Living by the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not be gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (v. 16-18, 24-25)

I remember when I was a child doing a science project where you filled half the bottle with windex and the other half with oil. One was deep blue, and the other black. One would've thought that it would've mixed together and changed colors. However, in this case they did not. One type of liquid stayed on top and the other on the bottom. If you turn the bottle upside down, the liquids would immediately move to their positions again. They would "push" on one another and force each other apart, especially to finds its place. Their difference in characteristics (density) keeps it apart.

This science project reminds me of us. We are like the bottle. We are filled with the Spirit or with the sinful nature. Their characteristics are very different, and the fruits of their labor are very different. One will always "please the heavens" and will be on top, and the other "drags us to hell" and will always be on the bottom. They will always "push" on one another, and will always be apart.

However, what would happen if we fill ourselves more with the Spirit? The bottle can only contain so much, and therefore there would be less of the sinful nature. Therefore, if we want to bear more fruits of the Spirit, then we must live and walk with the Spirit. We must focus on the Father and increase the Spirit thereby reducing the sinful nature.

A Prosperous Life

Psalm 107

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." (v. 8-9)

Our nation is so blessed. It has been a prosperous nation with great advances. Unfortunately, it seems as if we have ignored such advances and blessings, and continue to work towards further prosperity. Instead of enjoying what we have, we are already seeking the next advancement. For example, I have always stated that "technology is both a blessing and a curse." The mobile phone for instance has made it possible to be in communication whenever necessary. Instead of embracing such blessing, we have made it into a curse by now expecting communication 24x7. Our work has bled into our daily living through expectations of always being accessible. There is no longer a clear distinction of when work ends and home life begins. The work life has bled into home life because we choose to further prosperity instead of enjoying what has already been given to us.

This is one of the major problems in America. We are constantly reminded that "we should deserve our just reward", "we need to demand what we deserve", "we need to grab what we want", and especially that "life is about making the big bucks." We are continually never satisfied with what we have, and overwork to get more. We no longer "work to live," but "live to work."

Unfortunately, the primary issue stems from the initial idea; the idea that these things are ours. We believe that these are our just rewards, and therefore they belong to us. In truth, they all belong to God. It is our Heavenly Father, our Jehovah Jirah, who provides. He is not the provider of just the big things, but in all things including the small ones. He is the creator of all things, and therefore belongs to Him. It is God who blesses us. If we begin to live in this light, and thank Him for His provisions to our needs, then we can learn to become satisfied. It is then when we can live a peaceful and truly a prosperous life.

The Final Sacrifice

1 Peter 2:13-25

"To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (v. 21-25)

We always attempt to keep our house in a acceptable state of cleanliness. However, with children running in the house, our acceptance level had declined. Regardless, we work hard in keeping it clean. However, when we have guests, our acceptance level returns to a very high level. We do our best to present a beautiful clean house. However, during the process if time is running out, we have a "special room" where we dump things into when we cannot appropriately clean them. It is a room where we sometimes tell our guest of two german shepherds as a watchdog behind the door. The house in general may be clean, but it would be disastrous if the guest walked into that room. Unfortunately, it's worse after our guests leaves. We are typically exhausted, and either the mess in the "special room" is forgotten and collects over time, or the mess just gets re-distributed back into the house.

Unfortunately, we as Christians treats our sins in the same manner. Many of accept the gift of eternal life of Christ, but continues to treat in a similar fashion. We now recognize its wrong, but we attempt to sweep it into a "special room." We treat Christ's sacrifice as if it was simply to cover our sins. Christ's sacrifice through His death and resurrection was not a sacrifice as in the Old Testament. It was not an atonement as translated in the Old Testament as "a covering" or "to cover over something." He sacrifice was to wash away our sins once and for all. To have our sins completed washed away is very different than covering it up. So to must our attitude be. When we sin against God and then receive His forgiveness, then we must take every attempt to prevent from sinning again. His forgiveness, is not about "rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic." We do not just cover it up, only to have it appear elsewhere in our lives. Our acceptance of His forgiveness means the elimination of the event AND the attitude of the sin.

Let us therefore not diminish the power of the cross. His sacrifice was not like the sacrifices of animals in the Old Testament. It was done once and for all as Jesus spoke His last few words, "It is finished."

Gaining Respect

Daniel 1:1-16

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way." (v. 8)

Even during difficult times and while being captive, Daniel did not forget his faith and did everything he could to prevent compromising it. This included showing respect to his officials, although they were his captors, and always attempting to abide by their given processes. He did not simply ignore the captors way to avoid compromising his faith. He followed his chain of commands, and requested a change.

