When I am NOT thinking straight...

One good thing about all the mind-emotion exercises I have done before, it gives me a very good sense of when I am not thinking straight. And at such moments I am able to look at myself as an outsider and evaluate my own words and actions.

Very useful!

Right now I am feeling angry, resentful and frustrated. And though it is really tempting to just use all of that as a justification to do some wrong stuff (as Kent Henry once said, "God, just give me 5 minutes in the flesh, just 5 minutes, I'll...") I am working really hard to not let that happen.

Some things that  help keep me from flying off the handle more often:

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV) - Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

We have to set our hearts and minds on things above in order to live in the reality of the new birth, the new life that is ours in Christ Jesus. Don't expect God to just zap you into the new life, and hope that you will just wake up the next morning with a renewed mind and a pure heart.

Doesn't happen that way!

We have to deliberately set your mind on heavenly matters. One simple and practical way to do that: take time out to read the Scriptures aloud. If you read silently your mind might drift, but when you read the Bible aloud, and take a few times through the same passage, you will end up giving the Word of God some attention. Our fleshly nature rebels against the discipline, but since when did living by the flesh give us spiritual results?

How about the heart? When we set our hearts on things above, that means we surrender the right for our emotions to run rampant. People tend to go into extremes. They either let their emotions run amok and cause them to say and do stupid things, or they are so afraid of their own emotions that they are not able to acknowledge them or face up to them. When we set our hearts on things above, we choose to value heavenly things. And also we find that the things of the earth will lose their hold over our minds and emotions.

Psalm 73: 25-26 (NIV) - Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

How do we get to that point? By entering the sanctuary of God, spending time in his presence (Psalm 73:17).

Colossians 3:5-10 (NIV) - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Many people want to put to death what belongs to the carnal nature. Sin loses its appeal to the child of God over time. But few of them understand that God does not intend for us to start at this. We cannot put to death what belongs to the carnal nature until we first set our hearts and minds on things above. God has a pattern, a divine template for holiness for us to follow. We cannot expect God's kind of results if we do not submit ourselves to doing things his way, right? And even Paul cannot let go of the topic. When he tells us not to lie to each other, it is based on our status as born-again children of God. He cannot drop the topic.

Obviously it must be very important!

Colossians 3:11-14 (NIV) -  Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

We are God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. If you have difficulty walking right in the Kingdom of God, that is because you have forgotten this: We are God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved. Take a few minutes right now and really speak it to your soul. Say "God has chosen me, I am holy and dearly loved!" Say it until you actually start to believe it...

Many of us feel a strong resistance to saying that, because of our lives. We know we aren't the sort of people we ought to be, as children of God. We know God is compassionate, but we often aren't. We know God is kind, but we often aren't. We know God is patient, but we often aren't.

But it is okay!

Take those virtues and put them on as clothes. When we begin, they are NOT a part of us. Come on, no one expects you to be your shirt, right? Likewise we need not expect ourselves to be compassionate and kind. We just need to put them on as clothes, something we wear for the sake of spiritual decency and to cover our flesh

Important: all this comes AFTER verse 1-4. We can do all this only AFTER we have set our hearts and minds on things above. Respect the divine order God has set. If we don't do what comes first, we can NOT do what comes after. We may be able to keep it up through sheer will-power, but after months of not getting enough sleep, or yet another crisis or disappointment, your will-power will run out.

That's when the flesh shows!

So if you want to be able to live right even when you can't think straight (like me right now), make the time and effort to set your heart and mind right. Don't wait till crisis hits, usually by then it is too late. Nobody starts building the foundations in the midst of the storm, not wise!

And if you want some accountablity in your Scripture time, do consider joining me at my Faceboook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/approved.workmen/ which I also call 2 Tim 2:15. You will see where I am in my Bible-reading plan for this year, as well as any immediate thoughts that are too big for Twitter and too small for a proper blogpost. Commit yourself to posting up what you have read from the Bible, and you will find that you do better at keeping up with it.

OK, that's it for now. I have typed more than usual (because I am too tired to edit properly) but I just want to get it all off my chest. Hope my ranting is of some help to you in some way.

Be blessed!

Guidance for Victory

Ever felt like this before?

Psalm 5:8 (NIV) - Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

Most of us cannot say we have real physical enemies like King David did, unless we work in law enforcement or are leaving a former life of crime. But many of us know what it is like to have so little room for mistakes in our lives, to face tricky situations where we are on the edge of things going wrong.

And that is when we realize how much we need God to lead us!

I’m talking about seasons when time is so tight, when we have so much to do, many issues to manage, and all are important. I’m talking about times when we have just about enough money to pay for everything but we cannot afford anything else going wrong. And let’s not forget the times we have to deal fairly with family members who are so different, and what is right for one would be unfair for the other (like my two sons, for example).

In tight situations like these, time spent in the presence of God is vital. It sometimes baffles me how people can say they need God’s wisdom, strength and peace, and yet when I ask about their prayer and Bible time all I get from them are blank stares. Did they think God owed it to them to zap them full of wisdom and strength while they were pretty much ignoring him day by day?

David knew where he had to be in order to receive God’s leading. Look at the verse before his prayer for guidance.

Psalm 5:7-8 (NIV) – But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

This is what God says to us when we are discouraged facing tough situations:

Isaiah 41:8-9 (NIV) - “But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you.I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.”

