Do we truly fear God?

Oftentimes we think and feel things of the flesh without being conscious of the Lord. I'm not saying that we don't know that those are the wrong things to think or feel. We might even be trying to subvert earthly, sinful thoughts through the truth of God's word. But in the midst of finding the truth, are we conscious of the Lord?

"Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear." Philippians 2:12

Do we honestly have respect and reverence for God? And does this respect and reverence for the Lord lead us away from sin? Do we truly love the Lord as if he were our mother or father, a best friend, or a sibling?

Most of us, if we have true love for our friends or family members, would not do something that we know would hurt them. Why? We don't like to see the people we love in pain. We respect them enough not to commit offenses against them.

Fear God. Can the fear of God (deep reverence, respect, awe, veneration) prevent you from acting upon unjust anger, allowing yourself to succumb to lust, saying something costly because of pride?

Ask God to help you learn how to fear him. 

Answered Prayer

Remember this blog post??

http://injchrist.blogspot.ca/2012/05/only-god-knows-big-picture.html

This blog post was about somebody dear to me who was in a position to easily believe all of their options had run dry. One particular exploit that they had been set on for a few years had fell through, and their remaining ventures seemed rather scant. In other words, he was set on a particular career and job path but that did not work out and applying for other jobs in the field was rather impossible because employers were looking for years of experience.

Anyway, he finally decided to go back to school to pursue another career path and further related education and contacted a friend who was already in the field he desired to work in. This was definitely a God inspired idea, as unbeknownst to him they were looking for a junior position in the company his friend worked at. To make a long story short, even though his experience in the field is on the lower scale, he was today offered a job in that company.

How amazing to be able to gain experience on the job, but already have the job!

Anywho, I said in the blog posted linked above that I would be praying about this situation and see how God works, and here is the result. Praise God! It is so important to trust in the Lord because God values that trust and always provides in one way or another.

So let us unfailingly trust in the Lord, and let this be a testimony for us to have faith.

Lose your life, so that you might gain it…

Imagine being faced with a choice. Take that one thing in life that you love immensely, that one thing that you believe you cannot live without. What is it? On the lighter side, it could be your favorite television show or video game, an article of clothing, a good luck charm. Could it be a passion, or talent?  Your love for the outdoors, your skill in playing sports, a job, money? Let’s probe even deeper, perhaps it’s friendship or the love of family? A specific perspective or mentality?  Your battle with pride?

Now imagine having to lose that possession because Jesus has demanded that very thing from you. As a Christian, could you survive? Would your life fall apart? Would you shun God, be angry at him? Would you be able to let go, deny yourself?

This past Sunday, Pastor John reminded us that there are no competitors with Jesus. So often we fail to realize that our relationship with him should not be one of double mindedness. It is truly “all or nothing” with him.

“I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” Matthew 7:23

How frightening those words are to hear for those of us who think we are pursuing Jesus.  Pastor John warns us from what he deems “superficial believism,” in other words, belief in God that remains merely a simple belief. It is a belief that does not drastically and completely change our heart, actions, and priorities. In essence, it is a belief that allows us to “have it all.” In contrast to this type of believing, is a “deep believism” which leads us to follow an often hard path to God’s kingdom where danger, suffering and trials prevail.

Does the pathway you’ve chosen actually lead to life? Are we aware that the decisions we make each day while we’re alive indeed are eternal choices between life and death?

Pastor John reads from Matthew 7:13-20.

Verses 13 &14 talk about the path to the Kingdom of God being narrow and difficult to progress through.  It is a path alive with temptation and hard decisions. It will involve forgoing things you enjoy and love. But the reward at the end is greater than the loss we face at the beginning.  

The broad path leads to destruction. Pastor John tells us that this path is broad because rightfully so, everything can fit through it and anything goes on this path. Here you can eat your cake and have it. This path offers you everything. Here the self is glorified, excuses reign supreme, and anything and everything is justified.

The path to God demands that we “pick up our cross” (Matthew 16:24). As Pastor John explains, the cross in Jesus’ day meant the death penalty. In other words, we must die to ourselves and our life on earth and deny ourselves. This may involve saying no to some of the things that we greatly desire in order to follow the life that Jesus lovingly claims that we live. This type of life desires what God desires, and glorifies what God glorifies. It is a life where repentance and faith draws us closer to Jesus.

