FORGIVENESS: Reconciling with God

Last week we learned about the power of prayers, and how it serves as our lifeline to our God.

Being human, we are easily deceived and tempted by the enemy to wander away from God and to commit sin. The good news is that like the prodigal son in the bible, we can “always” turn away from our wicked ways, and reconcile with our Father in heaven through His son Jesus Christ.


What happens when we sin?

Isaiah 59:1~2
Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
      nor his ear too dull to hear.
But your iniquities have separated
       you from your God;
       your sins have hidden his face from you,
      so that he will not hear.

First, we become separated from our God.

We leave ourselves more open to the enemy's attack, and deprive ourselves from the blessings, graces, and protection of God.

Romans 6:15~16
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Second, we become slaves of the sin we committed.

Have you noticed that once you commit a sin it’s difficult to break free from this once you are used to it. Take for example, reading pornographic materials, watching X-rated movies, and fantasizing sexual images. To someone who is not hooked to this vice, it’s a waste of time and energy, but to someone who is into this, like I used to be, the addiction is real. No matter how hard you will try to break away from it, time and time again you will weaken, give in and fall to the same sin.

What’s ironic is that, the sinner doesn’t feel great even a single bit after the commission of the sin. Deep inside he has no love for himself, and may even hate himself, but he is powerless from stopping himself from doing it. This is what is meant by being a slave to sin.


How to reconcile with God?

1 John 1:9-10
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

To be reconciled, and be forgiven from our unrighteousness with our Father in heaven, we have to do at least two things.

First, we have to confess our sin; acknowledge our personal guilt, and admit our specific sin directly to our God. Confessing to other people like a pastor, priest is also good act specially if that person is righteous and will help pray to God for you.


Matthew 6:14~15
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Second. we have to forgive those who offended us, and sinned against us.


What happens if we don’t reconcile with God?

Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

First, we won’t prosper in the important aspects of our life such as health, relationships, work, and wealth. Take note that money is not the only measure of prosperity.

Psalm 32:3, 4
When I kept silent,
       my bones wasted away
       through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
       your hand was heavy upon me;
       my strength was sapped
       as in the heat of summer.

Then, we will feel miserable; there's no peace, and joy in our heart.

We may gain material things, attain popularity, gain recognition, meet powerful people, and reach places but we won't get satisfaction from our accomplishments. Our life will become a series of events that has no direction and meaning.

Why?

Because we are not in communion with our Father in heaven. We keep ourselves busy with earthly goals thinking that our next accomplishment will satisfy our inner hunger. No it won't! Earthly things can never bring joy to a sorrowful spirit; it can never satisfy a thirsty spirit...only God can!

Romans 6:16
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

And we continue to become slaves of sin.

No matter how hard you will try, as long as you don't receive real reconciliation with your Father in heaven, you can never break free from the bondage of your sin. No amount of self-help books can help you break free from the chain of sin, and turn your life around.

Why?

Because until then, you are fighting the enemy on your own strength! You need God's help to break free the bondage of sin. No one else can help you.

In order for you to tap God's help, you need to sincerely ask for His forgiveness, and be reconciled with Him. There is no other way! I know because I used to be a slave of the sin of lust, and only when I surrendered to God and ask for His forgiveness, and help did I receive total healing.Yes, it wasn't instant; it was gradual, but my recovery was real.


What happens if we reconcile with God?

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

God will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Our spirit will be cleansed, and we can start a new life; a life in Christ.

Our relationship with God as our Father will be restored; and we will again enjoy the privileges of being children of God.

Our God will heal us from the wages of our sin, and give us the endurance to resist it. He will break our addiction in His own chosen pace and time, and heal our spirit.

After God has forgiven us, will He spare us from the consequence of our sin?

Galatian 6:7~7
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

The answer is No. By God’s mercy He may, but He is not required.

We are both flesh and spirit. When we are forgiven by God, He literally set free our spirit who is in bondage to sin, and erase all our unrighteousness. (And if we die, our spirit will return to our Creator, and be saved from spiritual death.) However, in God's mercy and wisdom our flesh still has to bear the consequence of our wrong choice.
 
Take for example the case of King David, the man after God's own heart. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and later murder by ordering Joab, his general, to leave Uriah, Bathsheba's husband to die in battle, God rebuked David through His prophet Nathan.

2 Samuel 12:13~14
"So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

David was forgiven by God after his sincere confession but he still has to bear the pain of losing his child which was the consequence of his sin.