God reminded the Israelites of that time that they were his chosen people, chosen not because of who they were or what good they could do, but because of the covenant God already made with Abraham. Likewise we too are already chosen by God,

Colossians 3:12 (ESV) - Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…

… chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) - So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

When we spend time in the presence of God, seeking him for direction and waiting upon him for his strength, he gives us victory over our enemies.

Isaiah 41:11-12 (NIV) - “All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.  Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.

We may not have literal enemies that rage against us physically, but unpaid bills and creditors hounding us aren’t exactly a walk in the park either. A crisis that threatens to tear the family apart or serious illness can make us want to run and hide (through drugs, alcohol or even TV).  But God promises us victory.

Some people (including me) want to wake up the next morning and suddenly discover all our problems disappear. We find a few million dollars suddenly credited to our bank accounts out of nowhere, we open the newspapers and discover that the people threatening us in court got swallowed up in an earthquake overnight (one we miraculously slept through somehow) and the argumentative spouse and defiant kids repented in their sleep and woke up as absolute angels.

And all without us doing anything on our part.

But the passage in Isaiah tells us that we are to search out our enemies, to proactively confront them. In the account of King Jehoshaphat’s victory in 2 Chronicles 20, the victory came from the LORD, the people received the victory through faith expressed in their praising God, but they still had to march out to battle and be ready for confrontation.  

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV) - For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.”

God says he will help us. He is there for us in the midst of it all. And if we seek him and spend time in his presence through worship, prayer and the Scriptures, we are able to receive his specific guidance to lead us through serious problems and tricky situations.

And those situations won’t last forever. Follow closely after God and obey him. One day you, like King David, will joyfully proclaim:

Psalm 18:18-19 (NIV) - They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Be blessed!

Foundations of God's Provision

One major fascination I have is with divine provision. To have all you need, when you need it, so that everything you need to have and get done is settled, sounds good to me! But just a week ago, something interesting just struck me.

Matthew 6:31-33 (NIV) - So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This can be called the cornerstone of living in God’s provision. It covers both the attitude (confident trust) and actions (seeking the Kingdom) necessary for enjoying God’s supply in every area of our lives.

But, for me at least, it did not always work. I thought I did what I was supposed to do, but didn’t get the promised supply. And I suspect I’m not the only one who ran into problems with it. Well, a week ago, I realized that there was some necessary groundwork that needed to be done first, before people are actually able to live in the fullness of this passage of Scripture.

Let’s start from the very start of the chapter:

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV) - “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

One thing that sets Matthew 6 apart from Matthew 5 and 7 is the emphasis on reward. Jesus contrasts rewards from God and rewards from Man. We can summarize Matthew 6:1-18 simply as give, pray and fast unto God, and trust in him to reward us.

Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV) - “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

This is the turning point in the chapter, when Jesus talks about our inner vision. Are spiritual realities important to us? We have to make the conscious decision to lay up treasures in heaven, in order that our hearts will be set on heavenly things.

Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV) - Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

And by the way, Jesus has also already told us how to lay up treasures in heaven: give to the poor, pray and fast. And with God’s reward as our motivation.

We also see what can cloud our spiritual vision: trying to serve both God and Money. It just won’t work. Either God or Money will be your master, who do you choose? This is very important, because Jesus taught this first before he told us not to worry about provision. 

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV) - “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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies 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. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In my personal experience, people who have difficulties with receiving God’s provision usually miss out on some of the earlier points within this chapter. The question of lordship, do you live for God or Man? And the heart, is it set on things above or things below?

Finally, how real is the Fatherhood of God to you? Is God some distant deity, a harsh taskmaster, or a loving Father? Within this chapter, as Jesus is laying the groundwork for his teaching, he refers to God as Father eleven times, and as God only twice. This is significant to me. Jesus already taught that prayer is one of the ways of laying up treasures in heaven, and prayer (as Jesus taught it) requires us to acknowledge God as Father.

And over time, as our personal relationship with God deepens in intimacy and understanding, we will find that our faith (attitudes) and actions will place us in the place where we can enjoy the exciting and satisfying life of walking in God’s provision in every aspect of our lives.

Conclusion:
Ever since I noticed the details I shared here, I started to evaluate my life in the light of Matthew 6. Of course there’s so much more to consider within Matthew 6, because it has far-ranging implications in our daily lives. But I hope that you will find this sharing a useful self-check tool to see if there are any areas you need to work on a bit in order to enjoy God’s provision to an even greater degree!

Be blessed!

How to Change Your Spiritual Wardrobe

For those of us who like everything listed out neatly, here are the two lists in Colossians 3.

What To Take Off

• sexual immorality
• impurity
• lust
• evil desires
• greed (= idolatry)
• anger
• rage
• malice
• slander
• filthy language
• lying

What To Put On

• compassion
• kindness
• humility
• gentleness
• patience
• forgiveness
• love

The driven, task-oriented amongst us will probably print out the lists, put them up somewhere they would see every day and make them their New Year Resolutions. From experience, only the very disciplined amongst us can make it work. And for the rest of us, we will find it very frustrating, because we are not doing things the way God wants us to do them.

How ARE We Supposed to Change?

1) Think About Godly Things

Colossians 3:1-3 – Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (NIV)

I remember the days I so wanted to live a God-pleasing life. I had been a believer for years before that, but because I was not in fellowship with other brethren and didn't have a proper devotional life, I was convinced that it was unrealistic and unattainable. But I still wanted to try anyway.