Ultimately we must decide what path we desire to be on, and what path we are actually on, and make those individual changes to get us walking down the right path. 

Post adapted from Willingdon Church sermon June 17, 2012 www.willingdon.org

Don't Worry, Be Trusting

Worry and anxiety is all consuming, it can permeate your thought process, making it difficult to focus on how beautiful life is. Pastor John describes “worry/stress” as a thief that “takes everything beautiful” from you. In the midst of God’s splendor—the beauty of nature, His life changing impact, His forgiveness, humility and kindness, the act of worrying can make these perfect, pure, and immaculate qualities as good as nothing.

In essence, anxiety distorts the meaning of life. Why have we grown so accustomed towards worrying? It seems to be a default function of humanness. It is commonplace to worry and we accept this activity without thinking twice about it. Is it possible as human beings to simply let go of the stresses that claim us?

In light of Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 hit song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” Pastor John teaches us another way: Don’t Worry, Be Trusting. It may sound easier said than done, but with practice, we can combat the force of worry by trusting in the Lord.

Matthew 6:25-34 instructs us to Trust in the Lord:

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?....

Pastor John instructs us to consider God’s provision, providence, lavishness, and priorities in overcoming our propensity towards worry. We must understand that the Lord will and does always provide for us. This does not mean that we should fall into laziness expecting the Lord to create possibility out of thin air. This means of course that we should put in our day’s work, do all that we can do in our best abilities, while asking the Lord for guidance and direction. We then must pray and trust that the Lord will provide because we have given him the platform to.

When telling a friend about my worried state because I had reached an uncertain period of life of having to consider different paths that would become my future, she told me that the Lord would provide the best path for me and that it was best for me to keep many doors open so that the Lord could bless the path that he knew was best at my stage of life. We must understand that the Lord directs all things according to his sovereignty and providence. Even though we have free will, the Lord will not allow us to go down a path outside of his will if we are connected to him and praying for his will. We must, furthermore, also consider how lavish the Lord is.

“See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29)

When you truly evaluate your life you will discover how detailed and lavish the Lord is with his blessings. Sometimes this can be illustrated by examining the precise timing of a certain blessing, the beauty of a friendship that has blessed your life, the wonder of nature. Even something we consider simple like listening to music can reveal how beautiful and lavish God is, musical notes coming together can create a beautiful melody soothing to the ear.

Lastly we should consider God’s priorities over our life and his will. God has ultimately created us for relationship with him to the extent of bridging our relationship with him through the innocent sacrifice of his son. If we keep this wondrous idea the main thing, then it sets our stresses and anxieties in order. Is it necessary to worry about a job prospect, a stressful work situation, money, etc…in the miraculous light of a powerful and loving God who created us to enjoy us?  

We must set our priorities straight. Oftentimes I let worry defeat me to the point that I do not give God the chance to provide for me. I do not allow myself to trust in the Lord and many times I become a coward. Ultimately, worry has robbed my life of the beautiful things the Lord has entitled to me. Particular to me, I worry immensely about what people will think of me in this/that situation. I worry so much about other's opinions of me because in those moments God's opinion of me is on the back burner, I have allowed sinful and depraved human thoughts and opinions to reign supreme over my life rather than the pure, sovereign truth (not opinion) of the Lord. 

We must practice rejoicing in the Lord rather than worrying by changing the lies we tell ourselves, and by proclaiming positive things about ourselves and our world rather than negative things. One of my favourite verses for combating worry is Philippians 4:6-8. Let us practice this verse in our daily meditation. =)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Where is your heart invested?

Most, if not all of the time, it is hard for us as human beings to realize that we live in a temporal world. Everything in this world will pass away, fade, and cease to exist, including ourselves.  With this idea in mind, it seems foolish when we think about some of the things that most of us invest our time and energy into.

We may invest an unhealthy amount of time into acquiring material possessions, our appearance,  accomplishments, negative emotions…the list goes on.

On Sunday, Pastor John read from Matthew 6:19-24, the passage which explains our earthly battle between heavenly treasures and material ones. We live in a world where money determines our physical well-being. As a basic necessity we need food, shelter, clothing, and of course money enables us to have these things. Money also allows us to enjoy life more extravagantly through vacations, expensive dinners, beautiful clothing, etc. In our world, money gives you a semblance of respect and acceptance. Having money can also buy you temporary friendship and “love.” You can see, therefore, how easy it would be for us to devote our lives to acquiring more money. We need to remember, however, that money only satisfies us temporarily.

