Are You Shaped By The Word or By The World?

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away."

'Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

-Psalm 1: 1-6 (ESV)

    We all need instruction in this life. Where do we get it? From whom do we get it? It's important to be discerning about this because wisdom can either come from the wicked or the righteous. Life on earth is full of trials, turmoil and uncertainty. So the last thing we need is listening to bad advice and getting the wrong counsel.

WHAT DO WE DELIGHT IN?

    We get our counsel from teachers that please us and from books that we love to read. We choose to be influenced by what we delight in. John Piper observes,

Nobody walks in the way of the wicked out of duty. Nobody stands in the way of sinners out of duty. Nobody sits in the seat of scoffers out of duty. We walk and stand and sit there because we want to. And we want to because we have been watching them so intently that what they do is now attractive.

    The counsel of the world is pleasing to our ears and appealing to our eyes. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is centered on us. How can we get rich? How can we find happiness, success, and fulfillment? How can we raise great kids? How do we have a great marriage? We all want this for ourselves and we're willing to spend money and listen to those who can show us how to get there. In short, the world's wisdom is powerfully appealing to our corrupted hearts.

   

     God desires that we walk in holiness and find our enjoyment and delight in Him. The Psalmist proclaims right at the start that blessed (or happy) is the man who delights in God's instruction and regularly meditates on His law. When we do this, we experience a blessedness from God that is not given to those who walk in the way of sinners.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF KEEPING GOD'S LAW

   God's Word is so valuable that it is more desirable than fine gold and there is great reward in keeping them (Psalm 19:10-11).

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
 the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
 the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
 the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

-Psalm 19:7-9 (ESV)

  

    The instruction of the Lord is good and perfect. Far from being dry and boring, it is sweeter than honey from the honeycomb (Psalm 19:10). It preserves our lives, it revives our souls, and it uplifts our hearts. Just as water from the great river makes the tree that lie on its banks verdant and fruitful, meditating on God's Word brings fruitfulness and health in our spiritual life.  Regular meditation of God's Word firmly establishes our feet, keeps us away from making harmful decisions, and provides the stability that we need in times of struggle and trials.

If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.

-Psalm 119: 92-93 (ESV)

    If it has this much value and importance, then why does our Bible gather dust in the bookshelf? How much worth do we put in reading the Bible? How much effort do we spend in meditating God's Word? Do we look forward to it or is it such a drudgery to read it that we just want to hurry up and finish it? Does it occupy much of our daily thinking and reflection? How barren and thirsty is the Christian who does not constantly draw water from God's Word.

THE FATE OF ONE WHO DELIGHTS IN THE WORLD

    The ungodly are not like trees planted by streams of water, rather they are like chaff that the wind drives away. There is no stability, vibrancy, life, nor reward when our thinking is shaped and influenced by the world. The end result is death and judgment. Why is this so?

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

-James 3:14-16 (ESV)

   The world's wisdom feeds our selfish desires. And when we live like this, we might be temporarily rewarded but the end-result is destruction. For God brings judgment and wrath on the ungodly. Charles Spurgeon describes the situation of the ungodly this way,

The Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. They are like the planted tree. Not so, ye that are ungodly, not so ye; there is no special providence for you. To whom will ye carry your troubles? Where is your shelter in the day of wrath? Where is your shield in the hour of battle? Who shall be your sun when darkness shall gather about you? Who shall comfort you when your troubles shall encompass you round? You have no eternal arm to lean upon. You have no compassionate heart to beat for you. You have no loving eye to watch you. You are left alone! Alone! Alone!

So the question to you is are you shaped and influenced by the world or by the Word of God?

Perspective on Failure Part 3 - Jesus Turns Failure Into Good

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean."


But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."


And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth."


And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."


After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you."


Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man."


And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

-Matthew 26:69-75 (ESV)

    Peter, the loyal, passionate, temperamental, impulsive, and quick-tongued disciple had indeed denied his friend. Jesus turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61) and when their eyes met, the disciple immediately remembered Jesus' words. In despair, Peter went out and wept bitterly. The number one ranked disciple had failed!