I wasn't too sure I could follow the instructions in the Bible, but I decided that the least I could was KNOW what the instructions were. So I just made it a point to read the Bible daily. At that time I didn't know the power of reading the Bible aloud, but even then the 15-20 minutes each time, done 2-3 times a day, was enough to start changing my mind into thinking that obeying God wasn't that unrealistic and unattainable after all.

And let's face it, that was a very necessary first step!

2) Know God

Colossians 3:10 - … and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator (NIV)

In verses 9-10, Paul tells us since you have take off our old self (and its habits) and put on the new self by being renewed in knowledge in the image of our Creator. This tells me that I ought to put less attention less on changing my lifestyle and more on knowing the God who created the new me.

Consider the following:

Lev 20:26 - You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own. (NIV)

Knowing the holiness of God will spur us into holy living. Notice how God uses himself as an example for us to follow?

Deut 10:18-19 - He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. (NIV)

And in the New Testament, we are told to imitate God:

Eph 5:1-2 - Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (NKJV)

But how can we imitate God unless we deeply and intimately know him? We need to meditate on his wonders and his deeds (Psa 77:12). When we do, and realize that we are his children and thus carry his DNA in our spirit, we then begin to find ourselves living as his children would.

3) Recognize that we are the chosen, holy and dearly loved

Colossians 3:12-14 - Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (NIV)

This is the earlier step, Knowing God, and carries it a step further. When we know God and how much he loves us, it becomes easy to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and so on. Why? Because we know God is like that, and he has treated us thus. And that makes it reasonable for us to do likewise.

Conclusion:

All these steps may seem simple. They are. But don't let the simplicity deceive you. They require us to put in consistent and regular effort to renew our minds. We used to live in the ways of the world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Eph 2:2) and so it will take time and deliberate effort to change our thought patterns and emotional habits.

It's not an easy journey. But I can assure you that you will find joy and delight in it as you know you please God in your thoughts, words and deeds. Shall we continue this journey together?

Be blessed!

My Old Clothes

I gave away a large stack of my old clothes recently.

It took a number of trips, lugging heavy bags, taking Singapore public transport and then doing a 'heave'-offering into the Salvation Army collection centre. And from the looks of things I'll still have to make a couple more trips over the next few weeks.

We Chinese usually do loads of spring-cleaning and housekeeping before the Chinese New Year. That makes it an appropriate time to look through the wardrobe and decide if you REALLY want to wear that crazy shirt you bought the last holiday…

After totally forgetting to do this for years, I finally buckled myself down and forced myself to start on seriously evaluating my wardrobe and the clothes therein. And it started me thinking about my spiritual dress sense also. To make it very simple, our spiritual dressing is made up of:

1) What We Take Off

Colossians 3:5, 8-9 – Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry… But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (NIV)

Why were there so many of my old clothes left in my wardrobe? Because I didn't grow physically over the past 12 or so years. Many people I know wear forced to give away their old clothes because those clothes didn't fit them anymore. But for me, my height, my arm-length and even my waistline has remained the same, so I could get away with wearing the old clothes that I used to wear 12 years back.

It's just like how some believers, when they first turn to Christ from an extremely bad background, such as drug and alcohol abuse, crime and all that, change spiritual dressing very drastically. Because what they had to get rid of was very obvious and easy to see, you could see the changes in their lives very quickly. They knew their old ways just didn’t fit their new identity in Christ (2 Cor 5:17).

It was like people whose waistlines grew a few inches. It's obvious that their old jeans don't fit anymore!

Some believers don't have horrible backgrounds when they come to Christ. Maybe they were by nature nice people already, or their parents had brought them up well, or they had really good self-discipline. Because the things they had to get rid of were not so obvious, they could actually get away with staying the same, not totally surrendering their behavior and emotions to the Lord, and people around them wouldn't notice.

It's like me keeping old clothes from 12 years back because they still fit OK!

So why I get rid of the old clothes then? Because no matter how much I washed them, they still stink. There was a moldy, stale smell that wouldn't go away no matter how many times I put those clothes in the washing machine.

Likewise for our attitudes and habits. Even though they may still fit in our lives (they don't cause us or the people around us major inconvenience or problems), after a while, as we mature in Christ we realize that they stink, we don't like them and we really ought to get rid of them.

2) What We Put On

Colossians 3:12 – Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NIV)

Why did I get down to evaluating my wardrobe after all these years? Because I was given lots of new clothes and I needed to make space for them in my room.

That is my primary motivation for getting rid of anger, malice, slander and other inappropriate habits from my life. Even though they were not really obvious and not causing that much problems, I needed to get rid of them to make even more room for compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

One thing I appreciate about how Paul expresses himself here – he compares those virtues to clothes. One thing that sets humans apart from animals – our clothes are NOT a part of us, and we therefore have a choice in what we choose to wear.

Jeremiah 13:23 - Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? (NKJV)

We can't change the color of our skin, but we can choose what we wear above it. Likewise, despite our basic nature, we can choose to wear compassion, kindness and the other virtues over it. At the very beginning, when we struggle with our old emotional habits and thought-life, putting on compassion can make us feel like we are faking it, that we are pretending to be kind and humble people when we aren't. The accuser can jump in to heap condemnation upon us and discourage us from the Christian walk, or we sometimes totally discourage ourselves without his help.

As long as we know that it feels uncomfortable and unnatural at the beginning, we are not expecting it to be a miraculous change and we are not very disappointed if we slip up and make mistakes. This allows us to keep on at it for the long haul, and after time what we wear becomes an integral part of our personal identity. Gentleness, kindness and patience are not longer just clothes that we may or may not wear that day; they become vital and irreplaceable aspects of our spiritual dress code.

