Is God Unfair?

Have you ever felt in a situation where you know that you don’t deserve such treatment and outcome even though you follow the commands and decrees of the Lord? When that situation comes, think of Job; a character that found in the book of Job. Job was a man who is blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil [Job1:1] and he had undergone many underserved treatment. First, raiders stole his belongings and slaughtered his servants. Then fire from the sky burned up his sheeps, and a mighty wind destroyed his house and killed his sons and daughters. Finally down with a horrible, painful disease. “What did I do to deserve such suffering?” he wailed.

 Job was involved in a cosmic test, a test proposed by Satan staged on earth. Satan claimed that people like Job love God because of His abundant blessings and the good things He provides. Satan challenged God that Job’s faith would melt away along with his riches and health and proclaimed that Job would surely cursed God  [Job 1:10-11]. In such extreme test of faith, the “best” man on earth suffered the worst calamities. Nevertheless of all Job’s calamities, Job not only did not curse God but he also struggled to do what is seemed impossible to him: to keep on believing in a loving and fair God. God has “distant” and silent Himself from Job and tested Job’s faith.

Sometimes in our life we face situations like Job, our world seems to crumble apart and turned to colorless. Nothing makes sense anymore and you are tired of everything! God seems to be “distant” and silent. At such moment of crisis, each of us is put on trial. We became actors in a contest staged on earth just like the one Job went through.  Beyond all crisis, Job did what is seemed impossible to; believing, rooting himself in a loving and fair God, did not curse God. What about us today? What are we rooting ourselves in? Will we be able to keep our mouth from cursing and swearing God saying God is unfair? Surely God cannot be unjust.  Don’t blame God; instead praise Him for protection and life that He has planned for you. Let us not allow the circumstances to control us but let God to take hold of every circumstance that we have. At times God will “distant” and silent Himself so that we will call upon His name; rely on Him so that we will grow through life and to test our faith. God never ever abandon us because He has promised to be with us always. Everything happened must have its own reason.

In conclusion, let not our faith fade away as we face calamities. Let’s continue to love God sincere and genuinely, not only because of His abundant blessings and the good things He provides. Sometimes we don’t see and understand why we’re going through such a difficult time, but we should submit to the pain that we go through even if you don’t understand it and rely on God . Do remember that not all suffering comes as punishment; a person’s trials , in fact may be used to win a great spiritual victory. God can use suffering to improve a person, if it is received in the right spirit. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first [Job’s life before the catastrophes].  God has the power to give and take.

Love Letter to my Dear

Oh LORD have mercy

God most high,

For Your nature is love,

Your anger last awhile

But Your love last forever

Show us Your grace

Shower us with is that we may be filled

Empower us with Your grace

That we may go the distance

LORD let Your light shine forth through us

Eventhough we dwell in the counsel of the wicked

LORD teach us Your ways of righteousness

That all may see and praise You

God You alone are worthy

In all seasons

When I fail and when I pleases You

Your love for me never changes

God You alone are worthy

Even if my attention wavered

My love divided

You never forsake me

LORD I will run after You all of my life

I will seek Your face forever and ever

No love satisfy me more than Your love for me

Even when I do not feel it, You still fill me

I yearn for Your love, Your filling

I yearn for a loyal heart to You, a steadfast love

A day in Your house is better than a thousand days elsewhere

And in Your arms of love will I find true rest

May it pleases You oh LORD

My love, my devotion, my actions

LORD make me steadfast in You

For falling in love with You is what I desire for

A love so deep, so sweet, so pure, so full

Before my steadfast love for Her, may I have first a steadfast love for You

Love me more, my dear

Make me drunk in Your love

That the earth may pale to Your love

A steadfast love is my petition

A passionate heart is my request

For You and my dear LORD alone

Embracing Change to Experience Life

As I was listening to a sermon by my hometown’s church pastor; Rev. Christopher Mun with the topic of Embracing Change to Experience Life, I was prompted and convicted by the Holy Spirit to share what I’ve heard and learnt. As we stepping from the year of 2011 into the second week of the year 2012, probably there are 3 questions that you should ask yourself in this New Year.
a)    How different you were when in the second week of the year 2011, compared to 2012? Are there any changes in areas of your life?
b)    How much of you are new when the year 2011 passed and come into 2012?
c)    How different are you by the end of the year of 2012?

Indeed, everyone has new resolutions and desires to change to be better in the areas you probably weak in; ministry, academic, career, finances, and etc…Sometimes we as believer struggle upon the abundant lives that God given to us. In John 3: 16, God promises an eternal life. The word eternal life is the same word as abundant life! How come in the Lord we supposed to have abundant life, eternal life yet we are still we not living at the stage of our lives where God has promised for you and I? What is abundant life? Abundant life is a life full of blessing, provision, healing, protection, inheritance, His presences, peace, joy and excitement. Each of us should enjoy the abundant life in Christ while we are on earth before returning to our Heavenly Father. Christian life is not boring, in fact should be full of excitement because we still can rejoice and having peace in the Lord no matter what happen in the world or react.

One of the basic purposes of the Church of Jesus’ Christ today is to be a positive transforming agent in the lives of people. People experience a change, development, growth, excitement and full of God’s Kingdom has for you and me when we invited the Lord as the personal savior in our lives as they visited the House of God. People of God today need a change so that we can grow closer to Jesus. We cannot grow closer to Jesus unless we are in “motion” where we make the decision to grow closer to the Lord.

