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

As Unmovable And Steadfast As His Word

Isa 40:8

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."

My Comments:

We're living in a time of uncertainty. Everything looks uncertain and we may feel as though we're on shaky ground. The economic outlook looks grim; the political arena looks insane; security issues are on the rise, no matter which country we're living in. It could be the United States, Malaysia, even in places like China or Latin America.

All this has been written out in the Bible way before it even happened. Even in the Old Testament, Isaiah saw all this through revelation inspired by God. This one verse he said sums it all up as to how God looks at it:

Isa 40:8
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."

The word 'stand' in Hebrew has a variety of meanings, some of which are as follows:

- to stand
- to be established, be confirmed
- to be valid
- to be proven
- to be fulfilled

What this means to us today is simply this: everything is temporal, but God's Word will never change! Jesus Himself said this:

Matt 24:35
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

By this, we have a supernatural confidence that God will still see us through the storms, no matter what happens. In times of lack, we will still have plenty because He's El Shaddai, the God Who's more than gnough! In times of sickness, we still have the Healer with us! In times of depression, we have Joy!

I'll rephrase Isaiah 40:8 to better reflect today's environment and circumstances, you may be amused at how I look at it:

I've several versions of it that you can choose from :P

Isaiah 40:8

The government may change, the stock market fall, but the word of my God still stands!
Petrol prices may go up, our currency go down, but God's Word is still proven!
Violence may increase, fear running rampant, but God's Word never changes!
I may face lack, I may face sickness, but His Word is still valid!

Is it arrogance for me to say that God will see us through, even in the midst of what we're facing no matter where we are? No. It's simply standing firm on His Word that what He said, He will do. If we put our trust in things that we can see with the physical eyes, we'll always be swayed and influenced by whatever happens; whether good or bad.

It is when we put our trust in the things that can't be seen, the unchangeable Word of God, we find that we'll never be moved by the circumstances that change constantly. No matter what season we're in, God is still:

- our Healer (Exodus 15:26)
- our Provider (Genesis 22:14)
- our Shield (Genesis 15:1)
- our Refuge (Deuteronomy 33:27)
- our Redeemer (Isaiah 47:4)

Everything may change; but God's Word never changes!