     Previously, I quoted Pastor Dave Harvey,"If God is truly sovereign, there must be a place for our failures in his plan." Truly this is the case for in Luke's version of the story, we see Jesus saying to Peter this:

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

-Luke 22:31-32 (ESV)

Sean MacEntee

    Peter's failure had a purpose. Satan was going to sift Peter like wheat. Sifting is the process of separating the true wheat from the chaff. In other words, Satan wanted to test Peter in order to prove that this disciple wasn't real about his faith in Christ. He did it by exploiting Peter's weakness,his pride and bravado. Yet Peter's failure wasn't going to accomplish what Satan had hoped. Peter had Jesus on his side, praying for him and assuring him that he was going to survive this test. In fact, this failure didn't end Peter's apostolic call. Rather, he would come out of it stronger in faith and would in turn strengthen the other disciples. I can imagine Peter saying to his brothers, "If Jesus can redeem a failure like me, surely he will redeem you!"

Read more »

Perspective on Failure Part 2 - Why We Crash and Burn

    My last blog post was a brief perspective on failure from Dave Harvey's book, Rescuing Ambition. I've been reflecting on this recently because of a recent instance of failure in my life. A paper that I thought would surely be accepted for presentation in a conference was soundly rejected. Now, it's not a moral failure (thank God!) and it's really a minor setback. I've had bigger screw-ups! But I admit that it bruised my ego. Prior to this, I've had a 100% acceptance rate in all the technical papers and abstracts that I've submitted. I've presented in past conferences and even won a "Best Presentor" award at one point. This was my first rejection and it was humbling. My co-authors, who are colleagues at work, also received the notice of rejection so it was an awkward moment for all of us and especially for me because I was the lead author.

    So in times like this, we go to Scripture. How does God use our failure for His glory? Do failures really have a place in his plan? How does Jesus' sacrifice and victory on the cross rescue us from our failures?

Read more »

Book Review : ESV Seek and Find Bible

   Finally, a high-quality study Bible for kids! Think of the ESV Seek and Find Bible as the ESV Study Bible, kid version.

    In the ESV Seek and Find Bible, the well-regarded ESV text is combined with Bible stories, illustrations, and discussion questions that help children dig deeper into God’s Word. Over 130 Bible stories can be found throughout the book and, thankfully, are placed close to its original book chapter and verse so that they can be easily found. They were written with young readers in mind and they’re great for family devotions. Last Easter, my two sons took turns reading aloud the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That served as a springboard for priceless spiritual conversation with my children. They asked a lot of questions. What did the thieves do? How painful was it to be crucified? Why did Jesus die in the cross? Is he God? How did he rise again? Is Jesus really a king? A lot of theology was taught within that hour!


    Not only are the stories great for devotions, I was also pleasantly surprised that they are fully packed with solid Biblical theology. The writers made sure to connect the Old Testament stories to Jesus Christ. The story about Adam and Eve, for instance, ends with this explanation:

“Adam and Eve were the very first people to sin. They brought sin into the world. But God still loved them very much, and so He gave them the promise that one day a Savior would come. Many years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. Satan came to Jesus too, and tempted Him to disobey God, but Jesus did not listen to Satan. Jesus lived His whole life without sin. Then He suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead to give us eternal life.”

    Nowadays, parents are challenged to explain the gospel to their children. The ESV Seek and Find Bible will help to explain it in a language that children will understand. They’re never too young to know that they are sinful, to know the grace of God, and that by faith believe in Jesus Christ who saves them and transforms their hearts! I definitely recommend this to be the Bible that your kids should own and read as they grow in their faith.

    For more information about this book and other Crossway titles, go to : www.crossway.org/blog.

Making the Right Choice on the "Gray" Areas of Morality

    In Galatians 5, we know that Christ has set us free. There is a warning though in verse 13 :

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature..."

-Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

   Some acts of sin are easily identifiable :

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." 

-Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)

   In some cases though, it may not be straightforward. Here are some examples :
 

Can I drink alcoholic beverages?

Should I watch an R-rated movie or this TV show?

Can I listen to secular music?

Can I go into a casino to gamble?