In 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 says But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. I believe the Lord ask us to “unveil our faces” or not to hide or cover the part of our lives that we needed God to change.  We should open ourselves; in the areas of our lives to let God to change. The spirit of God will not forcefully change us because God has given us the “freedom” to choose. Unless we “ move” together and cooperate together, nothing is changed because we have refuse/stopped God to let Him touch us by hardening our heart! Some of us sometimes insisted to change the “failure areas” with our own strength, but I can tell you that man made changes without heart conviction does not last. In verse 18, And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. As the areas of our lives changed, where we are in the process of becoming Christ-like, it reflects God’s glory; that glory that never fades in our lives. People will be able to see God’s glory through us and it will reflect God’s characters as well as we are being transformed into His image.

Therefore, brothers and sisters it is never too late to do what is right. Ask of God to change you into a vessel that can be used by Him; a living sacrifice that has a lifestyle pleasing in His eyes. Make a prayer and ask God to change you into someone He wants you to be today~

The Parable of Ten Virgins

Parable of Ten Virgins [Matt 25 1: 13]

Background:

The weddings in the ancient east were almost always at night, involving ten maidens. The bridegroom would go to the house of the bride to escort her with pomp and gladness either to his home or another place for a period of feasting. The ten virgins would have their lamps burning awaiting the wedding party at some point along the way, and they would then join the procession to the feast. Many times the bridegroom would tarry at the home of the bride, and it would be late before he went to the place of celebration. The virgins were to remain alert with their lamps burning, no matter what time or how late the bridegroom and his company came by. If the virgins went to sleep, or did not have sufficient oil in their lamps to keep them burning, or if they were gone for some reason when the bridegroom came, they would miss out on the festivities, and would bring embarrassment to themselves.

Introduction:

The circumstances of the parable of the ten virgins were taken from the marriage customs among the Jews, and explain the great day of Christ's coming. The both wise and foolish virgins in the parable symbolize us, the Christians. In it, we also see a warning and some information that urge us to be prepared for the greatest event; the second coming of Christ as He has come to redeem us. As we look deeper into the story and survey the poetic imagery we observe that all of the ten virgins carried lamps, waiting for the bride at the same time, and fire to light the “path”. What makes the 5 wise virgins different from the 5 foolish virgins?

What do the lamps in the scriptures represent?

·         The lamp is often pictured in scripture and in our literature as a symbol of the spirit of a person as mentioned in book of Proverbs 20: 27; The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD  that sheds light on one’s inmost being. The flame of the lamp shows life and watchful [awake] in one’s life. Before we accept Christ, we are labeled as spiritually dead because of the absence of Christ. As mentioned in the bible [John 10:10], Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. The candle of our spirit was originally designed to be lit and fueled by the Holy Spirit. Will the lamp be lit up without oil?

How about the oil? What does the oil represent?

·         The oil typically represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit in many times. The scriptures tell of the oil anointing of God's Presence. The Old Testament scriptures, we often read oil is used to anoint priests and kings. 

·         The Bible we also see the oil for the lamps which brings the Light of God's illumination. Poetically the Word and Light of God is there as "a lamp unto our feet" to help guide us along the pathway when the hours of darkness come. The hours of darkness can meant the crisis, emoness time, persecution, and the down times in our lives. This divine guidance will lead to provision in many areas in our lives, as we can live a life that follow God’s heartbeat or His will.

·         With the Holy spirit with us, we are also able to strive harder for God, where we rely on the strength given by the spirit not on our own’s.

The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. [v3-4]

·         These 5 foolish  virgins show to us that we don’t cherish, we don’t invest in; relationship between us and God. They refused to spend time to make preparation like the 5 wise virgins. The foolish virgins began at the right place like the other 5 virgins, but they became lazy, that’s the part that no one sees. Eventually that laziness has led them away from the bridegroom

·         Sometimes we allow ourselves to submit to the circumstances where we compromise them. Compromises begin small, but it can take us further away than we expected and cost us far more than we ever intended to pay.

The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ [v8-9]

·         Whether you are from an established spiritual heritage or starts from zero, you and I must choose to keep our relationship with the Lord. It doesn’t matter how close your friends or family are to the Lord, it matters how close you are. This is because none of us can borrow another Christian’s relationship with God.

·         Intimacy with the Lord is not something we can buy or obtained through works, family and friends as the 5 foolish virgins hoped to. You can’t buy love; you can only maintain the love already extended to you.

 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’  “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. [v11-13]

·         The door being shut implies that the other virgins are excluded from the Kingdom of God and are no longer considered the elect of God. Once the elect are gathered from the earth, there will no longer be a person alive on earth who has the spirit of God within them. This is why Jesus says to the foolish virgins, “I don't know you.“

·         Similar to the phrases The “Lord, lord” and “I do not know you” of verses 11 and 12 both are similar with Jesus’ condemnation of the false believers of Matthew 7: 21-23.

·         Sometimes it is a little too late to regret

~Ways to Increase our oil~

·         Spending quality time with God

·         Having a genuine relationship with God

·         Reading and understanding His words .

CONCLUSION

This parable teaches that when the second Christ is coming today, you will find two different groups of people:

   a. Those who prepared themselves and faithfully watched for His coming

   b. Those who were not prepared, to whom they will hear the Lord say:

               "I tell you the truth, I do not know you." [v 12]

Dear brother or sister in Christ, if the Lord were to come today ask ourselves 2 questions:

   a. Are we awake and being watchful?

   b. Are we prepared?