Today begins the 40 day fast and pray set up through National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia. Please download a copy directly from www.necf.org.my
40 Days Fast and Pray
How does failure begin to take place in my life?
No one except God, can claim that he never fails in his life. Each of us have experienced failure in our lives but failure is not the end of everything. Throughout the entire Bible we can find many men of God who failed to obey His commands and yet be used by God mightily. So we should not worry or feel down when we make mistakes in our lives but rather try again and do not give up. I have heard many people say “to be successful, a person must be willing to learn from his or her failure”. We need to accept this with an open heart and be prepared to learn from our failures.
Once again I say failure is not the end of everything as we still have hope to hang on to which will lead us to prosper. Remember, failure is good if we take it as a lesson, challenge or platform to start something new. Blessing comes out of our failures when we start to change our attitudes, our hearts, and beliefs to our Loving God Jesus Christ and not to dwell in our own self or on the things of this earth. How does failure start to take its place in our lives?
Failure begins to take place in our lives when we start to place our faith in our own Wealth. Why shouldn’t we place our faith in wealth? The Bible warns us not to do so even though wealth is important for our daily living. There is one very good example in the Bible for us to learn from - by the person of Job. The Bible tells us that he was very rich; as we read the first chapter of the book of Job, we discover that his wealth couldn’t help him to overcome temptation. Personally he said “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The LORD gave me everything I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” [Jobs 1:21]. This is not the only person who speaks about the dangers of wealth, Jesus himself told us too. See the gospel of Matthew 19:23 “Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven”. Moreover in 1Timothy 6:10, Apostle Paul says “For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows”.
Failure begins to take place in our lives when we start to place our faith in our own experience. It is true that experience is important to us but at the same time it cannot assure us about tomorrow. Why do I say this? Because our strength is not based on anything except in Jesus Christ. [John 15:5 ] “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing”. We may have serve in the church for many years, but remember our length of service does not make us better than others. The Bible tells us in Psalms 1:2-3 “But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper”. It is very clear from the Bible that our success in God’s service is does not based on our experience but on our Mighty God, Jesus Christ. Experience is good for self-encouragement or as a reminder as we serve Him. One very good example from the Bible which proves that experience is not the key to success in God’s service but it is by God’s power, as in that of the Samaritan woman. After she met Jesus and repented from her sin, she preached to all the people in that town where they believed and gave their lives to Jesus.
Failure will begin to take place in our lives when we start to place our faith in our own ways. God spoke to prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 55:8-9 , “My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the LORD. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts”.
In the recent issue of “The Connection” (15 June 2009) page 10; one of our Church youths wrote an article about walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit means we are to be sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance; or we have a very intimate relationship with God. She says “walking in the Spirit helps us to remain in the Spirit no matter what is going on in our lives. We remain peaceful and joyful even during the toughest times”. As a Christian we must place our trust fully in God’s guidance. Of course, we need to plan our lives but God’s plan must be obeyed and not overridden by our ways.
Failure will begin to take place in our lives when we start to place our faith in our own strength. I like the words used by Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10 ; in which he says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”. He not only spoke these words but he also explain why we need to build our strength in God’s mighty power. See verses 11-13 where he says, “so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand”.
Our enemies are not people but all the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. In order to overcome all of this we need God’s power as said by John in (John 1:12 ). Once we open our hearts to Him we will receive power and become His children”.
Failure will begin to take place in our lives when we start to place our faith in people. Apostle Paul strongly reminds the Christians in Corinth not to focus on the leaders they favour, “My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas; still another, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? [1 Corinthian 1:11-13].
Nowadays many people like to come to this or that Church because of this or that pastor. Many times in their sharings, they praise this or that pastor (even in their actions) more than God. The destruction of their faith begins when they worship the people they favour. The Bible says this attitude can be categorized as “idol”. Therefore avoid worshiping man.
Even though we have failed many times in our lives, REMEMBER - it’s not the end of everything. We can avoid committing the same failure if we learn from our past failures. We need to think about how to avoid committing the same mistakes again and again. In other words, how do we keep from committing the same mistakes repeatedly?