And by that time we cannot imagine or accept replacing them with anything less!

It's just like my current dress sense. There are colours and types of clothes I know I will NEVER wear. I don't care what other people say. I am NEVER going to wear Bermuda-pants (I think I look ridiculous in them) or the brighter, fiery colours (such as yellow, orange or red). I'm sticking to my favourite colours no matter how boring they make me look. My clothes and the colours I choose are now a vital part of my personal identity and I am sticking with them!

Of course, it helps that I am already married and am no longer spouse-hunting…

So when was the last time YOU waited before the LORD and asked him what he wanted you to change in your spiritual wardrobe?

Be blessed!

Just Between You And God

I would that every believer sing praises to God daily, not just on Sunday at church.

Psalm 92:1-2 (NKJV) - It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night

And that is why I think it's a joke if someone claims to be serious about being in the worship ministry and yet does not take out time for personal worship moments with God. A person who needs to have good music and an audience before he or she starts singing passionately unto the LORD or dancing around is a hypocrite, in Jesus' opinion.

Matthew 6:1-2 (NIV) - Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

I don't think that Jesus is not talking about total absolute secrecy. If he was, then I'll have to donate things to the Salvation Army collection centres in the middle of the night while wearing a ninja suit. And I'll look really weird when I'm arrested by the police (for suspected burglary or attempted terrorism) and they discover children's clothes and old toys cunningly hidden in secret compartments on my clothes and ninja-utility belt…

I believe Jesus is referring to the heart, to the motive of our giving. Are we fine with people totally forgetting about our giving later on? Or do we need the honour in the eyes of others before we give?

And the same thing applies to prayer (and by implication, worship).

Matthew 6:5-6 (NIV) - And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

In other words, if all you want is the applause of men, then that is ALL you will get. But if you want the reward that comes from your Father in heaven, then you have to be prepared to go without the praise that comes from other people.

The reason why many people do not have a consistent and regular personal prayer and worship time is because it does not always feel good straight away. You have to be prepared for months of not feeling as if you are getting anywhere. And all Jesus would say about it is that the Father, whom we cannot see, will reward us. Yet nothing concrete and tangible is promised as the reward. Is it money? Power to heal the sick and raise the dead? Influence and authority?

Jesus doesn't tell us.

That means that the only people who are going to take Jesus at his word here are those who can 1) See the unseen God through eyes of faith; AND 2) believe that the Father knows best how to reward us for seeking him. And this was the case for Moses. He too saw God and valued the reward he knew God has prepared for those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:26-27 (NIV) He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

Seeking after the honour that comes from men is a lot easier. It's tangible and immediate. Some people are so earthly minded that the tangible and immediate things are good enough for them. So if praying, reading the Bible and worship doesn't feel good immediately, or at least within the first 5-10 minutes, they quit and make excuses for themselves, saying that they are not the spiritual sort.

Let me be blunt here: no one is. No one is born into the Kingdom of God finding all the things of God easy. Sure, we might enjoy prayer, worship, feeding on the Scriptures and other acts of righteousness at first because they are new and exciting to us. But soon, the routine and dryness sets in. That is when we have to make the choice: are we going to seek God only when it feels good? Or we will preserve no matter what, because we have set our hearts and minds on heavenly things (Col 3:1-2)?

It takes conscious decision and deliberate effort. That is why we are told to crave spiritual milk in order that we may grow up in our salvation (1 Pet 2:2). If the Bible tells us to crave spiritual milk, it means that it is not something that we would naturally do as believers. It requires us to be transformed by the renewing of the mind (Rom 12:2)

You know what I wish?

I wish that I could spur the average believers around me to seek after the things of God more. I wish spiritual hunger was contagious and that I could infect people with it, then they would overflow with the desire and discipline to spend personal time with God. I wish I could make them treasure and experience the relationship and fellowship that is just between them and God, that which no one else can ever fully experience or understand because it is strictly between God and them.

That is why I get so frustrated sometimes, when I meet believers who need to have God dumbed down for them. For them I try to show them how easy it is to get started with prayer and the Word of God. We all have to start somewhere, true. But if we are not growing in our faith, and find ourselves exactly the same place we were spiritually 5-10 years ago, then something has gone wrong somewhere. The writer of the book of Hebrews says:

Heb 6:1 (NIV) - Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity…

Conclusion: I am tempted to end this post with a few how-to-es. How to see the invisible God, how to trust in him to reward us, how to get started in prayer and all that. But I suspect it is not necessary. I suspect that every believer who is honest before God will know how he or she stands spiritually. I believe every believer who is honest with themselves already knows, deep in his or her heart, what God wants him or her to do next and what is the first step. The only question now is: are you going to take that next step forward? Go for it!

Be blessed!

Spiritual Metabolism and Digestion

Something interesting happened to me. A couple of weeks ago, I meet up with a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and he diagnosed me as having a very low metabolic rate. In TCM terminology, my body was too cold.

Now if you see from my Facebook pics how scrawny I am, and watch how I usually eat a lot (shoveling French fries down my throat like there's no tomorrow) and notice how difficult it is for me to sit still, you would understand why I was very skeptical of this diagnosis. The practitioner then convinced me by mentioning that I don't sweat easily, even out in the sun. And that was evidence of a low metabolic rate. At that time we were in an air-conditioned place, so there was no logical way of him knowing about my sweating habits. And that lent further credence to his diagnosis.

