You Are Greatly Loved, Dearly Prized!

September 2014

Dearly Beloved,

It may seem odd to you that I address you; the Reader, so intimately, though I may not know you personally but I have a perfectly valid reason for doing so, as you will come to realize.

If there is one core thing that people continually search for, no matter which part of the world they are in; whether they be American, Chinese, Middle Eastern, or any other race: it's to be loved and accepted.

I strongly believe that this lack of genuine love is the core reason for the aching void that is ever present within us; and we seek to fill that void using any means possible. We search for love in all the wrong places, somewhat hoping that if we found 'The Right One', we'll fill that hole. In this fruitless search, we go from relationship to relationship, from one bed to the next, only to be thrown back into despair at our failure to obtain love, or what we perceive to be love

The truth of the matter is this: we ARE LOVED!

By using the Bible as my point of reference, I see it as a story of God's Love towards us, His creation. As we look at it through His eyes of Love, we'll get a clearer picture as to the depths of His Love for us personally, as a father has love for his children!

In Genesis, we see Man's fall from grace as a result of disobedience. Judgement follows as a result of that fall. However, we still find the love of God even in the midst of Man's Fall. Read Genesis 3:21 with me,

Gen 3:21 (NKJV)
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

For God to make tunics of skin to clothe Man, the blood of animals had to be shed. In this, we see a shadow of what was to take place almost 4,000 years later at Calvary, where Jesus shed His own blood once and for all, that we too could put on clothes; robes of righteousness as was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 61:10:

Isa 61:10 (NKJV)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

The word 'Righteousness' is a heavy word in theology, but I like to simply define it as 'right standing'. We have right standing with God because of what was paid for us 2,000 years ago on the Cross!

The Son of God came to die for all of us; as frail as we are; that we could be reconciled back to God. John 3:16 is the most familiar passage in the Bible:

John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I really like how the Amplified Translation renders John 3:16,

John 3:16 (AMP)
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

You and I were (and still are) so greatly loved and dearly prized by God that He was MORE than willing to give up Jesus for us! A Divine Exchange took place: He (Jesus) took our sin and we received His right standing with God, where we are righteous because of Him, as the Apostle Paul write in 2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Cor 5:21 (NKJV)
21 For He (God) made Him (being Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What was the main motive behind all this? LOVE.

Read John 15:13 with me, where Jesus speaks to His disciples:

John 15:13 (NKJV)

13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

He, being Jesus; laid down His own life willingly in order that you and I could live, loved by God as His very own children. Paul expresses it passionately in Romans 5:8,

Rom 5:8 (NKJV)

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US.

Because the New Testament was written in Greek, there are a number of meanings for the word 'demonstrates', where some of it means to show, prove, establish, exhibit. 

I like that! It tells me just how much my God loved you and I, that He not only said He loved us and left it at that; He made a public display (exhibit) of it! He set it up on a firm and permanent basis (establish) that can't be denied! He PROVED His own Love for us by having His very own Son die for us!

So know this; that you and I ARE LOVED by God! We have a privilege to be called 'Dearly Beloved'; because that's how God see us: as His Beloved!

My prayer for you as we enter October in less than a week is as Paul prayed for the Church in Ephesians 3:18-19 (I'll use the Passion Translation for this one), that:

Eph 3:18-19

..you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences - the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement, beyond academic knowledge - this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with all the fullness of God!

Know that you are deeply loved by God.

Love,

Ken

Guard Your Heart With Deposits of Life!

August 2014

Dear Friend,

As of this writing (Aug 31), two thirds of 2014 have come and gone, and we see ourselves entering the final four months for the year. It's been an eventful 8 months for many countries, especially for Malaysia as it attempts to cope with the recent airline tragedies of MH370 and MH17; and for the Christians going through persecution in various places, where some are even being martyred for the sake of the Gospel.

In all these things, the temptation is strong for you and I to lose heart; give up and complain at the injustice we see rampaging through the world. It's even stronger if you keep following the latest in the news!

God has been dealing strongly with me to share what Solomon said in the Bible in Proverbs 4:23

Prov 4:23 (NKJV)

23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.

That may be a bit obscure to you, given that I'm fond of quoting the New King James Version (NKJV), but I like what other translations have to say about this verse:

New Century Version (NCV)

23 Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

New International Version (NIV)

23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Isn't it interesting, that Solomon emphasized watching what we keep in our hearts instead of simply watching our mouths? Most of us, at some point or another; have had the bad luck of having our mouths run way ahead of our heads, and wonder why we said what we said; or even regret the words we said.