As Christians, we must do the same. In fact, Scripture teaches us to respect and obey our local authorities. Our fundamental beliefs should never be compromised. However, we should do everything possible to work within the system to avoid compromise whenever possible. By doing so, we would potentially earn the respect of the officials and possibly win their hearts as well.

You'll gain respect when people see
That you are faithful to God's Word;
There may be some who disagree,
But they will know you love the Lord.
- D. De Haan

If you're living for Christ you may lose some friends, but you won't lose their respect.

Carefree Life

Psalm 121

"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.... The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (v. 1-2, 7-8)

As I watch my children grow up, I've come to appreciate the natural bond that has been developed between child and parent. Whenever there is an issue or problem, our children turns to us to help resolve these things. Many times they do not comprehend what is being done, but they rely and trust their parents that they will make things better. I also enjoy watching them experiment and explore new things, but only to the point of knowing that either mom or dad is near enough to run back to if something unexpected was to happen. They instinctively trust in the comfort of the safety that we provide for them. And as parents, we instinctively provide such safety (in some cases overly protective). Our children's lives are carefree because they can enjoy life without having to worry about it since they naturally find comfort in their parents.

Similarly, our Heavenly Father has promised us to be our helper. He will constantly watch over us and will keep us from harm. His presence has no boundaries, and He can easily watch over every little step we take. Therefore, let us have confidence in Him. Let us place our lives into His hand. We may not always comprehend what He is doing, but if we can have the faith in our Father as a child would have for their parents, then we can live a more carefree life. It is only when we release our entire life into His hand when we can have such freedom and joy.

Finding the Lost

Colossians 1:19-29

"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness.... We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me." (v. 24-25, 28-29)

As Christians we sometimes "fade out" the story of the Prodigal Son. Since we are now sons and daughters, the story has become less relevant. We may have also heard or read about it so many times that it has lost its luster. It has become more of a story and impacts us less.

Unfortunately, many of us became the older brother. We may not have complained about the return of the younger son, but how well do we celebrate and be glad for the lost who are found? Are we just simply thankful, or do we celebrate the addition of new brothers and sisters? In fact, if we truly are thankful and celebrate, would we not make the time to find other lost brothers and sisters? Yes, the search would require effort on our part, and it may cause some suffering. However, if true celebration equates to our thankfulness for the lost (and not about our selfish "victory dance"), then we should also have the passion to participate in finding other brothers and sisters. Therefore, let us strive to "present the word of God in its fullness" with every opportunity. Let us eagerly seek to help others in finding their way home.

Cry Out To Him

Psalm 34:15-22

"The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.... The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all." (v. 15, 17-19)

Children are so dependent on their parents, especially when they are younger. When they are injured in any way, they will run to their moms crying for help. Their expectations is that mom will work another miracle and make the pain go away. In most cases, mom is able to somehow make it all better.

Similarly, we have a Heavenly Father who watches over us at all times. He hears our cries and heals our wounds. He is always there when we need Him. Like any child is prone to some injury, God already knew that we would somehow have troubles. He did not promise us that He will protect us from them, but that He will deliver us from them.

However, there is a key element here. We must do our part. Parents can't always know what their children are doing. However, they are attentive to hear their cries. Similarly, we have a part to do. God will not (necessarily) deliver us without our taking our part - we must cry out to Him. God will deliver us and take care of our wounds, but we must first go to Him. Just as a child puts their lives into their parents, so must we put our faith in Him. We must take action and go to Him for our healing. For every pain we suffer, we must call to Him. He will keep His promise if we put our faith in Him.

Working Wisely

John 9:1-11

"As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (v. 4-5)

Ugh... I have already woken up late this morning and I'm starting off with a headache. It was a debate whether to begin my QT this morning and forego it since I will be late to work, but I am here now. Unfortunately, I can remember late last night thinking to myself that I would regret staying up late watching a TV show. Well... I'm regretting it. Not only am I late and my head hurts, but I will stuck in traffic now and will have an even slower start this morning. I will have less time to accomplish some work.

Unfortunately, my unwise decision last night is causing some hardship. What is worse is the missed opportunities as a result of this. Jesus was quite clear on making sure to make wise decisions with what we do with the times that are given us. Opportunities will come and go quickly, and our decisions now can adversely affect these opportunities later. For example, if we hesitate to share the Good News to someone when the opportunities arise (whether because of fear or otherwise), then we may not have an opportunity later. This could not only affect the person from accepting Christ at that time or ever at all, but it may impact the person not affecting others as well. It is a domino affect that we may not be aware of. However, the domino affect does exist as this morning is an example of such.