Should I leave and divorce my cheating spouse?

Should Christians smoke?

 

  I've heard both sides of the arguments. Some think that all these acts lead to sin and should not be present in any Christian life. Some say it is permissible.  These are the gray areas of morality and ethics that we often deal with in daily life. How can we decide? I've found this blog post to be a very helpful guide. It demonstrates that indeed the Bible is powerful, effective, and able to train us into righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).


Link to blog post : 

Eight Questions to Ask in Making a Moral Decision in the Category of Liberty

Neither Rich Nor Poor

There are 2 ways that we sin with our money or wealth :

1. We spend it all and get into debt

"The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get."

-Proverbs 21:20 (New Living Translation)

When we fall into debt we become servants to the lender (see Proverbs 22:7). The creditor becomes our master and we are forced to cede control of our income to him.

Here's the only debt we should have - the debt of love that we owe to each other.

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

-Romans 13:8 (New International Version)

2. We hoard our wealth

Placing our security on financial assets will lead to destruction.

"Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf."

-Proverbs 11:28 (New International Version)

We turn arrogant and prideful. We look down on the poor. We crave and relish the power that our wealth brings. Making money becomes an addiction and we will never be satisfied (see Ecclesiastes 5:10). Paul's had a specific instruction for Timothy regarding the rich :

"Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life."

-1 Timothy 6:17-19 (The Message)

The love of money destroys our lives and the lives of others. This should be our attitude and prayer regarding wealth :

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

-Proverbs 30:8-9 (New International Version)

God gives us the ability to produce wealth so that we will be able to obtain what we need in order to live. When we use the money that we make in this way, we avoid the two extremes - debt and hoarding wealth. And we will honor God with what we have.

A question to think about : why then should we save and invest? Clearly it is the wise thing to do but how do we avoid falling into the sin of trusting in our wealth instead of God who provides all things?

An answer is coming in the next post....

Peace!

Godly Relationships - What You Can Do

This title is interesting in that most topics about relationships focus on developing and maintaining healthy relationships with people. A godly relationship is different in the sense that the focus is on ourselves - how can we have that quality of godliness in our relationships irregardless of whether that relationship with the other party is healthy or not.

Imagine if all people's lives were fully surrendered to Christ, meaning that they are under the total control and surrender to the Holy Spirit. How would their relationship with one another look like?

It would almost seem like being in heaven, wouldn't it?

So how do we demonstrate godliness in our relationships? Dr. Neil Anderson shares 3 suggestions :

1. Balance rights & responsibilities.

Here's an example:

As husbands, we tend to demand that our wives submit to us (Ephesians 5:22). However, the godly man does not demand that right. Instead, he obeys the command to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25).

Think about how we can balance our rights and responsibilities as parents, teachers, managers, or employees. Do we focus too much on demanding our rights or do we make it our effort and goal to fulfill our role and responsibility to the best of our ability?

2. Learning Not To Be Defensive

When someone attacks our character or reputation, we tend to be defensive and fight back. To do this however, is completely pointless. If we're right, then we have nothing to be defensive about. If we're wrong, then we have no defense. Let's follow the example of Christ :

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.

- 1 Peter 2:23 (New International Version)

Ponder this : people who smear our character tend to be carrying hurts or just plain immature. If someone does say something nasty about you or judges you, try to determine why they are doing it. Most likely, it is due to some unresolved issue or hurts in their lives. A believer, whose life is under the full control of the Holy Spirit, will NEVER slander a fellow brother or sister in Christ.

3. EXPRESSING OUR NEEDS

We're human. We have needs: the need to be loved, affirmed, and many more. How can these fundamental needs be met by others without us coming across as demanding of our rights?

Consider this principle in the Bible:

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

-Luke 6:38 (New International Version)

When I give out a good measure of love, more than what is expected even...it will be returned to me in equal measure. Give affirmation and give it out generously. See how you will be affirmed generously in return. Give little then expect to get little as well.

What an awesome principle! Try it out. It really works!

Remember that we can never change people, we can only change ourselves and change how we treat others. Love your neighbor. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

Lastly, let's make it our pursuit this month to obey the commandment below :

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...

