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!

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!

Teachers of Pet Topics

2 Tim 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)

I love the small group ministry.

Whatever you call it at your church, Cell Group, Carecell, LifeGroup (at my church) or whatever, it's a great way for the people in your church to bond together and build genuine Christian fellowship, as well as to grow in the Word of God.

And growing in the Word of God through a small group ministry is very simple. You don't have to discuss deep stuff or seek out special materials for Bible study; you just need to pay attention during that week's sermon, take good notes, think through the sermon again before the meeting and discuss the sermon with the rest of the people there. That means you'd be exposed to the sermon four times rather than the usual one time. And that helps a lot in retaining the message!

What if you are the one leading the discussion? That's also easy too. If people only talk about what was covered in the sermon, you don't need to do a lot of extra work. And if they ask about stuff that wasn't covered in the sermon or you haven't learned about, you just need to say "I'm not too sure about that. Let me bring it up with the pastor and I'll get back to you?"

You can't get any simpler than that, right?

A problem arises, however, if you are the one leading the discussion, a difficult topic comes up and you feel the need to answer the question even if you don't have enough understanding from the Bible to answer it.

I've seen people doing that. They can't stand saying "I don't know", so they have to squeeze out of themselves some answer somehow or other. And the easiest way to do that is to reduce the question to one of their pet topics, such as love, righteousness, faith, the blood of Christ or something like that, even if it isn’t relevant to the question.

Let me be blunt here: if you can't take saying you don't know and want to give answers to Bible questions in your small group meeting, then put in the necessary work to actually give good answers. And that means beginning that life-long journey of growing in God's Word, to know the whole counsel of God, rather than just your 2-3 favorite pet topics. Become a believer of the Word, rather than just a believer of your favorite parts of the Word!

If you are new to studying the Word of God by yourself, you can start by reading a chapter of the Bible every day. Read it aloud to yourself, and go back to the chapters you have read for the two days before that too. That way you will read three chapters daily, and one will be new to you. If you are involved in the worship ministry, studying the Book of Psalms is a must. Put that as a priority above going for the next overseas worship conference or reading some worship devotional book.

It will be a life-long journey, and it can get frustrating at times.

It takes time and effort to get familiar with a book of the Bible to the point when you can use it, and the reason why some people end up as pet-topic teachers is because they don't feel that they can learn the Bible even if they put in effort. Or they don't want to put in the necessary work.

So what happens? They may look for other teachers and just swallow wholesale the teaching and Bible interpretations of those teachers. That's fine if you have enough understanding of the Bible to discern and evaluate Scripturally the teachings they bring you, whether through online sermons, books, teaching CDs or even commentaries. But if you don't, you are in danger of exchanging your own errors for the errors of others.

And an error, even if held with all sincerity, is still an error!

I remember one day I was reading a teaching by a popular preacher.

Mark 11:23 (NKJV) - For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

The preacher claimed that this verse meant that when we face challenges in life, we are to take authority over them and speak to them, commanding them to get out of our lives in the name of Jesus. He also claimed that Jesus appeared to him in a vision and said that NEVER in the New Testament were believers told to pray to God about their problems. They were to exercise their God-given authority over their problems.

How interesting. When I first read that, all it took was a second to remember the Lord's prayer (Matt 6:9-13) where Jesus told us to pray to God to deliver us from the evil one (vs 13). There is also an example from David in Psalm 6, where we find David speaking to his problems (vs 8) as well as praying to the LORD about them (vs 4).

So we can see that what he claimed Jesus spoke to him in a vision was not true. All it took was just a passing familiarity with the Bible to keep this error from sinking its roots into my mind. Not too difficult, was it? Of course, there will be other doctrines which will be more difficult to evaluate. One way to help us evaluate teachings – ask yourself if the teaching is what the Bible actually says or what someone else says it means.

For example, in Exodus 12:32 we read that Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to take the Israelites and leave Egypt, and also to bless him. That is a direct statement of Scripture. If someone claims that Pharaoh was thus trying to obtain blessings that are not rightfully his, since blessing is only for those with a covenant with God, now that is an interpretation. We evaluate this interpretation by asking:

1. Is this idea directly stated in the Bible? If it is, are there any other verses that balance it out or give another perspective?
   
2. If it is an interpretation, are there other verses that support that interpretation? And, more importantly, are there verses that do not support that interpretation?
   