Then why am I so thin? Because my metabolic rate was too low, even my digestion was ineffective. In other words, I was unable to absorb and utilize the nutrients in my food. It was like someone giving me a wallet with $20 every day, and I would take $5 and throw the rest of the money away along with the wallet… I am convinced of his diagnosis, so I have started making some lifestyle changes to bring my body to a more optimal level of health.

His diagnosis also got me thinking: how many Christians have a spiritual metabolic rate that's too low, and therefore cannot even digest the Word of God properly?

How will you know if you have an optimal spiritual metabolic rate?

1. You will be hungry for spiritual food, the Word of God. Physically I can eat a lot, but a couple of weeks ago I could also miss a meal here and there and not feel hungry. I should have recognized that as a bad sign. The same thing applies spiritually. If you aren't craving and hungering for the Bible, something is wrong with your spirit's metabolic rate (1 Pet 2:2).
   
2. You will have loads of energy for the things of God. Physically I was active, but I found myself unable to bring my fitness to the next level. In fact, my energy level was dropping. Spiritually, how does worship, prayer, godly fellowship and acts of righteousness make you feel? Bored and listless? Or excited and enthusiastic? You can discern your spirit's metabolic rate right there.
   
3. You will sweat. As I mentioned earlier, physically I sweat very little. Just on Monday I sprinted for 3-4 minutes (late for an appointment and I missed the correct bus-stop) and didn't break a sweat. Bad sign. Remember, sweat helps your body remove toxins and waste from your system. Spiritually, that translates to you sweating out bad thinking, wrong ideas and lousy attitudes. Do you feel yourself getting rid of the junk within your spirit (2 Cor 7:1), the things you know are toxic to your walk with Christ? If you have difficulty in this, take a good look at your spiritual metabolic rate. Something might be wrong there.

What are the causes of a lousy spiritual metabolic rate? Here are a few.

1) Lack of proper feeding. If you don't feed on the Word of God in the first place, don't expect your spirit to have anything to properly metabolize.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col 3:16, NKJV)

I hope I don't sound too harsh, but I get really frustrated when I hear the excuses some Christians give for not spending proper time in God's Word. Some of them would be hilarious if they were not so pathetic. God, give me patience with Christians who think getting life lessons from Korean soap operas is a viable alternative to feeding on the Scriptures!

2) Lack of action. Worship, prayer, godly fellowship and acts of righteousness are the natural fruit of feeding on God's Word. I pity the sermon junkies, people who go from one preacher to another, expecting to find someone who can preach them into feeling good without them having to take corresponding action. Ultimately, these people are doomed to a Christian existence (notice I didn't choose the word 'life') of boredom and frustration.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25, NKJV)

When I hear people complaining about sermons after the service, saying that this sermon wasn't 'anointed' or 'spirit-filled' or things like that, I wonder what they were expecting. Were they expecting something that would zap them into feeling good before they start obeying the Word of God? I heard a popular preacher who helped propagate that myth. He would talk about how some people would suddenly, naturally and effortlessly start living the life God intended for them after listening to his sermons long enough. The end result was a congregation of spiritually passive people, people who were waiting for God to zap them into wanting to forsake sin, read the Bible, pray and then live out godly lives.

*shudder*

3) Spiritual Indigestion. If you feed on the wisdom of the world instead of God's Word, you of course cannot expect to get the same results as feeding on the Bible.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (Col 2:8 NIV)

There are two types of thinking often confused with the Word of God, secular positive thinking (self-help and personal development) and secular morality. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against secular positive thinking and secular morality in general, in fact, I do read up on them at times. But I have long decided that if I have to choose between those teachings and the Word of God, I'd take the Word of God.

I'm sure there are other Christians who claim they would decide the same way. My question for them is this: are you so familiar with the Bible that you can tell when a thought or concept is from the Bible or from some self-help author? And has the Scripture taken such a hold of your heart that the Scriptures, rather than Napoleon Hill, James Allen or Stephen Covey, are what your heart leans on when the crisis of life strike?

And there is one final group of people with a messed up metabolism. They are spiritually active and feed seriously on the Bible, and yet find themselves running out of steam, making big mistakes in their lives, and are unable to hear the voice of God and discern his will for their lives. They are those who have, in the midst of growing in doctrine and faith, forgotten how much they have been forgiven by God.

No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (Heb 8:11-12, NIV)

Think about it: if those who know their God will be strong and do great exploits (Dan 11:32), and we can know God only if our sins are forgiven (Heb 8:11-12) then those who start off strong and later lose momentum may have forgotten how deeply God has forgiven them of their sins. I used to think that it was good enough that God has forgiven me, even if I forgot to acknowledge truth at times. But now I have changed my mind. I now believe that if I don't regularly acknowledge my forgiveness in Christ, I shall live as if I am not forgiven.

… that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (Philemon 6, NKJV)

The above passage suggests that if I do NOT acknowledge every good thing that is in me in Christ Jesus (including forgiveness and redemption) then the sharing (or fellowship in the faith) becomes ineffective, useless and nullified. And that has been my own personal experience also. Whenever I find my spiritual hearing dulled and my discernment inaccurate, it is usually after an extended season of paying so much attention to the other teachings in the Bible that I forget to meditate on the forgiveness and redemption God has given me in Christ.

