verses remind us that each and every single human being have a need for God.

We are all busy people. We live in a society that tells us things like, "We are our own man. We form our our destiny." or "I have no time to feed this so-called need for God." Sadly, if we live our lives according to what the world says, very soon, like a plant without water, we will wither and die. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tell us, "[God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men ..." We need to recognize that there is a God-shaped void within all man. If we do not seek to feed it, very soon, we will really wither and die.

2. Seek to know God, not know about God.

"1 As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" - 42:1-2

The psalmist reminds us that God is our goal, our destiniation, that we must seek to "know" all about him.
Ask yourself this questions: What do you KNOW ABOUT God? Then on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you KNOW God? What changes has knowing God brought into your life?
To "know about" indicates a distance between us and the knowledge. Like when my mom told me to wash the dishes after dinner, I "know about" her instructions, but because I do not act it out, I only dwell in the "know about" region. In the end, I did not wash the dishes at all (at the cost of my mom yelling, and me nearly becoming deaf).

To “know” in the Bible is a very significant word. When Adam knew Eve, they had a baby (guess what know in this context means). To know God, transformation occurs, so radical that it fulfils your spiritual hunger.

Read Matthew 25, consider Luke 6:46-27, ""Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice." Those who "know" God, they will obey God's commandments and practice it. Do you "know" God? Do you seek to "know" God?

3. Give thanks to God for ALL things, good or bad.

"4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng." - 42:7

The psalmist emphasizes on the importance of thanking God.

Give thanks for the good things in life: As Christians, we spend more time at the end of the day telling God to give us the thing we want, than thanking Him for the good that he has done. Thankfulness creates gratitude, and gratitude reminds us that we simply just owe God too much, that we cannot repay Him. Before the crucifixion, we owe God our lives, as payment for the sins we have accumulated. After the crucifixion, we owe God our lives to serve Him, as He gave up His life for our sins. He owe us nothing, and He need not have done it, but he did it anyway. Yet, He does not remind us of what we owe. He just loves us. This should increase your love for Him.

Give thanks for the bad things in life: Job told his wife off, in Job 2:10b, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" God is not calling for us to be deny our feelings when we meet trouble. The psalmist were outright about expressing their complaint to God. Read Psalm 109. The psalmist curses his enemies, asking God to plague him, ensuring that he will be childless and wifeless. However, in the end, the psalmist expresses, "With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I will praise him" (Psalm 109:30). The psalmist complained in God, and trust that God will bring about the best resolution, which He will!

Consider also Romans 5:3-5, "3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Which are the moments that truly shape your character? Is it not failures, criticisms and sufferings of sorts? It is your decision, to allow it to break you, or build you.

The more you thank God for the things He has done in your life, slowly you will find that it is no longer the things that He blesses you that you are seeking for, rather, you begin to desire more for His presence.

Let us not be Christians who treat Christianity as something we put around our neck, or something that only happens on Good Friday, Easter and Christmas. He is to be desired. Let us seek to realize that we need Him, seek to know Him, and always thank Him for every single thing that He has done in our lives.

Amen.

Psalm 117 - To love and to be faithful ...

"1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD." - Psalm 117

Powerful psalm!

As human beings, we often only do things when we are given the reason first. But to the psalmist, doing it first is more important than the reason. God is who He is, and we worship God because He is who He is, not for a good reason! Bit of ot os a reason we need, the reason simply blows us away.

(1) "2a For great is His love toward us ..." Do we, as human beings, have the ability to love? Undeniably we do, but so very often we do not love, but we choose to hate, to lust. Then we say God hates too. God has burned down nations and ordered the massacre of people. Oh surely, God hates. But God hates sin, not people. Human beings hate people first. More than just that, God weeps whenever He destroys. He is a compassionate God.

(2) "2b ... and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever." With the rise in divorce cases that we have in modern society, I find it hard to agree that human beings are faithful. We probably have more fivorces in this modern age, than anything else before. God is faithful everyday. He ensures that the suns rises from the east and sets in the west. He ensures that we have oxygen replenished every single moment. I cannot imagine a more faithful person than God.

What more reason do we need to "2c Praise the LORD"? Let us seek to be committed to our spiritual journey to Christlikeness! Let us seek to be faithful to God and loving to those who need love.

Amen.