Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Living for Jesus

You know how the Bible in the Old Testament urged the people to recount to their children how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt, the signs and wonders God showed them even while they were in Egypt. This was so that they will not forget who God is.

Stories of God's intervention, merciful provisions ought to fill our lives as we live boldly for Jesus. It may not necessarily be a dramatic recovery from financial hardship. It could be any rescue from certain death, being set free from oppressive habits, physical healing, etc.

Reflect for a moment:

What are your Red Sea adventures that you can impart to your children? What freedom stories do you have to share?

If you live as if you depend totally on God (you should really, if you consider yourself a branch on the Jesus Vine), you will have such stories to pass on. If you don't have, ask God for some. Stories like these can only happen if we obey God's call to His will. Moses obeyed God's call to confront the Pharoah, Abraham obeyed God's call to sacrifice Isaac, Mary obeyed God's call to a virgin birth, Jesus obeyed God's call to subject to His will for man. Every obedience leads to a partnership, where God and you work together to achieve His vision for you. When God and you work in a team, stories worth passing on simply just happen in your life. When you use your own abilities to live out a will that you think is God's, such stories just don't happen, because when God has no hand in your life, you simply cannot boast about Him.

God created us in His image, and He is a God of choice. He CHOSE to create us in His image, not in the image of the trees or stones, He CHOSE to work 6 days and rest on the Sabbath. He created all kinds of living things on land, in water, and in the air. He CHOSE to have variety in life, to have apples, pears, durians, rambutans, instead of just bananas only. He CHOSE to let us have the ability to CHOOSE because we are His very image.

He is a fantastic God, far beyond our comprehension, too complex to figure out, and yet, He has just a simple desire for each of us - to live within His will. So that we will remain on the vine with Him. So that when the race ends, we will be at the right finishing point. So that when He comes back, we will be ready for him to move on to the final destination, whose buildings and assets are not built or purchased with our own abilities, but are given by Him. In heaven, regardless of our earthly status or accomplishments, God calls the shots. In other words, we are made to understand what it means to be saved by His grace and to live under His grace, forever. Are we ready for that?

God bless and have a good week ahead:)

Thomas

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