Conclusion:

Spiritual metabolism, converting what you get from the Word of God into action in our lives, such a vital topic because it determines whether we live our Christian lives as God intended. I am sure I can't do justice to it with just one post. Nevertheless, I hope that this would at least get you started in looking at your own spiritual walk with God. Is there anything you realize needs some tweaking?

Be blessed!

Fatal Mistake Bosses Make

I recently had lunch with an old friend of my wife, who was also a former music student of mine. She was telling me about the little ways her current employer tried to short-change her and how she foiled them.

For example, she was placed on 3 months of probation when she was first hired. And just about the time her boss was supposed to tell her if she was to be confirmed as a permanent staff of that company (with the appropriate pay increase), her boss arranged to go for a very long trip to Europe. That would have left her hanging in the air for more than a month while waiting for his decision.

Other employees would have just waited for the boss' return and hope to be confirmed then. She sent the boss an email informing the boss that she did not wish to waste her time in that company if she was not going to be confirmed as a permanent staff. Her boss called her immediately just before he left the country to promise her that she would be confirmed as staff. And he kept that promise, she got the pay raise she deserved.

Another case: the company was expanding and she found out that the new staff hired were going to be paid more than she was, even though she was doing the bulk of the work. She told her boss directly that if she was not going to be paid what she was worth, she would resign. She got her pay increased to match that of the new staff.

In Asian societies this type of behaviour from an employee is unthinkable. But because my friend was so forthright with her boss, he knew that she would not backstab him or sabotage him behind his back. Also, when she joined her current company to do admin work, she found the whole company's admin all in a mess and she spent lots of time and effort to sort everything out for them. The people hired for that job before her quit within 1-3 months, and left everything in chaos. She single-handedly fixed up everything without any help from the other staff (they didn't know anything) or the boss (who didn't know anything either).

In other words, she could get away with this type of behaviour because she had already proven her value and loyalty to the company!

People with that kind of drive, initiative and forthrightness are an asset to any company they choose to work for. But if you want to lead employees of that calibre, you must know the value of your people and pay them accordingly.

Colossians 4:1 (NIV) - Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

One tendency we have as fallen human beings is to boast about how cheaply we managed to buy something. It's nothing new, even Solomon commented on buyers who try to drive a hard bargain.

Proverbs 20:14 (NIV) - "It's no good, it's no good!" says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase.

But if you try that when it comes to buying the labour of your staff, especially with employees who genuinely know their market value, they will resent you. And eventually leave. Don't deceive yourself. You can try your hardest to find staff who will work for you for less than their market value, but let me tell you that you are losing time and peace, as well as risking the reputation of your business when the lousy staff you hire produce work that is worth as much as you pay them.

Pastor John Lim of Living Faith Church regularly preaches to employees that if they work as unto the LORD (Col 3:23-24) the LORD will often move them out of a company that is exploiting them and underpaying them. Christian bosses, please meditate on this. If you find that your staff retention rate is low and your good staff keep leaving, the problem may not be the devil, the economy, how greedy employees are these days or any other excuse you cook up. It might just be that God really doesn't like how you underpay your staff!

Another way bosses cheat their staff is by paying them late.


The hired men of that era were daily-rated workers. They were economically even worse off than the slaves, who would have food and lodging provided for them. The principle we see here is not that we should pay our staff daily (that would be a huge admin hassle) but that we pay them on time, on the day and date we promised to pay them. Don't use weekends, public holidays or your own overseas business trips as excuses to make your staff wait for their wages.

Why would some bosses delay the wages? You see, the longer the wages stay in the company's bank accounts, the more interest the company stands to earn on that bank account. Yes, given today's interest rates it isn't really a lot of money compared to the resentment and ill-will you build with your staff if you do that. But some employers are penny-wise, pound-foolish.

What about shrewd bosses?

Shrewd bosses pay their staff above market rate. That way they will always have their pick of the best employees available for their business. Some people call this foolishness, or say that it is bad stewardship of the money God has entrusted them. Let me show you two examples of shrewd employers from Scripture.

Genesis 41:38-44 (NIV) - So Pharaoh asked them, "Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you."

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."

Background – Joseph had just interpreted Pharaoh's dream, saving the lives of the people of Egypt. I do not know the market rate for diviners or dream-interpretation in those days, but I can safely assume that you don't hand over the kingdom to them for successfully interpreting only one dream!

But Pharaoh was shrewd. If he paid Joseph overwhelmingly well, he knew that he would secure Joseph's loyalty AND have Joseph's wisdom and insight near him when he needed it. Also, what kind of threat would Joseph be to Pharaoh if Joseph was employed by another kingdom?

(Quick tip: the staff you should pay the most are the ones that you most fear working for your competitors…)

Of course it was a gamble. But in those days you don't survive long as Pharaoh unless you are a good judge of character. In the few minutes Pharaoh saw Joseph in action, he quickly weighed up Joseph's character and trusted his gut-feeling that said this strange foreigner who was hidden in his prison was the kind of person he wanted on his staff. And in the years to come Joseph would prove him right.

Luke 19: 16-17 (NIV) - "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

In the parable of the minas, the newly crowned king awarded his best performing servant a huge promotion. Which makes sense, if he can grow one mina into ten, what do you think he can do with ten cities? Some Singaporean bosses I know will tell this servant "Sorry, the economy is bad, this time I give you half a mina but you must still grow it into ten minas for me, otherwise your job is in danger…"

Of course, within a month these bosses will be complaining about how this ungrateful servant left them for greener pastures!

