Treating Unfairness in Life

Romans 12:11-12

Saturday, April 16, 2016

“Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer”

Joyful in hope. Hope is when we have faith in something we cannot see, like hoping for a better day. As Christians, we hope for the day when we will see Jesus. Therefore we are joyful. Whether trials or pestilence, they cannot rob us of this - that in the end we will see Jesus. This is the greatest joy. Don’t let anyone nor anything bring you doubts about this. This is what you should fix your eyes on. The Lord Jesus Christ has done it all. All we have to do is endure this life and let God use us for His plans and purposes whatever it may be. In the end, we will still see Jesus. Don’t think of life as being unfair to you. God is not about fairness, He is just. And everything will happen in the end as it is supposed to. Take unfairness as a common thing. Expect it to come even in the quietest moments when least expected. Treat everyone equally and don’t let another disrupt you following Jesus.

Patience in affliction. Your endurance is being tested every single day. And it grows as it is being tested. Patience will bring you a long way in life. Why does God call us to be patient in affliction? Why does God put affliction on us in the first place? We know that it is for our benefit that we are afflicted, so that we may learn from it and grow. At the same time, we know that not all affliction is from God and we should not choose to stay in affliction but find a way out of it. Going through affliction will also help you to see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. So be patient until God provides you a way out of your affliction. Discern wisely and act on it. But in the process do not say that life is unfair to you. You do not know what others are going through.

Faithful in prayer. Prayer is what connects us to God. Prayer is what helps us tap into the unseen power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is what keeps us intact. Without prayer, we feel hopeless, impatient and hungry for the world. Prayer brings us back to our senses, brings us back to Jesus. Prayer brings new perspective for us. Prayer helps us fix our eyes on Jesus.

It hit me that all these three – being joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer – are ways of overcoming the world, especially the unfairness of the world. "I have overcome the world," says our Lord Jesus Christ. In the end, we will still see Jesus. Amen.

Feeling Condemned?

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Feeling condemned?

Romans 8:34

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Because the Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us, we are no longer condemned. Condemnation is no longer a word for us to live in fear of. For because of Christ, the enemy cannot make us rejected by God. Now God accepts everyone who believes in His Son Jesus Christ and it does not matter if you slip into sin.

In Christ there is no longer condemnation. This of course does not mean that we are licensed to sin. In fact Christ did not die for us so that we can sin. He died to save us from the consequences of our sins. And when He did, He gave us the power to overcome sin. Those who believe in Christ and His resurrection power no longer have to be overwhelmed by sin. In fact in Titus 2:12, grace teaches us to deny ungodliness.

So why do we need to know that in Christ there is no condemnation? It is because directly or indirectly, we are naturally prone to live in condemnation. Take for example, if you fail an exam, are you still rested or do you feel condemned? If you fail to keep the ten commandments, do you feel condemned? If you fail to make a close one proud, do you feel like you have not done enough? All these are, to me, are examples of being condemned by your failures and mistakes. But fear not, everyone makes mistakes, everyone fails in life. To get to your success is to fail multiple times and learn from it.

What I am getting at is that our Lord Jesus Christ has already paid for you so that you no longer have to feel condemned. Because no sin on earth, nor failures you have made could separate you from the love of God. And as long as we know that, we can remain rested and stressed free because our God does not condemn us. In fact, He just wants to draw us closer to Him.