Let us therefore use our time wisely as it is given to us. Let us work on every opportunities that come our way, especially when it is His work!

Be Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:1-9

"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.... Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (v. 5, 9)

There are many opportunities that come and go in our lives. There are many times we know that God commands us to take certain actions. Many times it is to step out and speak His truth and the love He has to offer to those who do not know Him. Often times He wants us to surrender our desires and to follow after Him. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24)."

Unfortunately, often times we are either afraid or be discouraged with the situation. We are afraid that we may look foolish, rejected, or that harm would come our way. We may be discouraged because things may not go according to our expectations and/or the current situation seems to have many things going wrong.

Although these feelings will exist, we are focusing on the wrong things and thus allowing such feelings dictate our attitudes and actions. This is clear in the question that is asked by God, "have I not commanded you?" Our focus should not be the result or the events and/or circumstance that we are in. If we are truly to have faith in God, then we are to focus on Him and His goodness. We accepted His gift because of His grace and love. We became His sons and daughters because of our faith in Him. If His agape (unconditional) love is the foundation to our faith, then we must realize that in all circumstances our Father will take care of us. Much like parents can see the bigger picture and guide their growing children (who may not understand at the time and circumstance), so does our omniscient (all knowing) Father takes care of us. He guides us in directions we may not understand, but if we put our faith in Him then we should not have any fears or be discouraged. So let us focus on Him, and "be strong and courageous" as we follow Him.

Spiritual Deafness

1 Corinthians 2

"The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (v. 10b-14)

Jesus knew that we needed a Helper to guide and encourage us in our walk with the Father. The Spirit of God now lives in us so we can understand the will of the Father, and so we may grow spiritually. However, many of us continue to struggle with the Spirit within us. The desires of our heart is in conflict with what the Spirit tells us. More tragic is when we may have accepted the Spirit of God into our lives, but we ignore the Spirit. In many cases, we may not have fully understood or grasped what it meant to have the Spirit live in us, and therefore allowed the conflict to grow which eventually leads to spiritual deafness. We are then no different than the person who does not have the Spirit within him. In fact, we may be considered to be worse since we have "tasted the goodness" and yet decide to ignore it.

Therefore, let us not ignore the Spirit and let His words fall on deaf ear. Let us feed our Spirit through the reading of Scripture, prayer, and our worship, and let us focus on His words. In doing so, we will eliminate confusion and the struggle within, and freely live according to His ways.

Loving Others

Exodus 22:21-27

"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt. Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan." (v. 21-22)

I remember growing up being teased for being Asian. I remember the children teasing by mimicking the sounds of the spoken language, and slanting their eyes to ridicule our looks. It was harsh growing up in a different land as it was while learning a new language, but to be teased about it really hurt. However, I learned to just accept and ignore the teasing. As I grew older, I came to realize that in most circumstances, people teased because they did not understand Asians and/or did not know how o be around us. As they continued their teasing, I continued to ignore it and in some cases tried to educate our differences.

As some realized that we had more similarities than differences, and was especially impressed by my attitude, we began to establish a friendship. In other cases, the teasing would begin to decline since it wasn't as much fun as it was previously. I believe the situation improved because I did not retaliate or attempt to make fun of them. I didn't have to like what they did, but I had to accept the circumstance and especially who they were.

Similarly, we must do the same as Christians. When we become sons and daughters, we should be proud to be part of the family. However, we should not boast about it, especially because we had very little to do with it. We should not point out other people's sin and/or treat non-Christians as if they were any lesser than us. We should never accept or like the sins of men, but we need to love them just as Christ loved us before we accepted Him and continues to love us. As we show love (and not compromise the fundamentals), then we will most likely to win hearts, and not turn them further away against the truth and love of Christ. After all, we were all sinners, and Christ won hearts through His compassion, grace, and love.

