Joy of Our Desire

Phil 3:8. " What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ"

Paul in this verse was contrasting his former life as a Pharisee and a scholar with the present advantage of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ. He states that he had suffered the loss of all things that he might gain Christ. In this day and age of our's we have forgotten what it means to pursue after Christ. We tend to think that He is there for us and so we cling to Him for the purpose of gaining all things we desire or think we deserve in our relationship with Him. In reality, Jesus did suffer the loss of all things for us (Phil. 2:5-8). So isn't it time for us to humble ourselves as He did so that we might gain nothing but Christ? Human nature is such that we gripe and complain for the one thing that we don't have. It does not matter if we have a whole lot of other things. It does not matter if we have been blessed in so many other ways. We struggle with God when we don't have the one thing that we can't seem to get. Perhaps its a love relationship, a child, financial freedom, a better job or position in life, recognition, privacy. Don't get me wrong . God is not opposed to blessing us with our needs and desires ( Matt 6:32). The question is this. Are we in it for the blessing or would we love and serve and revere Him as God even if we don't receive certain blessings that we long for? Are we willing to suffer the loss of relationships, wealth, recognition, comfort, financial freedom and position, if that is what He wants? It's going to be really difficult because we as human beings have feelings and needs but most of all we don't see God's full purpose. This is where we rely on the grace of God. When we look in faith to His grace, we need to know first who He is. Is He dependable? Will He give us things that we don't like or will He bless us with our heart's desire? It is His desire to bless us, but we must be willing to lose everything to find Him because in Him are all things, (Col. 1:17) and He is the joy of our desire.

" I am Thine O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me. But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou has died. Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side" Fanny J. Crosby.

What we do matters

Phil 1:27-30 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.(KJV)


This is a loving yet firm piece of advise given to the church at Philippi by the beloved Apostle Paul. As Philippians is often reffered to as the epistle of joy, it is evident that that joy is made manifest only through the radical lifestyle that is lived by those who bear the name of Christ. The word conversation used here is appropriate as it is in our conversation that our life is made manifest. We are reminded in the gospels how the Lord said "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."Matt 12:34. Then He went on to say in Matt 12:37 "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

In our day and age we are faced with persecution of a different sort. Technology, fossil evidence and humanism have continued to bombard the world with doubts in regards to faith in Christ, creation and God's order for man. It has, as in the French Revolution, replaced the Cross with the goddess of reason on the altar of worship. The faithful are constantly pressed in with insults and mockery for our belief in morality(good conversation) and holiness. Movies that once tested the waters with soft vulgarity like Clark Gable's statement on the movie Gone with the Wind, "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", now come out fully in the open with all manners of vulgarity both verbal and physical. The difference today (which I find more dangerous) is that these liberties are not liberties but accepted norms. Needless to say, its easy with such bombardment for some of us (if not all of us) to cave in and find a middle ground to accept the lesser evils and reject the greater. However like the frog in the boiling pot, eventually the greater evils become lesser and continue to do so until we find our entire being (esp. spiritual) altered where we look and converse no different from the world.

God give us a love so deep for You that our conversation will be ordered because of that and not because of some religious rule. Burn a fire deep in our heart and open our eyes to the needs of a dying world that our conversation before them would give them the hope that comes from the Cross and Ressurection of our Lord, the hope and peace of the world. For what You say is truth. GR

I'm Not Religious

"I'm not religious, I just love the Lord. (Scott Wesley Brown)

That line from Scott Wesley Brown's song captures what I want to say in today's devotion. As we live our lives out for the Lord, we find ourselves conflicted with a faith that is based on the grace of God and a religion based on works. The latter is so subtle yet so ingrained in us that sometimes the very acts of grace are viewed through religious, works based eyes.

This year the Lord called me into a 21 day fast so I obeyed. Usually when I am asked to fast for this or that I cringe at the thought or just go through it because "it is required". There were very few times that I felt good afterwards. However when God called me into this fast there was a sense of purpose. I felt that I was truly drawing close to Him. Everything from my prayer life, to my Bible study down to my pleasures such as listening to jazz took on a new life. What was even more significant was the overwhelming joy I felt constantly. When we do something as solemn as a fast, we can have the tendancy to switch to a religious mode and do soul searching for things that may not even be there. Perhaps the heart of a fast is to return us to the very one who is our nourishment. Perhaps its a surrender to reclaim the joy lost in religion. Please bear in mind that this does not diminish the pattern given to us by the Lord in Isaiah 58, especially verses 5-6. However we find that true joy comes from yielding ourselves to God. Humbling ourselves before Him and chastizing ourselves by subdueing our passions brings us true God given joy because we are fasting not only our passions but our earthly intellect that tells us that pleasure and joy are found in indulgence.