3. If that interpretation is accurate, how much do you need to re-look other beliefs and opinions that you already hold?

And if you come from a Word-of-Faith background, you need to be especially strict with your Scripture interpretation. Because, speaking frankly, we from the Word-of-Faith movement have more than our fair share of false teachers and sincere Bible teachers with some mistaken interpretations here and there. Because of that, believers from other parts of the Body of Christ sometimes find it hard to take us seriously.

So we have to hold ourselves to an even higher standard of Bible interpretation than the rest of the Body of Christ!

Conclusion:

So whatever part of the Body of Christ you come from, or whatever your denomination or beliefs, if you are heading the Bible discussions or studies in your small group, I urge you to put in the best effort you can to know the Bible. It takes effort, that is why we are commanded to be diligent about it (2 Tim 2:15). But if you find it hard to spur yourself towards the work and diligence necessary for this, just remember, his approval, his "well-done, good and faithful servant!" as your reward!

WARNING – Is Your Soul in Danger of Being Snared?

I've been pondering this alot recently: the prosperity of the soul.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 2, NKJV)

According to that passage of Scripture, if our souls prosper all the areas of our lives will prosper. That's something that I really want, especially when I realized Matt 25:14-30 suggests that we are to double the wealth God has entrusted to our stewardship. 3 John 2 tells us to seek the prosperity of our souls, and that will set the other areas of our lives right. That includes our physical and financial health.

It's like the idea expressed in Matthew 6:31-33.

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

Matthew 6:31-33 tells us that giving priority to God's kingdom leads to our material needs being met. Let's face it, for some people that alone will be a drastic improvement! But I find myself desiring more than that. So I kept asking myself, how do I cause my soul to prosper, so that I can prosper in all the areas of my life?

Yelling at Jessiah

In the meantime, I've also realized that I have been quite bad-tempered towards my elder son recently. I would yell at him when he doesn't follow my instructions or when he tells me absolute nonsense to make excuses for his mistakes. The troubling thing is, my reactions are entirely out of proportion. Jessiah is actually a great kid, very obedient AND a fun kid to be with. Why am I blowing up when he occasionally messes up in some very small matters? Why am I having anger problems? Here's one of the reasons I discovered.

My Soul Ensnared

Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go,
Lest you learn his ways and set a snare for your soul. (Prov 22:24-25, NKJV)

This passage of Scripture tells us that one way to end up with anger problems (and your soul ensnared) is to associate with bad-tempered people.

When I first looked at this passage, it seemed like such a cop-out. I can't imagine saying to someone "The reason I'm bad-tempered is because I've been hanging around bad-tempered people…" It sounds like I'm just trying to make excuses for myself and avoid the blame! But if I reject this verse I am saying that I am that unchangeable in my character, that what can drag others down won't drag ME down.

If I ever think that I am too good for this verse, you'll know for certain I'm deluded!

I got my soul ensnared when I chose to associate with two bad tempered people in particular. I did my best to be calm and even-tempered with them, but after many years I grew tired of it. In the end I started blasting at them whenever they wilfully chose to ignore my boundaries.

Actually, they didn't really get it at the beginning, because they were not really bright. They were the sort who only understood very hostile words, blindingly obvious threat displays, throwing stuff around the house and other things you learn from watching Hong Kong and Taiwanese soap operas (That's why I don't like my kids watching TV). My blasting was like what you'd get from those hard-core teachers who could structure a scolding into lecture notes and sermon points. So by the time they understood what I was doing, discovered that I saw them as bratty kids and talked to them accordingly, they ended up feeling like fools.

Yeah, I made them realize they were fools and that I wasn't to be messed with. But at what cost? My soul got ensnared and Jessiah suffers for it. If I go on like this I am more a fool than they are!

Conclusion:

Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to get my soul out of this snare first before it can really start to prosper as God intended? I've decided that I need to deal with this anger problem before it gets worse and before I infect Jessiah with that same spirit. So if I ever come across anything useful or enlightening from the Bible, I'll certainly let you know!

In the meantime, do learn from my mistake. Don't let your soul get ensnared. Keep people with chronic anger issues as far from your life as possible. I was proud and thought that those angry people couldn't affect me. I was wrong and now have to get myself out of this fix. Please don't make the same mistake I did!

Be blessed, everyone!

P.S. And pray for me of course! Pray that God will grant me wisdom and patience… Thanks!