Rooted in Love

Ephesians 3:14-21

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (v. 16-19)

Oh how wonderful it would be to be filled with power and strength, and to have Christ dwell in our hearts. It would be great to feel more than just getting by with life. To be energized with hope and faith, and to be more than just conquerers. This can be achieved, and we have been given simple instructions. We are called to be "rooted and established in love." How can this be achieved? Well, do we recall when we first fell in love with that special person? As we fell and grew into loving someone, we wanted to spend as much time with that person. We wanted to know everything about the person, including recognizing the fragrance of the person. We did as much as we can, which often times required some sacrifice, to make that person happy. As our love grew, our faith in that person grew and therefore entrusted our precious things, including our life, with them. Sometimes, our faith and hope through our love for them surpassed common sense. Our love allowed us to trust them beyond our understanding. Similarly, we are to do the same with our Lord. If we truly knew how much Christ loved us, we should have no fear. If we truly spend time with Him, and to know Him as much as recognizing "His fragrance," then we should be able to have hope and faith in Him. Who else can we put our faith and hope of our entire life than God Himself who is both omnipotent and omniscient. Wouldn't he know best, and should we not have the most faith in Him? Let us therefore shed our concerns; spend less time over it, and spend time with the Lord. Let us grow in our love for Him, and live life full of joy and hope knowing that He will take care of us.

Jesus, Our Best Friend

Proverbs 18:14-24

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (v. 24)

We can have many companions or acquaintances, but how do we feel about sharing our intimate thoughts with them. More importantly, when we are in a great need of help can we depend on them for their assistance, especially when it require sacrifices made by them? Would you consider leaving your children with an acquaintance for any period of time? No, it is only with our closest friends to which we can place our faith with.

What is a difference between an acquaintance and a friend? An acquaintance is someone we may have recently encountered or just have some knowledge of them. However, a friend is someone we have poured our lives into and they poured their lives into us. We have an intimate understanding of each other. We know how we think, we know what we like and dislike, and share much time together. Good friends are ones we can entrust our life with. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Well, Jesus is the best friend we can have. He has indeed poured His life into us. Because of His love for us, He came into the world as flesh, lived amongst us, and then died for us in our place. His sacrifice of His own life through His death and resurrection was given so that we can live with Him. Without this, we would be separated from God. Now, if we accept this gift, we can have eternal life with Him. However, this life with Him is not as an acquaintance. He literally poured His life for us as well because He wants an intimate relationship with Him. God even promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He wants to be our best friend; He wants to us to know each others thoughts, each others likes and dislikes, and share much time together. He has offered His life to us. Are we ready to become His best friend?

Battle Ready

Ephesians 6:10-19

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so 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." (v. 10-13)

Most of us may have heard several sermons or participated in a Bible Study to learn about putting on the armor of God. It is a common story that is taught in Children's Sunday School. It is an important lesson to learn regarding the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, boots of readiness from the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.

However, as much of we learned and had been reminded, how many of us take the time to ready ourselves? Do you want to be in battle with only a partial set of armor on? Unfortunately, that is what most of us do. We may be saved and have a helmet on, and may have the belt of truth on, but would you want to be in a battle with just a belt and helmet on as our armor? Then why are we satisfied with just that? God knows that we need to be prepared for anything, and therefore encourages us to put on the "full armor of God"; not one, or two, or three, but the full armor.

If you ever watched how knights put on their full armor, you would be astonished as to how long it took, and the effort it required. However, if a battle is to be won, then to be battle ready was key. Similarly, we cannot just be satisfied with just our salvation, and then somedays decide to read the Scripture, some days we may instead decide to pray, or some other days decide to have faith in Him. We must always take time to be battle ready with a full armor. It may take time and effort, but if we are to have victory in our lives, this is key. What can be more important in a battle?

Looking Up

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (v. 16-17)

Having a gloomy moment? Or a depressing day? Well, thank goodness it is for a short while. I remember when teaching the youth asking the question, "what is a day compared to eternity?" We will suffer once in a while, but in comparison to the eternal life with God, does it compare? Regardless, it is usually a matter of perspective. What do we have today that will last forever? Is it not our life with Christ, our fellow brothers and sisters, and our faith and praise to Him? Then where should our focus be on. If it is simply just on the moments of our lives, and allow those moments to dictate our emotions and attitude on life, then we are missing the whole picture. If we view our lives at a greater level, then we could have a proper perspective. It is like the difference between viewing a single tree and an entire forest. We can spend much time with the details of a single tree or a few trees. We may find many good things, but also many bad things. However, if all our time is spent on just that, then we can miss the beauty of the entire forest. Every event of our lives are equally significantly important, but we cannot also fixate on certain events. Otherwise, we may miss the words from our Lord.

Will we live our lives according to specific events, or do we live according to the ways of the Lord? We could look down and either relive certain events of our lives or prepare for certain events of the future. Or we could look up and live each moment as they come through the relationship with our Lord. With every moment comes a new one. Is our lives dictated by events, or do we live a life enjoying each moment with those who we love, especially with our Lord Jesus Christ?