As Chuck Swindoll once stated, "Grace means that God won’t kill us for our sin, and that God will give us the ability to endure the consequence of our sin, but this will not necessarily take away the consequences of sin."


What are practical tips to avoid sin?

Yes, our Father will forgive us at a snap of a finger if we only confess our sins to Him. But as Christians we must also mature spiriturally. Spiritual maturity means that we don't fall to the same sin as easily as before. To help grow in spiritual maturity here are some practical tips I learned over the years on how to avoid sin:

(1) When tempted, don't fight the enemy alone, use your lifeline, and pray to God for deliverance and protection

Before Jesus was crucified, he was tempted by Satan in Getsemane to disobey the will of the Father. Satan must have shown Jesus vivid images of the pain, agony and shame that He will have to bear should He obey the Father. The Bible stated that Jesus sweat out blood. What did Jesus did? He prayed to the Father. Let's all learn from our Lord Jesus Himself.

(2) Know the scripture
When Jesus was tempted by satan in the desert after 40 days of fasting, he didn't responded to the enemy by saying, "I am the son of God, do not tempt me." No he didn't say that. In every temptation, there were three of them, that satan subjected Jesus to, our Lord always began His reply with "It is written..." The son of God fought the spiritual battle with satan by quoting from the Holy Bible! We should learn from our Lord, and know what is written in this most Powerful Book ever written so that we can have more weapons against the enemy. 
(3) Avoid situation when you know you will be susceptible to temptation
For example, when you are vulnerable to sexual temptation avoid reading materials, and movies that reveals a lot of skin or show sexual acts; avoid being alone with a computer or stay away from porn websites; avoid spending time with your old drinking/gambling/night club buddies who will only invite you to sin.


(4) Hang out with people who are passionate with God 
Find Christian buddies, participate in Bible study group, and join Christian communities. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger when it comes to Christianity. We all need each other for support, encouragement and correction.


(5) Do not entertain sinful thoughts, dismiss it right away
It's true that we cannot stop the birds from flying over our heads but we can stop these from building a nest on it. Sinful thoughts will come, and there is nothing we can do about that, but we can stop ourselves from entertaining it. The only time that the enemy can deceive us is when we entertain his lies and deceptions. Temptation doesn't necessarily make us sinner, we only sin once we give in to it. So dismiss evil thoughts and feelings PRONTO!


(6) Flee, and run as fast as you can
When Joseph, son of Jacob, was tempted by Potiphar's wife to commit adultery with her, he ran away from her as fast as he can. He didn't entertain her pleading and seduction. He flee like a man who see a ghost! Let's all learn from Joseph too on how to handle temptation.

The enemy does not come to us as a dark creature complete with two horns, two sharp fangs, a pair of bloodshot eyes, a bat's wing, a pointed tail, and a pitchfork. No, he comes to us as an attractive, seductive creature so that we will put down our guard, and will not flee from him. When that happens he can tempt us all he wants, and you  know what? Sooner or later, we will fall.


NOTE: Some of the materials in this message were taken from the booklet, One2One, written by Steve Murrell.

PS: If this post inspires and enlightens you, then give praise to God for all glory and honor belongs to Him alone...

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PRAYER: Lifeline to God

Last week we learned about the power of the spoken word; how it can unleash powers to bless our lives and those that we love. This week let us learn more how to put that power into action. Let's tap into the lifeline God has given us; let's use use the power of our words to talk to the source of life.


What is prayer?

The act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving) – Web definition

As Christians, when we pray we are literally conversing with our God – God the Father, Jesus (Son of God), and the God the Holy Spirit.


Do we really need to pray?

Living a righteous life in Jesus is not just about doing this and doing that to gain plus “pogi” points before God. It’s first and foremost, building and nurturing a relationship with Him. Everything we do and say should be geared towards making us closer and more intimate with our Almighty God.

It’s basic that to build a relationship with someone, one has to spend time with that person, talking and sharing experiences. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that we can be close to God, and enjoy His protection, guidance and blessings without spending time with Him in prayer. Not praying is basically saying non-verbally to God that we don’t need Him now, and that we trust ourselves more.


Does God talk back to us?

Since prayer is by definition a communication, then God should also talk back to us. The primary way God communicates to us is through his written word, the Bible. That is why it is tantamount for our spiritual growth to read the bible everyday.