Matthew 6:24 states that you cannot serve both God and money. You cannot serve two masters, Matthew claims, for you will hate one and love the other.

But isn’t it possible to work hard to make money, but still love God? Pastor John states that “perspective is everything.”

Before I had my first job, I had to ask my parents if I wanted anything. I would have daydreams about being able to work hard to earn money and then buy what I want. Oftentimes, I would flip through teen magazines, and imagine owning the things displayed on the glossy pages. I would be able to wear nice clothes, buy makeup, buy the music that I wanted to listen to.  I would be lost and consumed in the thought of being able to buy what I wanted, look the way I wanted.

One important thing I failed to ask myself was if my spending would bring glory to God.  I also never thought about giving my earnings to God. Interesting how it never excited me to think that my earnings could go towards expanding God’s kingdom.

The reason I never thought of any of these things was because my viewpoint was a very basic, earthly one. I was thinking all about storing up for myself treasures on earth. My heart was invested in the way I wanted to look, the way I wanted to be seen by others, the earthly possessions I could enjoy and how I could satisfy my senses. It was all about me.

Matthew 6:21 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

Where is your heart invested? Are you in servitude to money? What are your commitments? What is your attitude towards buying, giving, and saving? What is your attitude toward morality? What are your dreams? Pastor John posed these questions to us during the sermon.  

Is your heart invested in God? If your heart is invested in God and seeking his kingdom by following his word, then your money will be used to glorify God as well. For instance, you will follow the way of giving your first fruits to God rather than the leftovers. In other words, you will tithe when you first receive your income rather than once you’ve bought all the things you want/need. Do you let money dictate your life? We have to adopt an attitude of trusting God despite our financial problems or financial abundance. Pastor John gave the example of retired couples who are swimming in piles of money and claim that they have so much money that they don’t know what to do with it. Pastor John quickly suggested to them that they can give their money to God, and invest it in spiritual causes.

The act of hoarding money is another way that people can store up treasures on earth. Moreover, if you forgo making ethically and morally sound decisions only because you wish to conserve your money, then it’s clear that money is your god.

What really resounded with me at the end of the sermon was the idea of faith in God as a hobby or a lifestyle. Faith in God is intended to be our livelihood not something that we turn to when it’s convenient for us or when we have time.

All in all, money is HUGE and it is extremely consuming. One way that we can practice discipline towards God is by trusting him with our money whether we make a lot of it or very little. 

Prayer - Life Changing

Oftentimes my prayers to God are quick, empty, and powerless; they do nothing to change my relationship with God. A few lines may be offered to God in a haze, when it’s the end of the day, and I am drunk with fatigue.

Today at church, I learned that prayer is a spiritual experience that should change us – that should shift our perspective, reiterate and solidify what we are working towards within the Lord, and set us on a path of living a godly life, of enacting his will over our lives. Wow! Prayer should do all that? But does uttering a few lines to God requesting what we need in our lives and the lives of our loved ones or expressing a few phrases of gratitude to our Lord truly leave us changed, altered, broken away from this world, fervent and fierce to live the way God would will us to?

Today, Pastor John discussed Matthew 6:7-15, the passage that is commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer” and he brought forth many enlightening pointers to this all too well known passage. 

Who have you allowed God to become in your mind? Pastor John had to remind me today that when we pray we are to ask God that his name be “kept holy” (verse 9). God has blessed us in such a way that all of us can freely enjoy a personal relationship with Him, but does your relationship with him ever become too personal? When I say “too personal,” I am trying to suggest that maybe to some of us he has simply become a friend, somebody you acknowledge daily, but not someone who you remember to revere and respect at all times. In this sense your engagement with him becomes casual, basic, commonplace…whatever! You acknowledge him as Lord of your life, you may say…but do you really? If your time spent with the Lord is squished into corners of your day, then I would say that he’s not really Lord of your life.