If you had this servant working for you, how much of your money would you entrust to him? For me I'd probably hand this servant all I have and mortgage my home further! By the way, this attitude of investing your money and attention to where you see results does not apply only to high performing staff. It also applies to marketing campaigns as well. If you are the boss you must track the advertising campaigns you pay for and see which are the ones that bring you the most customers, the highest spending ones and the most loyal ones. And invest in those campaigns accordingly.

It is foolish to cut spending on advertising blindly or solely on advertising cost. You need to track your returns from each campaign. And if you are not directly supervising each campaign yourself, your marketing director must be ready to account for these campaigns to you, to tell you which are the highest-performing campaigns and recommend that you invest further in those marketing channels.

Final note: I left out the last reason why my friend was so daring, and would take no nonsense from her boss. She had a background in sales and marketing. As long as you know sales and marketing, you will always have work, because every business needs people who can increase their sales. And that is why she often has people offering jobs to her.

Conversely, if you do not know sales and marketing but only possess specific skills, then you are in trouble should market changes ever render your skills obsolete. And if you are a boss or business owner who is unable to bring in sales for your business, you are at the mercy of those who can, because your business cannot survive without those people.

OK, this post has gone on long enough! I know I'm supposed to write more on worship ministry, and I will do so soon. Please email me or leave a comment if you find this post on Christian business helpful or if you'd like me to write more on this topic. In the meantime, be blessed!

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 (NIV) - Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

James' Law of Two Springs

People were telling me that someone I know is really anointed for worship. They say that he would break out into prophetic songs in the midst of worship and those who hear it are edified. "Wouldn't it be great if the two of you can combine your gifting and work together? Wonder-Twins activated!" (Reference to a kid's TV show from a long time ago)

No.

Given the choice I will not want to minister in worship with this person. Why? Because he violates what I call James' Law of Two Springs.

James 3:9-11 (NIV) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Simply put, James' Law tells us we should not be one of those who praise God and verbally abuse or criticise other people. And because I have spent considerable amounts of time with that supposedly anointed guy, I know him to be such a person. He is the kind of person who would sing out loud, be very demonstrative and expressive in worship, and yet within hours after the service be complaining about his spouse or verbally abusing and threatening his kids.

Of course you would not know these things about a person just from casual acquaintance. But as time goes by a person's true colours are revealed. One of his closest friends from church (not me) confronted him over how he always managed to find something wrong in every situation, instead of looking for whatever he could thank God for (1 Thes 5:18). And within weeks of that confrontation this person was talking about wanting to change church because the worship leaders and the worship musicians were not doing a good job during worship.

Yeah, right.

Am I being too strict over this? I don't think so. Jesus said that all these are symptoms of an underlying problem, a defiled heart.

Matt 15:18 (NIV) - But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

Especially when it comes to encountering God in worship, this is crucial. Consider Isaiah's encounter with God, recorded for us in Isaiah 6.

Isaiah 6:5 (NIV) - "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

When Isaiah received a vision of the LORD seated on his throne and the angels worshipping him, the first area of his life that troubled his conscience was his lips. This strongly suggests to me that we cannot meet God face-to-face in worship without his holiness challenging us in the area of our speech.

Someone can sing out loud, break into spontaneous worship (which really impresses charismatics, I noticed) and yet not truly meet God face-to-face in worship. How will I know? I listen to such a person's words in day-to-day life. As long as I can see two springs of water, fresh and salty, where there should not be, I know this person hasn't fully met the Lord in worship yet.

Isaiah 6, by the way, explains the two opposite reactions people may have after an intense time of worship. Some people talk, it seems as if their lips are loosed and they start speaking of godly things a lot more. This is not surprising, as the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10). As they testified of Jesus in worship, the Spirit of prophecy came upon them.

Other people, I noticed, just fall silent. It's as if they do not want to defile the holy atmosphere around them with their worldly words. Suddenly they have no need to speak, and it seems as if their souls have entered the quietness and rest of God (Isa 30:15).

The practical aspect of things:

If you are leading your worship team, especially the singers and the worship leaders, I highly recommend that you do not accept anyone on your team if he or she does not consistently follow James' Law of Two Springs.

If you have gone through my teaching materials you should know me by now. I don't talk very much about the spiritual side of worship, about the heart of worship and all that kind of stuff. Why? Because I have seen people major on all the intangible stuff because they don't have anything to share or impart about the tangible aspects of worship ministry. That's not my role in the Body of Christ.

But James' Law of Two Springs is the ONE thing I will teach and emphasize on when it comes to the intangible aspects of worship ministry. In my 14-15 years in the worship ministry, I would say that this is one of the most important aspects of a worshipper's personal life, and it has a direct spiritual correlation on this person's spiritual effectiveness (or otherwise) in the worship ministry.

Now what if YOU are violating James' Two Stream Law?
You need to get out of it. There are three steps:

1. Prayer – My own personal testimony: when I was 17 years old I was at a youth camp and the pastor shared about specially seeking out the people who get put down and showing God's kindness to them. As he shared I suddenly realized that I myself was one who would go around putting others down. So after that sharing I asked that pastor to pray for me.

And he did. He prayed that I would let go of all the hurts I received before and walk in forgiveness. After that time I found that I suddenly lost the drive to get in the last word, to dig an insult further in, and to make other people pay for all the pain I went through before. That cleaned up my speech very quickly!