-Philippians 2:3-5 (New International Version)

It will not be easy, but seek the grace of God and His strength to enable you to do so.

Word Clouds

Hi to all! Here's a cool webware that has helped me gain deeper understanding of the Bible. This application generates a word cloud by counting the frequency of words used in a text that you input. The higher the frequency of a word used in the text, the more prominence it's given in the word cloud.

I used the application on some familiar passages in the Bible and the first thing that jumps out is the overall theme of the passage. More importantly, the main idea stands out prominently. I've always wondered how a word cloud of the entire Bible would look like. I haven't seen one generated yet. Wouldn't that be interesting?

1 Corinthians 13

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)

Psalm 119

Who Am I In Christ?

I thought that this would be an excellent reminder for us. Courtesy of Freedom In Christ Ministries.

ll Who Am I in Christ? ll


Before you click on the question above remember that it took Jesus' life for us to be in this blessed position as believers. Have a Merry Christmas!

God's Love = 3 Septillion kilometers?

"Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney is a classic, best-selling children's book. The story is about a Nutbrown hare and his son trying to outdo each other as they answer the question. If you're not familiar with the story, I've embedded the "animated" version of the book.




In the end, the son was looking out into the big dark night and realized that nothing could be farther than the sky. So he tells his daddy that he loved him right up to the moon. The daddy hare, touched by statement, tenderly looks at his son who was already sleeping. Then lovingly he whispers that he loved his son right up to the moon - and back. Daddy couldn't be outdone!

Now imagine a similar storyline. Perhaps with a title like this: Guess How Much God Loves You. Well, we really won't need guessing. That's because the Bible already gives us an idea.


For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him. (Psalm 103 : 11)

I could paraphrase that verse this way : God's love for us extends as far as going from earth to the outermost regions of the universe - and back. We can then perhaps quantify it. If the farthest galaxies are about 15 billion light years away from earth, then God's love would extend as far as 30 billion light years. This distance is roughly 30 billion x 10 trillion kilometers which is equivalent to 3 septillion kilometers! That's 3 followed by 24 zeros.

Ok, I admit that it's just a silly mathematical exercise. The bottomline is that God's love for us has cannot be bounded by any number. No, not even googol (10 followed by 100 zeros) nor infinity!

Paul says this :

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. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

How can we grasp God's love? A good start would be reminding ourselves again why we care to put up lights, decorate trees, buy gifts, send cards, and go to parties at this time of the year. Read John 3:16.

The Heavens Declare You Are God

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into earth's orbit in 1990. The thousands of pictures that it has beamed back to earth has given us a glimpse of galaxies, nebulas, and other heavenly bodies that we would otherwise not see clearly from ground-based telescopes.

One image that Hubble took struck a particular chord in my soul. The telescope's mirrors were focused to an area in space that was relatively uninteresting when observed from Earth's vantage point. It turns out that this seemingly devoid, tiny sliver of space actually contained tens of thousands of galaxies! Some are mature and are "nearby" while others are so far away (10-15 billion light years) that we are only now "seeing" the galaxy at their young age. Conservative estimates say that there are over 350,000,000,000 galaxies in our universe. Morevoer, each galaxy can have a million to a trillion stars! These are mind boggling and staggering numbers. Our universe is HUGE!

Now here's what the Bible says about all this :

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:6 NIV)

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. (Psalm 147:4 NIV)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1 NIV)

When we consider the breadth of the universe that God has created, we are led to conclude that this God must be bigger and his creation must only be a mere reflection his grandeur. Reflect on this for a moment : my God is bigger than the universe! When building the temple, Solomon had this to say, "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! " (1 Kings 8:27).

Hubble has taken more images of this amazing universe. And I must say that the galaxies, stars and other heavenly bodies are far more glorious than anything man has ever created. The so-called 7 wonders of the world pale in comparison!

How do you respond to this truth? The answer is worship! Each time I sing about the greatness of God, this is what I will always think of : that He is bigger than any of His creation. Even the stars and the galaxies praise Him (Psalm 148:1-4). So give God the highest honor ever. Only He truly deserves it.