When we pray to keep the Lord holy, we declare his holiness (his righteousness, in opposed to our sinfulness, his heavenliness, in opposed to our earthliness, the fact that he is set apart, spiritually above us and our understanding) in our lives, in our hearts, in the way we  treat others, in what we prioritize. When we truly think and meditate on these words during prayer, we are changed. Our prioritizes are set straight. We pray for God’s name to be holy within us.

2.     Pastor John then goes on to tell us what to ask for when we pray. In verse 10, we are asking for God’s glory and rule in our hearts and lives, and our submission to him. In verses 11 -13, we ask for daily physical needs, forgiveness, and the strength to resist evil. In essence, we are meditating, reaffirming, and reminding ourselves that it is God who should be Lord over our lives, not us. We practice our faith by declaring through prayer that it is God who provides for us daily, that his grace is sufficient for us for the day.  Lastly we are reminded that we are sinners, that we require forgiveness, and that it is only God who can forgive these sins.  We are called to keep account of our sin, to be aware of it, and repent from it. This humility should allow us to forgive others. We are aware that we should keep away from evil things that corrupt the world, whether that be thoughts, people, ideas, etc.

Importantly prayer is a form of worship, a way to glorify God that enables us to align ourselves with God’s will. It should not be passive, but instead active. Our hearts should be opened through prayer as we  become “invested” in God’s will and become evermore  the  people who  live out this will in our hearts, lives, and in the world. 

Only God Knows the Big Picture

Do not be discouraged! How easy it is to say but how hard it is to do!

As human beings, isn't it so easy to be discouraged when things do not go the way we'd planned? Right now somebody dear to me has recently been faced with hard news. To make a long story short, a particular plan they had been banking on fell through and they are left with what seems like a scant set of options that seem rather impossible and complicating.

It is in the midst of these situations, however, that God's power is enacted. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.


Situations where we feel helpless, hopeless, and ultimately weak, are the best situations for God to work His power. Oftentimes it is only in the midst of weakness where we see our need for God, and it is when we are in "without" that God can make us vibrant and full.

It is only God who knows the bigger picture. As humans we are often bound by tunnel vision. We set our minds on one thing unaware of the blessings that are to be found in different avenues and possibilities. It is up to us to painstakingly trust in our Lord. No, we can not and should not trust God only when it is easy, but we should especially trust God in the midst of difficulty, when we are in between a rock and a hard place, when we see no absolution in sight.

Although every human instinct in our body may tell us that all is useless, we are to go against this grain and fight to trust in our Lord. We must not worry as Philippians 4:6 proclaims "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything" and bring our fears, doubts, and difficulties to the Lord through prayer. We must endure and persevere and pray for direction during these times, and especially seek God through church, fellowship, and importantly His Word for answers. We must believe, because without faith we displease God (Hebrews 11:6). So do not be discouraged, instead trust...the Lord will create paths for you out of thin air and bless those who remain faithful to Him.

I will be praying over this situation, and let you know how the Lord works =)

To be praised!

I have had two friends in the Lord slowly but surely find themselves on the path of having their career goals reach a place where they see them materializing.

Isn't it amazing when the Lord inspires a passion in you and then carries it out within you? One friend is in the world of publishing and I have truly seen the Lord create opportunity in her life to stimulate this passion. She has an amazing way with words and I have seen the Lord create that passion for publishing in her life and then bless her with various opportunities ie...to edit a doctor's newspaper, to edit for a non-profit organization, the creation of her own magazine, enabling her to get into a program where they only accept 20 people!, and I can only see the Lord creating many more opportunities in her life. She is only just starting her internship now and she feels very in the right place there, which is an amazing blessing. I know that she will bring tremendous healing and inspiration to people through her role in the publishing world and especially through her writing, indeed. May the Lord be forever praised.

The other friend, I know less about her passion to help people through nursing, but I know she had to patiently wait on the Lord to provide her with her practicum which she is now starting. I know that she will have some amazing life-altering experiences through this experience, and the Lord has provided her with a place to live near her workplace as the hospital is far from where she lives. She has a caring heart so I know the Lord will bring joy to others through her. Praise God.

Let us forever be blessed and mesmerized by how the Lord works in our lives and in the lives of those we care and love around us, and let us always have a heart of gratitude and thankfulness...and most importantly, a heart that acknowledges the Lords blessings EVERYWHERE and in EVERYONE. =)

Offering gifts to God

Any relationship is made wonderful with the exchange of gifts. It's nice when a significant other surprises their partner with a gift to show them how much they appreciate them or when you give your mother a gift to thank her for all she has done.