"Open my eyes Lord to see the beauty that comes comes in seeking You with all my heart"
Psalms 34: 9-10

The World Through Your Eyes

"For God did not not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him" John 3:17

In a highly religious environment, it is sometimes difficult for us to fully comprehend this verse. However, Scripture is filled with stories that show us that Jesus saved sinners not only for eternity but where they were at in the here and now. He did not judge the sinner or treat him or her as an outcast. He had compassion on them, associated with them (yet being an influence on them), touched and healed them. He did not feel defiled or compromised in their presence. How often do we stay away from the world because we fear being defiled by it? Isn't He who is in us greater than he that is in the world? Is not Christ in us the hope of Glory? Are not the weapons of our warfare mighty in God to the pulling down of arguments and imaginations?
Jesus proved that even on earth He came not to condemn but save sinners. The challenge for us is to look as Jesus did, with compassion, on the foul mouthed, habitual and blatant sinner who time and time again taunts us with his/her liberal lifestyle and love them. What did Jesus have that kept Him stayed on holiness and yet desirable to the sinner?


"Let me see this world dear Lord, as though I were looking through your eyes.......for if once I could see this world the way You see, I just know I'd serve you more faithfully" (taken from a song sung by Paul Sandberg)

A Hope That Does Not Disappoint

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference"



That famous old prayer echoes what some of us crave for each day. In the movie "Luther", the great reformer is pictured in a scene crying out to God. When his priest and mentor asks him what he wants, he replies, "I want a God of mercy". The priest gives him a crucifix and says, "look to Christ". God is a God of mercy but sometimes life itself and religiosity crowd out that concept from our minds.



Sometimes things don't turn out the way we would hope they will. Sometimes circumstances leave us frustrated. Sometimes people go exactly in the opposite direction of our advice and end up in disaster. However, we must trust God that His eyes never miss anything (2 Chronicles 16:9) and His purposes will always be fulfilled, His way and for His Glory. We are stewards of Christ's will and purpose. In the end, His will is to bless His people (Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end) and if we allow the Lord to work His will in us, we will experience the blessing like Joseph. (Genesis 37-41) He is the Hope that will not disappoint.

"Lord teach me to see your purpose in all things that my heart grow not weary in serving You. Grant me the grace to go on even when I don't see. Help me understand what you are bringing me through and why that I may not hinder Your work of cleansing in my life"

Perhaps His Grace IS Sufficent

The older I get and the longer I live my life as a Christian I realize more and more how frail and hopeless I am in myself. All the achievements that I have had and all the service that I have done fall completely short when it is matched up with the inner voice inside my heart that tells me "You know who you are deep down here". Being raised in a good Catholic family, I was taught the importance of works in my daily life. These works were meant to help me achieve my salvation, atone for my sins and get me to heaven eventually. In my twenties I had the "born again" experience which emphasized the doctrine of grace through faith. I realised that I was saved purely by the grace of God. What a shift? Or so I thought. The truth was that the doctrine was right, but practically I realized that works occupied a lot of my Christian life. Without stepping on any toes (which would be difficult) I have to say that evangelical Christianity while preaching a doctrine of Grace enforces on daily life a doctrine of works more evidently. Let me give some examples, "you must have a quiet time with God, you must attend the services, you must serve etc. etc." Please don't misunderstand what I am saying here. Ministry is important but is our service to the Lord done because of requirement or from a grateful heart as an act of love to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us?

When Paul spoke to the Corinthians about giving he said, "2 Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."(KJV) Sometimes this kind of statement blows our religious mindset but it is clear that God loves the gift that is given freely from a heart that would give it out of love and gratitude. We "purpose in our hearts". No requirement compels us to do it and if we did it under compulsion of any kind it would not be an acceptable gift. The gift that is given in gratitude from a cheeful heart purposed by the giver is one that states, "this adds nothing to my salvation or status as a Christian, I just want to give it to You because I love You and I love doing it" That almost sounds like so much fun! Chuck Swindoll, in his book The Grace Awakening puts it appropriately when he said that "the most dangerous heresy on earth is the emphasis on what we do for God, instead of what God does for us."

I guess what I am trying to bring our minds to is the lack of emphasis we have placed on Grace. When we continually plow the fields of our ministry and walk with the Lord, we will because of our human frailty and inconsistency fall short of the standards that we have placed on ourselves. This in turn brings heavy condemnation. We eventually ask ourselves, "how is it possible to serve God and how is it possible to remain holy?" Remember the small voice? " You know who you are deep down here." However if we realise that Christ died for us while we were in that state, we can be assured that His grace sees us through this life even though those frailties remain. "Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."(KJV)

Some of us may never have had the problem in believing this way but, it would be wise to check and see how many deeds we do as Christians are done with atonement in mind. Dr Ron Chung who preached recently in our church made a brilliant exposition of the contrast between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant (Mosaic) was conditional in that it was dependant upon the people to fulfil the words of the Covenant. The New Covenant is unconditional and is dependant on a gracious God who fulfils His promise to His people.

This is why the writer of Hebrews says, "Heb 8:6 But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises."(KJV) This promise is one of grace and mercy and unconditional love not based on what we do but solely upon what God has desired for us.

Consider one last verse from Hebrews. "Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."(KJV)

Well I hope this has helped some of you. As we grow I hope we will learn and never stop seaching out our unsearchable God. For just when we think we know Him, He surprises us again with mind blowing revelations of Himself.

The Grace of our Lord be with you........and I pray that we all understand with each passing day what that Grace really is.