So you pray also. Find some spiritual leader such as your pastor to pray for you. There is power that comes from humbling yourself in prayer and seeking God for him to rein in your tongue.

2. Scripture – Replace unedifying thoughts and speech with the Word of God.

Colossians 3:15-16 (NIV) – Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

3. Worship – In this I am not referring to serving in the worship ministry, but simply singing praises to God, both as part of a congregation and by yourself. Remember Isaiah 6? When Isaiah saw the Lord and realized the sinfulness of his speech, immediately he received atonement for his sin.

The more we faithfully and consistently offer praises onto God, the more opportunity we give God to meet with us and change us, and at a more gradual and comfortable pace than Saul had when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Many charismatics I've met seem to prefer the sudden God-turns-up-and-zaps-me kind of transformation. That sudden encounter worked for changing Saul on the road to Damascus, but it was certainly very uncomfortable! I'd rather live in submission to God and avoid such drastic measures.

Conclusion

Many people in church circles despise the power of a reined tongue. They make light of it by saying things like "He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?" By this they imply that it is easier to say the right things than to do them. And then they think that because they do the right churchy kind of things, they need not watch their words.

James 1:26 (NIV) - If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

I have been touched by God in this area of my life. I know that my words, even when they offend, are not spoken out of malice or resentment. So I tell you: It can be done. God really wants to be there for you, to change your heart and purify the speech that arises from your lips. And when he has done his work you'll find that life is a lot better, your heart is a lot lighter and your praises to God feel a lot more powerful.

In other words, tap into the power of the One Spring!

Teach and Admonish

I have a confession to make.

I am a control freak.

And that is a side of me that I had to face up to, especially as I am writing this.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

When I first started serving in a worship ministry, the popular teaching was that we musicians were a specially called group, the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament Levites and priests.

As I grew in my understanding (and just kept on reading the Bible) I just couldn’t hold to that idea anymore, that worship leaders and worship musicians are a separate group from the ‘average’ believer. I don’t believe that is an idea that can be justified from New Testament Scripture.

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a Kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father…” Revelations 1:5-6 (NIV)

Notice from the two passages I quoted that there is no argument the New Testament believer is a priest? Depending on what translation you are using, people can dispute whether we are made kings. But it is clear that we are definitely made priests.

All of us. Even the ones who are not serving in a worship ministry or see themselves as having no music gifting at all.

And one very neglected duty of the priest is the duty to teach. If Christ has made you a priest, he has given you not only the duty to praise God but also to teach. Consider this passage on the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe:

“He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.” Deuteronomy 33:10 (NIV)

And what are the priests to teach?

“They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges and decide it according to my ordinances.” Ezekiel 44:23-24 (NIV)

This is the tough part for me. To tell you all that you are called, no, you are commanded by God to teach his people. What if you start teaching the wrong things to God’s people? Wouldn’t I be at least partially responsible?

“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Romans 15:14 (NIV)

And THAT is the verse that slapped me in the face and told me to tell you what I am telling you now.

Now, I’d love it if I could teach you what to teach God’s people, and be your reference and guide if you have any questions, or be someone you check things out with before you share your teaching with others. But it’s better for me to share with you some principles that will help you teach the right things to God’s people.

1) “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult, whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you, rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still, teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 9:8-9 (NIV)

Remain open to being taught. Notice in the above passage mockers and the wicked are grouped together? And so are the wise and the righteous. Be open to what others share. Please, don’t swallow everything they say wholesale, because they may be wrong, but at least give them a fair hearing before you come to your conclusion. Remember Proverbs 18:13!

And thank them too, even if they are wrong. Oftentimes it’s very hard to step up to a sibling-in-Christ and share what you think they need to hear, especially if it’s something uncomfortable. So thank them for making the effort and assure them that you’ve heard what they had to say and you are giving it thought.

2) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16, NIV)

Notice the word “dwell”. Think about it. There are scientists who study cockroaches and centipedes, right? But they don’t let those creatures dwell with them in their own homes. Likewise, we can study the Bible seriously. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Word of Christ is dwelling within us.

So let the Word of Christ dwell within us as a welcome and respected guest. As you open your mouth and speak out the Scriptures, let this welcome guest minister to you, edify you and educate you.

And also keep up your worship lifestyle. Besides teaching God’s word we are also to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Now, there is room for us to disagree on the exact definition of those terms for worship, but it’s clear that we are to keep worshiping God, as that is part of letting the word of Christ dwell richly in us.

Side point: I personally spend lots of time in the book of Psalms also. I believe that it helps me understand the rest of the Bible better. In Ephesians 5 the psalms are linked with being filled with the Spirit. As I said, this is a personal thing.

3) Be ruled by peace.

In Colossians 3:15, we are commanded to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. We are called to peace, and in this context we’re talking about peace with our fellow believers. And this is the order of priorities that God has. First peace, then teaching.

And when we treasure peace, unity and continually release forgiveness to preserve that unity, we will find ourselves released to greater understanding of God’s word. And that will help you to teach the word of God to his people in an effective and appropriate way.


There is so much more to share on this topic, so I hope what I’ve shared so far will help you start off or encourage you further on this aspect of your priestly ministry. Be blessed, everyone!


Prayer time: Please pray for me that I will continue to be guided by the God in my decisions. Very heavy decisions to be made this season. The breakthroughs I’ve been praying for are finally arriving, and I need wisdom in reaping the harvest. Thanks, everyone!