"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (NIV)
"Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!" (NKJV)
"Praise the Lord, God our Savior, who helps us every day." (NCV)
I was reading and meditating on Ps 68:19 recently especially constrasting the versions given by NIV and NKJV. This verse encourages us to praise God, our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. All of us have burdens that we face on a regular basis, some more regular than others. Burdens relating to the broad categories of health, finances, work/study and relationships. Where health is concerned, an adverse report from the doctor can often turn our world upside down. As for finances, we could be saddled with debts and find making ends meet difficult. Projects, assignments and examinations are common in work & study. And in almost all spheres of life, we have to interact with people, which often time poses a great challenge for many of us. For all these burdens and more, the psalmist David praised God for His daily carriage of our burdens. Indeed, Jesus has carried the weight of the world's sins on His body when He was crucified on the cross. We therefore have to learn how to transfer our burdens over to God.
The wonderful thing is that God not only takes away our burdens, He loads us with His benefits on a daily basis. The psalmist David tells us some of the benefits God has provided for us: sins forgiven, healed bodies, deliverance from the pit of hell, good gifts from heaven and renewed strength.
"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." Ps 103:1-5 (NIV)
The only way we can tap upon God's benefits for our lives is to begin to focus on Him. The praises of God certainly releases the power and blessings of heaven. God is ever ready to help us everyday if we're prepared to surrender ourselves to Him. If you have a burden right now, turn it over to God in prayer. Remember, He daily bears our burdens and loads us with benefits instead. Hallelujah!
Monday, May 14, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Purpose and Calling
What's the purpose of our existence on earth? Do all of us have a special calling from God? These are questions we should ask ourselves at one point in our life's pilgrimage. Certainly, man is born to work by the sweat of his brow to earn a living to support, at the basic level, his family, whether immediate or extended. If there is more than enough, he could also help to support charities or organisations serving the needs of the wider community. Work, of course, takes on many forms. Some are tedious, menial and mundane; while others require the use of our intellect or having what is known as business acumen. Whatever it is, God has given to mankind "the ability to produce wealth" (Deut 8:18).
So we can say that the general purpose of man is to work for self sustenance and the sustenance of others. The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." (2 Thess 3:10) and the Ephesians, "Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need." (Eph 4:28). God wants us to be engaged in honest and decent work; He is against us obtaining wealth through unscrupulous means (Pr 11:1). However, assuming we are making an honest decent living, there comes a point in our life (mid-life or quarter-life crises) whereby we question the meaningfulness of our current work.
As to the specific type of work we should be doing, it would be a matter of one's calling or giftings God has endowed us. I want to say that most work requires time, energy and effort to get things accomplished and would not seem to be very pleasant. So if you're thinking of a comfortable cushy job that pays well, think again - it may be just a figment of your imagination. Look at Paul, who was appointed by God to be a herald, an apostle and a teacher to the Gentiles (1 Tim 2:7). He didn't have it so easy; in fact, God warned him that he would suffer much for His sake (Ac 9:15-16). Even though Paul travelled a lot to bring the gospel to many lands, he worked as a tent-maker to support himself (Ac 18:2-3). He also received financial support from others to help in his ministry (Phil 4:18).
This brings me to my next point; God may call some of us to be end-time financiers for the work of His kingdom. The wealth of the sinners will be stored up for them (Pr 13:22). Jesus was supported by the wealthy during his time on earth - with a colt (Lk 19:30-31), akin to a mode of transportation; with a place to hold the Passover (Lk 22:10-12) and a place for Him to refresh Himself (Jn 12:1-3). Whatever may be our specific calling where work is concerned, God has created us anew in Christ to do good works. This entails establishing right relationships in the office between employers and employees (Eph 6:5-9). Even in a situation where there is oppression and unreasonableness, Peter tells us that employees who are submissive to their employers find favours with God (1 Pet 2:18-19). This is one way we can impact and influence lives for God.
So looking beyond our current work/job, we ought to examine our attitude towards the relationships we have with the people in our home or place of work. There may not be a perfect job for us, though, many would contemplate a life that is carefree. There is, however, a perfect attitude that we ought to cultivate:
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Phil 2:5-8 (NASB)
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." 1 Pet 2:21 (NASB)
So we can say that the general purpose of man is to work for self sustenance and the sustenance of others. The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonians, "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." (2 Thess 3:10) and the Ephesians, "Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need." (Eph 4:28). God wants us to be engaged in honest and decent work; He is against us obtaining wealth through unscrupulous means (Pr 11:1). However, assuming we are making an honest decent living, there comes a point in our life (mid-life or quarter-life crises) whereby we question the meaningfulness of our current work.
As to the specific type of work we should be doing, it would be a matter of one's calling or giftings God has endowed us. I want to say that most work requires time, energy and effort to get things accomplished and would not seem to be very pleasant. So if you're thinking of a comfortable cushy job that pays well, think again - it may be just a figment of your imagination. Look at Paul, who was appointed by God to be a herald, an apostle and a teacher to the Gentiles (1 Tim 2:7). He didn't have it so easy; in fact, God warned him that he would suffer much for His sake (Ac 9:15-16). Even though Paul travelled a lot to bring the gospel to many lands, he worked as a tent-maker to support himself (Ac 18:2-3). He also received financial support from others to help in his ministry (Phil 4:18).