It can be established that the words we speak and the actions done will always be the product of what we had in our hearts at that time. Read with me what Jesus said in Luke 6:43-45,

Luke 6:43-45 (NKJV)

43 "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

The fruit that you and I produce will always be intimately connected to what we deposit in our hearts! Not only that, read also what Jesus said in Mark 11:23,

Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

It's a scary thought to realize that the situations you find yourself in could be a result of the things you said, which was a by-product of what you had in your heart!

Thank God however that He gave us the solution to the problem even before He gave us the warning! Read with me Proverbs 4:20-22,

Prov 4:20-22 (NKJV)

20 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.

21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;

22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

To those who will read the Word of God, meditate and feed on it, it'll be LIFE for them! Jesus said likewise when speaking to His disciples in John 6:63

John 6:63 (NKJV)

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

My encouragement to you as we enter September is this: Spend time meditating on the goodness of God, feeding on His Word for life. Let it be a deposit of life in your heart; from which words of life can flow out when you need it the most. In Paul's words in Philippians 4:8-9,

Phil 4:8-9 (NKJV)

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.

9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

My prayers are with you.

Love, 

Ken

Led By God - Led By Love

Rom 8:14
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
NKJV

1 John 4:16

16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

NKJV

My Comments:

It's been a while since I last posted about being led by God (or anything for that matter!).

One way in which we can determine whether we are being led by the Holy Spirit in the decisions we make would be to decide whether Love is guiding us in it or not. What do I mean by that? 

Read 2 John 6 in the Amplified:

2 John 6

6 And what this love consists in is this: that we live and walk in accordance with and guided by His commandments (His orders, ordinances, precepts, teaching). This is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you continue to walk in love [guided by it and following it].

AMP

We can see that we can be guided by God as we go through the processes of our daily lives. We also know that God is Love as we saw in the verse above (1 John 4:16). Read also Romans 13:10

Rom 13:10

10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

NKJV

God's love is such that it (or He, because love is a Person!) won't put itself ahead of the needs of the other, or behave in such a way that hurts them. The word harm is the word kakos which is defined to be 'of a bad nature'; but can also refer to 'a mode of thinking, feeling, or acting wrongly'

When you're trying to make a decision, and you need guidance, check whether that decision will bring any hurt to the people around you. That's one way of being led by God, or being led by Love. It'll work in any situation, be it between child and parents, or even husbands and wifes!

John Osteen called it the Divine Flow, in which God's Love just streams out of us towards another man, woman or child. His encouragement concerning this is simply this:

"God is love! Where love flows, where love is streaming, God is going. Follow and be guided by love."

- John Osteen (1921-1999)

Don't Just Talk - Demonstrate!

1 Cor 2:4-5

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
NKJV

My Comments:

If there's anything we need now more than ever; it's a demonstration of God in His Glory and Power in the church, especially as that we draw nearer to Jesus' soon return with every day that passes. 

The word for "demonstration" is the Greek word "apodeixis", which is derived further from the word "apodeiknumi" which means "to show off i.e. exhibit, to accredit or demonstrate". God's in the show business! He's in the business of displaying Himself to the world to show them just how real He is. It's like He 

The word for "power" is the word "dunamis", from which we came up with dynamite. Dunamis refers to either a literal or figurative force, and is used usually for the phrase 'miraculous power' I personally believe it refers to the working of miracles done that can't be explained away by human reasoning, and is a visible sign of the existence of God. To me, dunamis is simply God in action!

By going through the New Testament, we can find that Jesus did more than just teach; He demonstrated the power of God through visible signs and wonders. Healings happened. A woman suffering from a blood disorder was healed through that dunamis power working through Him. (Mark 5:30) Multitudes wanted to touch Him because that dunamis power was more than able to heal them all (Luke 6:19)

In Acts, Peter describe Jesus as a man approved ("apodeiknumi" again meaning accredited) by God through that dunamis power working in Him. (Acts 2:22). Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power ("dunamis") to go about doing good, healing all who were oppressed (Acts 10:38). God worked a special miracle ('dunamis') through Paul, in that cloths that came in contact with his body had the power to cast out devils and drive out disease.

Jesus promised us that we'll receive dunamis after receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). He is the Head, we are the Body. If the Head was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and dunamis, the Body should also be anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and dunamis!

I have nothing against theologians and apologetics in general. I appreciate what they're doing. But debating theology with people of other religions won't get you anywhere. A visible demonstration of God will! 

Being Led By Integrity

Prov 11:3

3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
AMP

Mal 3:6

6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

NKJV

My Comments:

One of the ways in which we know we can be led by God is by checking whether whatever decisions we make has integrity in it.

