Monday, November 30, 2009
Luke 22:54-71
Today, I am angry, because of all the disappointments that I find myself getting into. You’d think that people are the only ones that can disappoint. No, I’ve experienced God disappointing me over and over again. Why Lord?
If you think doing good would score you plenty of rewards in return, prepare to be disappointed. David did the best good he could. Still Saul chased him out of the kingdom and sought to kill him. How disappointed do you think David was? How much disappointment did David have to go through? Still he kept close to God, writing the psalms and reassuring himself that God was still on his side.
Jonah was disappointed as well. After he had spoken the Word of the Lord to the Ninevites, they turned to God and God relented from doing destruction. Jonah got disappointed with God for that. Sometimes, you may think Jonah wasn’t thinking clearly, but how often than not do we get disappointed because God decided to bless our non-believing friends and not us. I mean, we did so much good, and still our friends are prospering so much more than us!
What do you think Jesus felt when He was arrested and led to be crucified? Peter denied Him three times! How disappointed do you think Jesus was? Still He knew that it was God’s will. Then we get the people treating Him badly, after all the good things He has done, why don’t any of them look at that?
It is as if they had blinded their own eyes to only see fault in Jesus. Sometimes, that is what people around us do. And we get disappointed. Because of all the good we have done, they remember none.
Jesus told them that He is the Son of God. No one there believed.
Imagine you telling people that you can lead people, and no one believed. Imagine you telling people that you can help them, and no one believed. Imagine people looking down on you and calling you a liar because you told them the truth.
I believe you can surely relate with me now. But by showing you all these disappointments, I don’t intend to belittle anyone of anything. On the contrary, to know that most heroes of the bible including Jesus had to go through massive disappointment shows that it is part and parcel of this life we’re living.
Is it fair that the early Christians were persecuted for sharing the truth? No it is not.
But I tell you something true and encouraging that I heard not so long ago. “Life may not be fair, but it is always just”. God doesn’t pass fairness, He passes judgment. In the end, we all get what we deserve. If it is God’s will that we get disappointed, who are we to question Him? His ways are above ours, His thoughts are higher, His mercies are new and His love is never failing. He is faithful and just to those who cry out to Him.
Jesus took on all that disappointment so that He could save us! In the end, His name is now lifted higher than any other name, and seated at the right hand of the Father, He stands interceding for us. What difference can we make in light of all the disappointments life has to throw at us? Are we going to sit and sulk or are we going to take all the disappointments, bring it to the Lord, and churn a passion to see righteousness prevail even further, to make a difference even if it means that we lose our lives in the process!
Trusting in God does not mean we get to skip life’s toughest days. In fact, we get more of those. Trusting in God means we get to overcome life’s toughest days with God by our side! If God is with us, who then can be against us.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Passion for the House
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Luke 19:45-48
Jesus came into the temple, and His anger got the best of Him. He over turned the tables and drove out all who were selling there. This would be my picture of passion. Jesus had a passion for the temple of God. So much so that the chief priests, the scribes, who were the leaders of the temple and also other leaders sought to destroy Him. This overwhelming passion for the house of God was not seen very commonly in the temple during those days.
What is passion for the house of God? To have passion for the house of God is to have a certain ownership over the house of God. It is your Father’s house and you ought to take good care of it along with all the leaders of the church. The church does not belong to the pastor but to you as a child of God.
If all the members of the church would have a passion for God’s house, the church would grow in leaps and bounds. The walkways would be clean, the toilets always clean, the sound systems maintained, rubbish is always cleaned. People would be welcomed, joy would be in the house, love would flourish among the people and needs would be met.
Tithes and offerings are so important to maintain the house of God. But above that, we have a building fund where money is allocated to build the house of God into a bigger and more conducive environment. To have the passion of God is to be able to sacrifice in terms of cash, time and commitment toward the house of God. We would appreciate the building fund as an opportunity to give rather than just another time to give.
Why is all the technical so important? Why is having everything just perfect so important in the house of God? Why did Jesus not allow the people to buy and sell in the house of God? Other than the house of God being a holy sanctuary, there is a more important reason why the house of God needs to be just right. It is because lives are involved here. The house of God is the determining factor whether an unbeliever or a new believer would come to know the Lord in all His glory in the church.
If the walkways were not swept or the toilets are not cleaned right, even if the ushers are not welcoming, distractions are there and if the unbeliever is distracted by these minute details, we may have failed to have that unbeliever focus on God and a life and soul may be lost.
One pressing problem that I see most common in church is when people walk in and out of church as they want to. I have a passion for the house of God and when I see this happening, I get frustrated. Here someone’s life may be on the line and when you walk out of the church and they see you, they get distracted form the Word. They start to think, “I wonder where they are going?” or even worst, “If they can do that then so can I.” Worst still if this happens during an altar call.
I can’t mention enough the importance of excellence in the house of God. Every single detail counts because God is dealing with lives in this holy place. Every small rubbish I see on the floor, I pick up. Every single chair I see shifted, I move it back into place. Everything I hear or see distracting, I tell my pastor or even better if I can solve it myself. If the rubbish is not taken out, I take it out. I don’t need to be a leader to do this. I know the weight of what I am doing in keeping the house of God excellent even if it means that one life will come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Luke 19:45-48
Jesus came into the temple, and His anger got the best of Him. He over turned the tables and drove out all who were selling there. This would be my picture of passion. Jesus had a passion for the temple of God. So much so that the chief priests, the scribes, who were the leaders of the temple and also other leaders sought to destroy Him. This overwhelming passion for the house of God was not seen very commonly in the temple during those days.
What is passion for the house of God? To have passion for the house of God is to have a certain ownership over the house of God. It is your Father’s house and you ought to take good care of it along with all the leaders of the church. The church does not belong to the pastor but to you as a child of God.
If all the members of the church would have a passion for God’s house, the church would grow in leaps and bounds. The walkways would be clean, the toilets always clean, the sound systems maintained, rubbish is always cleaned. People would be welcomed, joy would be in the house, love would flourish among the people and needs would be met.
Tithes and offerings are so important to maintain the house of God. But above that, we have a building fund where money is allocated to build the house of God into a bigger and more conducive environment. To have the passion of God is to be able to sacrifice in terms of cash, time and commitment toward the house of God. We would appreciate the building fund as an opportunity to give rather than just another time to give.
Why is all the technical so important? Why is having everything just perfect so important in the house of God? Why did Jesus not allow the people to buy and sell in the house of God? Other than the house of God being a holy sanctuary, there is a more important reason why the house of God needs to be just right. It is because lives are involved here. The house of God is the determining factor whether an unbeliever or a new believer would come to know the Lord in all His glory in the church.
If the walkways were not swept or the toilets are not cleaned right, even if the ushers are not welcoming, distractions are there and if the unbeliever is distracted by these minute details, we may have failed to have that unbeliever focus on God and a life and soul may be lost.
One pressing problem that I see most common in church is when people walk in and out of church as they want to. I have a passion for the house of God and when I see this happening, I get frustrated. Here someone’s life may be on the line and when you walk out of the church and they see you, they get distracted form the Word. They start to think, “I wonder where they are going?” or even worst, “If they can do that then so can I.” Worst still if this happens during an altar call.
I can’t mention enough the importance of excellence in the house of God. Every single detail counts because God is dealing with lives in this holy place. Every small rubbish I see on the floor, I pick up. Every single chair I see shifted, I move it back into place. Everything I hear or see distracting, I tell my pastor or even better if I can solve it myself. If the rubbish is not taken out, I take it out. I don’t need to be a leader to do this. I know the weight of what I am doing in keeping the house of God excellent even if it means that one life will come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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