'But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsover I have said unto you'
John 15:26
God indeed blesses the faithful. An attestation of one might not be suffice, but just like coinicidences seem to be the norm in the life of a faithful believer, all who truly seek the Lord and obey Him will attest to His grace and blessings in their lives. Blessings are not just about financials, or about health or about any of the things of the world that seem to matter to us. The Lord knows and has more than provided for these needs in the present world. But blessings is about that peace, that joy, that thankfulness in all situations, as we walk reassured that God is with us, that He is Sovereign.
''….He saith unto him, Follow Me.'
John 21:19
How does one stay straight? I am not talking about one's sexual orientation a.k.a the transvetite who won a beauty title in Thailand recently and who kept a straight face if asked if she would consider joining the army, the place where she or rather he grew up as a child.
But rather, as a believer, how does one avoid the wide avenues of sin and stay the course of the straight and narrow path?
'…. And as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper'
2 Chronicles 26:5
'But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God…'
2 Chronicles 26:16
In so called difficult situations, if we have always been seeking the Lord, we will seek Him even more, nothwithstanding the fleeting urge to look elsewhere. For we will by habit still go to God, but more likely by our living experiences with Him, know with certainty that He is the only source of comfort and grace. But if you are like the sinful King Ahaz, who never seek nor considered the presence of God in his life, the natural course of action will be to sink deeper in the mudhole of disobedience and not to a stranger, even if He is God.
'And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the Lord: this is that king Ahaz'
2 Chronicles 28:22
What about good times? Blessings can include the things that the world values. Be it material wealth, power, prestige or simply whatever we value. God do want us to enjoy the fruits that He provides. However, we often get too enamoured with the blessings and forget about our Creator, the source of all our blessings. We often cling on to those blessings and forget that God wants us to be good stewards of His grace. To be faithful and to love. To be like Christ.
Can you be like Christ yet not be Christlike in the way you share or did not share your blessings with people the Lord has placed in your lives?
'Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.'
Luke 13:24
Until pedicure, manicure and foot reflexology came along, the foot and the hands were probably the least appreciated and most neglected members of our anatomy, especially for the men.
What about the closest thing to ivory that the human possess? Does it also not deserve a place in the Hall of Neglect alongside the now upgraded toes and fingers? The teeth(or at least the gums) are not just neglected but often conveniently forgotten, for in a world that loves less, one does not really need to smile too much to expose one's clankers and if berating people is part of one's daily routine, one need not worry too much about how healthy or pretty are one's clankers, for the poor soul at the receiving end will not be paying too much attention.
Poor dental health will eventually lead to a whole series of problems for the rest of our bodily well-being. Gum disease can and will lead to blindness and a host of other seemingly unrelated health issues.
What about neglecting our spiritual relationship with God?
The ills of the world is a result of man's sinfulness. The earth might shake, but more people die because of human selfishness(aka Myammar), human greed(aks Sichaun schools). The hurricane can be conveniently blamed on nature(even if evidence seems to point to global warming as the potent factor behinds today's more ferocious nature), but human ineptitude let to poorly maintained levees(aka New Orleans) that could not restrained the aftermath of nature's wrath.
A generalized indictment of the sinful human nature it might seem, but clearly while life might not be utopic, it defintiely would be better if the world had lived the fruits of the Spirit ie love, kindness, patience, perserverance, selflessness .. , that our Lord showed us rather than the present greed, selfishness, fear, anger, lusts, pride and all things devilish.
'And God said …..Because this was in thine heart…………I will give thee….'
2 Chronicles 1:11-12
Like the advertisement that showed this tennis coach's disjointed description of his student. Key parts of his sentences were cut off resulting in a totally different message from what he had intended. It is never my intention to do the same and in only showing the selected words of this particular verse(ie 2 Chronicles 1:11-12), it was more to emphasize the importance of a single-mindedness in our hearts to obey God.
The road that we journey with God will have its twists and turns, for only the Lord knows the way. But our hearts must be strictly focussed upon the Lord our God.
'Blessed be the Lord, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach…..and hath kept His servant from evil…..'
1 Samuel 25:39
What about our mind??
'A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How can then anyone understand his own way?'
Proverbs 20:24
God gives us all an inquiring mind, for our faith is a relationship with God, and relationships can only develop when one spends time knowing and understanding each other.
God also give us wisdom. That wisdom allows us to do many things that are clearly align with His will. If we choose to do otherwise, we will know that we have disobeyed.
But God does not give us a doubtful and disobedient mind. There are times that with our finite understanding, we cannot fathom the ways of the Lord. We are not even sure if we heard Him right?
So what do we do to be sure are are walking straight or rather right with God.
By faithful prayers
'Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus'
Philippians 4:6-7
By being mindful of God's ways
'Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsover things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things'
Philippians 4;8
By always being cognizant of our commitment to God, when we first believed
'…..the answer of a good conscience toward God….'
1 Peter 3:21
The way we conduct our lives, must be a testimony of the grace and love of God in our lives. We are to be like Jesus, when as man(God in the flesh), yet not like the sinful man. Jesus Christ brought the Word to flesh.. He showed us what it means to be a child of God.
'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He delighteh in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand'
Psalms 37:23-24
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
#250 6th June 2008
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