God, in his infinite wisdom and power, may choose other means like:
• God can speak to us directly to our heart and mind
• God can use other people (to give the council and instruction specially those people who are already close to him)
• God can use events in our life
• God can use things to give us a message


How “not” to pray?

Jesus himself told us how not to pray.

• Do not be a hypocrite

Matthew 6:5
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”

• Do not pray like pagans

Matthew 6:7, 8
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”


How to pray properly?

Our Lord Jesus also taught us how to pray properly.

• Call to the Father, and give Him honor and praise

Matthew 6:9-10
“Our Father in heaven; May your holy name be honored;
May your kingdom come;
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

• Ask not only for your need but also the needs of others; be generous in prayer.

Matthew 6:11
Give us today the food with need;

• Ask for pardon, not only for yourself but for others, and forgive those who offended you

Matthew 6:12
Forgive us the wrong that we have done; as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.

• Ask for deliverance from testing that is beyond your capability to endure, and for protection against, and victory over the enemy

Matthew 6:13
Do not bring us to hard testing; but keep us safe from the evil one.

• Pray through Jesus, the only way to the Father

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”


How often should one pray?

How often do you want to be nourished and feed? How close and intimate do you want to become with your God?

Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

How wise is a man who relies on God more, who talks to him everyday, and who remembers him in everything that he does because God will show him the way.

Satan is at work day and night, round the clock to deceive, and to mislead us from the right way of living. He has the world as his playground, and everything on it can be his tools. We may not see him but rest assured that he is there looking for ways to weaken us spiritually, and then to chain us with sin. Our only chance of survival is to always remember that we have an almighty, all-loving and supremely wise God, and stick to Him at all time.


Does God really answer prayer?

1 John 5:14~15
We have courage in God’s presence, because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he give us what we ask from him.

Absolutely! There are five things to remember always when making a prayer request: (1) Our prayer request should be specific (2) Our prayer request should be in accordance to His will (3) Be generous in prayer, pray for others too (4) We should ask in the name of Jesus Christ (5) God will grant our request based on His impeccable timing, not based our desired timing.

Prayer is powerful because we are connecting with an Almighty God. A prayerful life should be our lifestyle because whether we like it or not, satan is at work everyday of our life, and the only way we can be saved from his evil traps is to stick with our God.


NOTE: Most of the materials in this article were taken from the booklet, One2One, written by Steve Murrell.

PS: If this post inspires and enlightens you, then give praise to God for all glory and honor belongs to Him alone...

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THE SPOKEN WORD: The Godly Power Within Us

Do you know that God has given each of us a measure of control (power) over our life? We may not be able to control the things that will happen to us (only God can) but God give us the power to control our reaction to these things. We have the power to either bring blessings or curses upon our lives and that of our love ones.

How? One way is by our words.

The universal purpose of the spoken word is to have something get done.

Psalm 33:9

When he spoke, the world was created; at his command everything appeared.

God used His words to create the world.

In your office, what does your boss normally use to get you to do something? Spoken words of course. E-mail is basically an electronic form of a spoken word; when you write your mails you normally dictate mentally to yourself though not loudly what to write, right?


The spoken word has physical power.

Proverbs 18:21

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

One day your husband/wife or someone you truly love tells you that he/she doesn't love you anymore, and that he/she has someone else in his/her heart, wouldn't you experience physical pain or discomfort?

On the other side, if your boss affirms to you that you did a great job after you finish a whale of a job, you will feel a physical comfort, right?.

Whether we like it or not, the spoken words from other people has the power to affect the way we feel; it does something to our physical life. The same is true of our words to other people.

The spoken word has spiritual power.

Proverbs 18:7

“A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul.”


Imagine that you have a book of life. In it everything you do and say got written and read by God, the heavenly beings, and satan. Each page of your book of life has two columns only -- Kingdom of Heaven/God and kingdom of hell.

Every time you speak a word, it will be written on the appropriate column. So you spoken words either affirm your alliance to the Kingdom of Heaven/God or the kingdom of hell. (Both these kingdoms are in the spiritual domain.) Either you unleash the power of the Kingdom of God to your life, and the ones you love or you unleash that of the enemy.

Bottomline, our spoken word does something to our spiritual life, and to that of our love ones -- good or bad.


Our spoken word is a manifestation of our will.

Genesis 2:15

"You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad."

When God created us, he did not make robots out of us, so that we can be programmed to do only His divine will. Instead, God give us the freedom to choose, and He honors the choice we made.

How do we manifest our choice? Through our action, and words.