The Truth About Walking in Forgiveness

I was just talking with one of the leaders I work with in ministry, and I am honoured that he was willing to share transparently with me how much he was offended by some slight he faced in his own church, as well as how frustrated he was with himself at being stumbled by such a small matter.

Then he said "You know, JJ, I'm so impressed at how much you've grown. I heard in the past that you…" and brought up an incident, from a few years ago, when I was unfairly attacked and accused of wrongdoing and my reputation was damaged. Now that was a big matter to me, in fact after all these years the hurt remains quite fresh because I never got the chance to defend myself in this. So I was tempted to set the record straight by telling this leader EVERYTHING.

If you argue your case with a neighbor, do not betray another man's confidence, or he who hears it may shame you and you will never lose your bad reputation. (Pro 25:9-10, NIV)

The problem is, telling that leader everything meant betraying someone else's confidence. The above passage in Proverbs says that it will not restore my reputation, in fact, it will damage it even further. So there really wasn't anything else I can do other than swallow the pain of the original insult and pain, and pray again that God will give me fresh grace to walk in forgiveness.

Walking in Forgiveness
Not as easy as we want it to be, right?

Ask a passerby on the street what he or she considers to be the teachings of Christianity. Almost all of them will say "forgive your enemies". And rightly so, even when Jesus was teaching us how to pray, he told us to forgive others as we pray that God forgive us our sins (Mat 6:12).

It may be basic, but that does not make it easy to do. We may find ourselves forgiving others of small matters but struggling to forgive them of big transgressions (like in my case). Or we may be able to walk in forgiveness over big matters but suddenly find ourselves stumbled over a small detail (like in my leader's case). And we cannot understand why.

What happens when we find it difficult to forgive? There are three things we can do.

1) Lie to ourselves. Tell ourselves that we have forgiven when we haven't. Try to just forget the matter, and think that the fact that we can forget an offence means that we have forgiven the culprits.

Problem: this doesn't work. Unless we can effectively walk in forgiveness, the hurt within us is like a poison slowly seeping into our spirits. Pretending that it isn't there does not help. People who try this may end up with depression, tension, migraine headaches or come down with chronic anger syndrome, when any little thing can cause them to blow up and lose their temper.

2) Give up. Say that the Christian walk is too difficult, unrealistic and that God is unreasonable in expecting so much from us.

Problem: this is like saying that because we can't perform a surgical operation on ourselves, we don't let the doctor do it for us. The Christian walk is never meant to be attempted by our own strength and willpower alone. If we were that capable, why would Christ have to die for us on the cross in the first place?

3) Seek God again and again. Pray to God every time the hurt resurfaces, and tell him you need the power of his Holy Spirit to help you obey his command to forgive.

Problem: this way requires humility. Every time we tell God that we cannot make it by ourselves and need him to help us again, we are crucifying our pride and self-sufficiency again and again. Unless you are dead to yourself and alive to God in Christ Jesus, that's painful!

After more than 25 years as a believer I have a certain level of pride over how well I can manage the Christian walk. Seeking God over a past hurt requires me to face up to the fact that I am still not that perfect, even after 25 years. I have to admit to God (and now to you) that I still need to work on the basics of the Christian walk.

The only harder than walking in forgiveness…
… is living in un-forgiveness. Walking in forgiveness is like taking out a knife that someone has stabbed into your back. Many believers who want instant gratification think that the pain should go away immediately, but if the offence is serious enough life doesn't work like that.

But if you do NOT forgive, it's like keeping the knife there and pushing it even further to make the wound worse. If you pretend the knife is not there, you will eventually bleed to death. If you push the knife in further, you'll bleed even faster.

Gory images that are very disgusting, I know. But that is how God sees us when we do not forgive. He knows that when we don't forgive we are hurting ourselves the most. It disgusts him to see us doing that. And it pains his heart, because he wants to heal our hearts and bind up our wounds (Psa 147:3). But we've got to take out the knife first.

So now, my plan is…
… to meditate on God's forgiveness.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Eph 4:32, NIV)

That passage from Ephesians strongly suggests to me that the more I consider God's forgiveness of MY sins and wrongs, the more I can extend his forgiveness to other people, especially those who have wronged me deeply.

This post is different, isn't it? Usually I am boldly declaring the way to deal with a problem or get the result. But this time, because it is something that I am still seriously struggling with, I cannot do that with authority. In this matter all I CAN do is share my plan for getting out of it. Maybe it's something you may want to try also, if you have problems forgiving other people.

That's all for this time. More stuff coming up soon!