Merriam-Webster defines the word integrity as follows:

firm adherance to a code of especially moral or artistic values

Webster's 1913 Dictionary refers to it as "moral soundness; honesty; freedom from corrupting influence or motive"

Note that God says of Himself that He does not change. We know that the Bible says He's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb 13:8). Therefore, that moral set of directions that He's given us won't change either.

It is foolishness for a Christian to make a decision or perform any action that violates the very nature of God, and then claim "I was led by God to do said action". God won't contradict Himself and lead you into doing things that He told you not to do. It would be unjust then for Him to judge you for doing the thing He "led" you to do in the first place!

I'll use a classic example from the Ten Commandments of "You shall not steal" to illustrate the point. As above, we defined integrity as firmly adhering to a moral code. Given that God has said "You shall not steal", we can use that as a measuring rod to judge any impressions or leadings we may have. If we find ourselves having a leading to steal something that doesn't belong to us, we can know that that is definitely not God telling us to do it!

At times we may have a supernatural leading from God, at times we may not have a supernatural leading from Him. But we know that with or without that leading, as we walk in integrity; it will be one of the guiding points in us determining whether we will be led by Him or by another.

Being Led Because We Are His Children!

Rom 8:14

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
NLT

My Comments:

This would probably be the first of a few posts that I'll do concerning getting direction from God. I believe this is necessary as we start off the year. 

As much as we enter 2014 with a lot of hopes and expectations, we also know that there is much uncertainty about how things will be in the future. In times of uncertainty, any major decisions that we make will be crucial and of utmost importance in the shaping of our destiny.

We have a promise given by God however, that we can be led by Him! 

Paul, in writing to the Church in Rome, made this profound statement, that children of God would be led by Him! [paraphrased Romans 8:14]. The question would then be who would qualify to be a child of God, in order to be led by Him?

John gives us the answer in his Gospel:

John 1:12

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

The Bible tells us that this "he" that John speaks about is none other than Jesus, because if we were to read John 1:1-16, we can see that the mentioned portion of Scripture refers to Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.

In the third chapter of John's Gospel, we also see John writing the verse that everyone who is a Christian (and even those who aren't Christians) would know:

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Therefore because we believe that Jesus came, died for our sin, paid the price for us to be brought back to God, and rose again for us, we can be children of God! Notice also that in all three verses that I've put up, the phrases "to all", "everyone", "all" have been highlighted in red. This means that as you choose to believe in Jesus and make Him your Savior, you qualify to be led by God as much as I qualify to be led by Him! God has no favorites in the sense that He chooses to lead someone in a "better" way than others. He'll lead all of us without any bias!

And as such, we can be led by Him in all areas of our life, whether big or small!

Seeing The Unseen in 2014

2 Cor 4:16-18

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
NKJV

My Comments:

It's been 3 months since I last posted as I've been led into spending more time in prayer, especially in regards to the Church as a whole. Many great things have happened since my last post and I am grateful to God for the many experiences I've had.

Since we're now heading into the close of 2013, some of you may or may not have known that at the beginning of the year, we had a word from the Lord concerning how 2013 was going to be. For easy reference, the link to the post is as below:

http://ourlifeingod.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-do-you-see-for-2013.html

In the light of that word given, I can say that 2013 has indeed been a year of glory for myself as an individual and for our local church as a family. We've done more things in this year compared to the last year; some of us has come into a greater anointing that has had a greater impact on the ministry in the church.

And at the same time, I acknowledge that there has been ups and downs. Life isn't a bed of roses. Some of us went through some painful situations in life that makes us feel as though we're all by ourselves; but we're not. God's still on the Throne.

As such, when I was spending time in prayer this week, a word came up concerning 2014 that I believe would be of encouragement to those who still read this blog; or those who will come across this blog.

 I will blog from time to time as I am led to but for now, just read through this; be encouraged that 2014 will be a much greater year compared to 2013. Move on, move out and move up into 2014 with Him!

2013 for some has been a year of glory

But for others it may have been another story

This is no time to look at what might have been

For in 2014 we will see that which is unseen

It’s no time to give into defeat and despair

It’s time to be bold and lift both hands in the air

For He has not given you the spirit of fear

But He has called you to be with Him up here

So do not look back at what might have been

But press into victory for that which is unseen

Do not be caught up with the failures of the past 

For in My presence you’ll be having a blast

It’s time to press in for the victory that lies ahead

To be bold with your words, speaking things that will be made

For you will have a new song to sing

In anticipation of what your Father will bring

For you will possess a victory so sweet

Just remember, in Me you are complete