This brings me to my next point; God may call some of us to be end-time financiers for the work of His kingdom. The wealth of the sinners will be stored up for them (Pr 13:22). Jesus was supported by the wealthy during his time on earth - with a colt (Lk 19:30-31), akin to a mode of transportation; with a place to hold the Passover (Lk 22:10-12) and a place for Him to refresh Himself (Jn 12:1-3). Whatever may be our specific calling where work is concerned, God has created us anew in Christ to do good works. This entails establishing right relationships in the office between employers and employees (Eph 6:5-9). Even in a situation where there is oppression and unreasonableness, Peter tells us that employees who are submissive to their employers find favours with God (1 Pet 2:18-19). This is one way we can impact and influence lives for God.
So looking beyond our current work/job, we ought to examine our attitude towards the relationships we have with the people in our home or place of work. There may not be a perfect job for us, though, many would contemplate a life that is carefree. There is, however, a perfect attitude that we ought to cultivate:
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Phil 2:5-8 (NASB)
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps." 1 Pet 2:21 (NASB)
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Turning and Inflexion Points
Turning points and inflexion points are mathematical terms found in calculus. Turning point has to do with a curve changing direction (from positive gradient to zero and then to negative gradient or vice versa). You can think of a simple quadratic curve such as y = x^2 or y = -x^2. An inflexion point has to do with a curve moving in the same direction but experiencing a plateau at a certain period in the continuum. A simple curve to illustrate this is y = x^3, where the plateau here has zero gradient, although there could be inflexion points where the gradient is non-zero. Enough of mathematics, let's move on to talk about life's applications.
In life, we all experience turning points. When we are travelling in the wrong direction, having a Christless existence, an encounter with God can bring about a change in direction back to him. Paul the apostle put it this way to the Corinthian Christians, "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6:9-11 (NASB). We are not talking about an one-off sin that was committed but rather a habitual sin or permanent occupation of a person. When the Corinthians turned to Christ, they gave up their carnal pursuits to follow a higher pursuit.
The man with the legion of demons which we considered the other time is another good case in point. He was living in a hellish existence without hope, doomed to destruction. The turning point came when Jesus sought him out and graciously touched him. He was so grateful to Christ that he wanted to follow Him wherever He goes. But Christ told him to return to his own hometown to declare the great things God has done in his life (Mk 5:19). Let us examine our own life's direction. Have we lost our bearing in life in the pursuit of worldly things? It time to make a U-turn and seek God's face while He may be found.
In life, we may also experience inflexion points. In our Christian pilgrimage, we may come to a low point in life whereby we become discouraged or disillusioned or simply drifting aimlessly along. Unless something happens, we may be on the verge of backsliding. In such times, God may be gracious to allow us to experience His blessings, such as Pentecost, Azusa, Toronto and Pensacola, to renew and revive us. All of us like God to be our 'blesser'. However, more often than not, God speaks to us through pain and sorrow. It is His megaphone to get our attention. God allows sicknesses or calamities to afflict us to prove our devotion and loyalty to Him (like Job). Or sicknesses allow God's children to enforce Christ's victory on earth when they go and minister to those in need of healing. When the love of God is seen and felt by the sick who may be pre-believers, it may be their turning point in life. For the believers, it may be their inflexion point to trust God more.
The righteous of the Lord does not need turning or inflextion points. They keep on advancing and grow stronger each day. "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Pr 4:18 (NIV)
In life, we all experience turning points. When we are travelling in the wrong direction, having a Christless existence, an encounter with God can bring about a change in direction back to him. Paul the apostle put it this way to the Corinthian Christians, "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6:9-11 (NASB). We are not talking about an one-off sin that was committed but rather a habitual sin or permanent occupation of a person. When the Corinthians turned to Christ, they gave up their carnal pursuits to follow a higher pursuit.
The man with the legion of demons which we considered the other time is another good case in point. He was living in a hellish existence without hope, doomed to destruction. The turning point came when Jesus sought him out and graciously touched him. He was so grateful to Christ that he wanted to follow Him wherever He goes. But Christ told him to return to his own hometown to declare the great things God has done in his life (Mk 5:19). Let us examine our own life's direction. Have we lost our bearing in life in the pursuit of worldly things? It time to make a U-turn and seek God's face while He may be found.
In life, we may also experience inflexion points. In our Christian pilgrimage, we may come to a low point in life whereby we become discouraged or disillusioned or simply drifting aimlessly along. Unless something happens, we may be on the verge of backsliding. In such times, God may be gracious to allow us to experience His blessings, such as Pentecost, Azusa, Toronto and Pensacola, to renew and revive us. All of us like God to be our 'blesser'. However, more often than not, God speaks to us through pain and sorrow. It is His megaphone to get our attention. God allows sicknesses or calamities to afflict us to prove our devotion and loyalty to Him (like Job). Or sicknesses allow God's children to enforce Christ's victory on earth when they go and minister to those in need of healing. When the love of God is seen and felt by the sick who may be pre-believers, it may be their turning point in life. For the believers, it may be their inflexion point to trust God more.
The righteous of the Lord does not need turning or inflextion points. They keep on advancing and grow stronger each day. "The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Pr 4:18 (NIV)
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