Revelation 12:10

“…the accuser (satan) of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night.”

Therefore, our spoken word is legally binding even in the spiritual domain. This means that God can use our spoken words to bless us, and protect us from the enemy or that the enemy can use it against us before God. And God being just and holy, can allow the enemy to harm us on the basis that it's our will, as spoken by us.

The spoken word of the righteous nullifies the spoken word of the wicked.

Proverbs 12:6

“The words of the wicked are murderous, but the words of the righteous rescue those who are threatened.”

Halleluiah! God is good, and merciful!

Right now, if you are ensnared, and enslaved by the enemy, your spiralling downward towards a more sinful life, because of a spoken word (decision) you had in the past, don't lose hope because God is loving and merciful. All you need to do to reverse your life right now is to repent sincerely; humbly ask for God's forgiveness, help and guidance; and turn away from your old wicked life and live a "righteous" life.

John 16:23

“I am telling you the truth; the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in my name."


Once you've done all of the above, then rebuke the curse of the enemy in your life using your spoken word in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My favorite words are, "I rebuke the work (sickness, poverty, fear, dangers, etc.) of the enemy (on my wife, on my children, on myself, or others) in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ! I only accept the blessings and graces from you my God who is my Father and the Creator of all things. This I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!"

By God's grace it really works.

Matthew 12:26

“So if one group is fighting another in satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart!" 

You cannot rebuke the works of the enemy by your spoken word if you are still dwelling in his kingdom; if you are still living a wicked life, and is distant from God. That simply doesn't work according to Jesus based on the above passage.

Purify your heart and guard your mouth 

Psalm 141:3-4

“Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips. Keep me from wanting to do wrong and from joining evil people in their wickedness. May I never take part in their feast.”

Let's face it. We are human, weak and inconsistent, which means that it is very difficult for us to capture every thought we have, and to guard every words that comes out from our mouth. We may fall and stumble but this doesn't mean that we have to stop trying.

"God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that we try." -- Mother Teresa

All we need to do is the try with all our heart and mind to change for the better, and God will honor our sincere effort, and He will help us change. God can do anything.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”


Practical Applications

(1) Be on guard with what you think and say; do not entertain ungodly thoughts because words originate from the thoughts, and your words create blessing and curses to your life and those you love
      As the wise saying goes, "We cannot prevent the birds from flying over our head but we can prevent it from building a nest."

(2) Avoid the company of ungodly people unless you are spiritually strong, and unless when absolutely necessary
      2 Corinthians 6:14
      "Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness lived together?"

      As the wise saying goes, "Birds of the same feather flocks together." Either you change them or you will change and be like them.

(3) Use the power of your spoken words by rebuking, using the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the curses and bad things you heard, you thought, and you experienced just loud enough for your whole being to hear it, and be a witness

(4) Strive to live a righteous life and read the bible in order to know how
      Matthew 22:29

      "Jesus answered them, 'How wrong you are! It is because you do not know the Scriptures or God's power.'"

(5) Make it your goal to speak only words of love, faith, hope, blessing, and encouragement to others and to yourself.
      Chinkee Tan, author of the book Till Debt Do Us Part, and For Richer and For Poorer shared a very practical yet very powerful way of answering the question, "How are you?" His recommended answer is, "I'm good! But I know it will become better!"

PS: If this message inspires and enlightens you then give praise to God for all the glory and honor belongs to Him alone...

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Simple Guide to Getting Started in Following Christ

Being an engineer by profession, it is but natural for me to find a logical process or methods in doing things. When it comes to my relationship with my God, I tried to follow the five steps elaborated by Steve Murrell in his booklet One2One.

I am sharing this because I believe that this will help you get started in the right direction or improve your relationship with Christ, in the same way that it helped me. Btw, the five steps can be easily remembered by the keeping in mind the word "START". Here we go.


S (STOP)

Stop trusting in yourself and your own good works, and start trusting in Christ alone for salvation.

For it is by grace you have been saves, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. --Ephesions 2:8,9


T (TURN AWAY)

Turn away from everything the Bible calls sin.

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscriptions: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness". --2Timothy 2:19


A (ATTEND)

Attend a small group for personal discipleship and weekly worship services.

...not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. --Hebrew 10:25


R (READ)

Read and obey your bible everyday.

Keep this book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. --Joshua 1:8


T (TELL)

Tell others about your new relationship with Christ.

Jesus did not let him, but said "Go home to your people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people are amazed. --Mark 5:19, 20

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