First, we need to allow ourselves to be empowered by the Holy Spirit every day. This means that we must open our hearts for the Lord to take control of our entire life. See Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit”.
Second, we need to allow God’s Word to empower our lives every day. In the last chapter of Ephesians the letter speaks about the importance of putting on the full armor of God and this armor is “God’s Word”. Ephesians 6:17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. Jesus is the model to follow when He defeats the devil. [Matthew 4:1-11 ]
Third, we need to allow God’s will to guide us every day of our lives. One of my favorite verses which I like to share is, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” [Matthew 6:33 ]. It’s easier said than done.
To conclude my sharing I want to relate about an SMS I received recently. My heart was very much touched by this SMS which was sent by a sister in Christ. It really spoke to my heart and reminded me about my life on this earth: The SMS reads as follows:
Sometimes God breaks our spirit to save our soul.
Sometimes God breaks our heart to make us whole.
Sometimes God sends us pain so we can be stronger.
Sometimes God sends failure so we can be humble.
Sometimes God sends us illness so we can take better care of ourselves.
Sometimes God takes everything away from us so we can learn the value of everything we have.
..continuing Pastor Christy's Shan mission trip pt 4
9. 上山的路程
我们在清迈采购一些我们这几天需要用到的东西之后，就上山了。
Is Your Life Really Reflecting God’s Word?
Do you have this question in your mind - “Does my life really reflect God’s Word?” Actually it is not difficult for us to keep God’s Word shining in our daily lives if we keep ourselves close to our God. The problem with many Christians today is that they are unable to differentiate what is permissible and impermissible. Because of this inability to differentiate themselves from the worldly living, God’s Word becomes meaningless to the people around them. It is very true that failing to live in a Christian manner means denying Christ as Lord.
Reading God’s Word does not mean we can reflect God’s Word unless we put it into practice. There are many people who say that they know the teaching of the Bible but there are not many who can demonstrate the truth through their lives. Remember brothers and sisters, the Bible says “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”. [Romans 12:1-2 ] God wants all of us to witness for Him because He so loves all of us including the non-believers. That is why He says “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”. [Matthew 5:16 ]. So now, do our lives really reflect God’s Word? Think about it quietly.
Here are some ways that we can reflect the power of God’s Word everyday of our lives.
First, we must live differently from non-believers in terms of our words; actions and thoughts. How can we live differently than non-believers? We do not do as they do. In other words our words, actions and thoughts ought to be full with Christ’s love. In the book of Romans 12:1-2 , Apostle Paul urges the Roman church to live a holy life by saying “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will”. Living differently means we live according to the leading of the Holy Spirit and not by desires of the flesh.
Second, we thoroughly live according to the teachings of the Bible everyday. One of country’s outstanding politicians says “In politics, you have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, but you must always have permanent principles”. What is your principle of life? As a Christian our principle of life is based on the teaching of the Bible. God wants us to live according to the teaching of the Bible but He does not want to force us, it is free will. And He wants us to make His every Word become our permanent principle of life. See Psalm [119:9-13] “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth”. God wants all of us to live holy lives because through our godly living people will know that we belong to Him. The first chapter of Psalms verses 1-3 says “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers”.
Third, we must walk our talk, in good and bad times. Whatever we say, we should mean it in our hearts by putting everything into practice. We should not just say it but put it all into action. If we say this and that, we need to show it through our actions. Ezra is one good example for us to imitate. Ezra 10:9-10 says “He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel”. Many people today talk very well but are not good in actions.
Lastly, are our lives reflecting the power of God’s Word? Remember the people around us will only accept our teaching or our faith if they really see it in our daily lives. If our lives really display the power of God’s Word, I believe many people will turn and accept Jesus into their lives. The reason why I say this is because they see the difference in us. Bishop Hwa Yung shared this in his opening message during the Methodist Convention, “Only when our hearts are changed and our church made holy, can we be empowered and used by God to change our nation and the world”. The difference in our lives can only happen when the Holy Spirit is allowed to work in our lives. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen in us. See [Galatians 5:22 ] “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. We need to rely upon Jesus by asking the Holy Spirit to help us.
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