Do you recognize the gifts that you receive from God and do you thank Him for them? There are so many blessings right under our nose that we do not recognize--a new job, the concert of your favorite band, enjoying a film with a friend, a sunset, a cozy sleep, the release of your favorite video game. While we may take these blessing for granted, idolize these blessings without acknowledging the Lord, and even distance these blessings from the Lord fitting these activities we enjoy into a realm where the Lord is not present, it is important that we pay tribute to the Lord for these gifts, and acknowledge and thank the Lord during these times.

It is also important to give gifts to God. Anything can be a gift to God. You can choose to be a caring friend as a way to show God that you care about Him, or you can even use your talents to create a gift...writing, dancing, art, etc.

Why sacrifice?

Both believers of the faith and non-believers have probably wondered about the nature of sacrificial offerings to God.

In basic definition, an offering is simply when we offer up something to God. We see offerings given to God every Sunday when we set aside money to give to the church.

Besides money, however, there are many other forms of offerings we can give to God. We can offer God our time, our bodies, etc.

The book of Leviticus shows us the place of sacrificial offerings within the culture at the time. I believe that offerings have many purposes, one of those being the atonement of sin.

We serve a just, holy and righteous God. He is a god who is fair, who rules lovingly but not without consequence. Sin separates us from our holy Lord because it is drastically adverse to who He is. At the same time sin is opposed to the will of God - the way that God would have us live, think, treat others, etc. Because God is just, in order for our sins to be forgiven, He instituted that a living being that is pure and without sin, in essence, innocent, serve the punishment for our sin. In the book of Leviticus, innocent animals are the ones that pay the price for humanities failings.

Leviticus 1:4

"Lay your hand on the animal's head, and the Lord will accept its death in your place to purify you, making you right with him."

...an innocent being, therefore, has to die in order for us to be made right with God again.

Sin offerings, if anything, should make us realize just how powerful sin is and just how adverse God is to sin in our lives. Sin drastically separates us from the Lord and should not be taken lightly. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sin by dying a horrible death in our place.

Food for thought: I realize how immune I am to the sin in my life. Oftentimes I sin without realizing it. The worst part is that I don't ask God for forgiveness for this sin nor do I repent. I do think it's valuable at the end of each day to do some self-reflecting and think about the sin in your life, how it affected others, God, and yourself, and think about how you can do things differently for next time.

Gold Diggers and True Lovers

Today in Church we were warned about the danger of having a relationship towards God similar to that of a "gold-digger" where one seeks instant gratification, and treats God like a part of a business deal. I believe I have had this attitude towards God. For example, negotiating with God...ie. because I did not spend enough time with him this week, I will next week. Or "feeling" like you have done your part because you have tithed appropriately or prayed for someone you promised you would pray for.

Such a relationship with God is easy yet empty because it requires carrying out simple deeds and works which are only just that. I think it's good to remember that we serve a God who has feelings, a very real, living and personal God. We would never treat our friends and family as players in a business deal, right? Then why do we treat our God that way? We learned that a true relationship with God requires discipline. This discipline, however, is extremely rewarding. The disciplines that they discussed in church were (1) Giving to those in need (2) Praying privately, and consistently (3) Praying like a child (4) Fasting sometimes.

I never quite understood the importance of fasting but Pastor Jonathan described that fasting is importantly denying your physical, flesh self, in order to remember and pay tribute and honour to who is the real lord of your life, that being God. In essence, it is denying the physicality of who we are to glorify the spirit, to illustrate that we do not live on bread alone but on God's holy word. Besides the ones discussed above, I believe discipline towards God can also be forgoing habitual sin and obeying his word despite a strong proclivity not to.

The most important thing that I took away from church today, however, is the importance of giving our "first fruits" to God. Reference the story of Cain and Abel. Abel gave the best and first of his supplies to God, while Cain gave the leftovers. When I worship God, I want to be able to give him the best part of who I am. I think it would be best to spend time with him when I am the most alert. That time for me would be when I get home from work, so I want to try that out for a while. I think it's also good to actually plan when you spend time with God day by day so that you are more likely to adhere to that plan. Sort of like, I will spend time with God..at 4pm, etc.