day 88: are you the teacher and do not know?

Jesus knew all men. He knew what was in man. (John 2:24-25) When a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews came to Him at night and wanted to ask Him about God, Jesus told him straight that he has to be born again before he can see the kingdom of God or understand matters about God. Jesus tried to explain to him one has to be born of the Spirit and becomes attuned to spiritual matters first. Poor teacher Nick (my short name for Nicodemus) did not know what Jesus was talking about.

So Jesus said, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?” (John 3:10)

Nick was not just an ordinary uneducated man on the street. He was one of the top national elites who ruled the religious, political and social lives of the people. He was a powerful man, well educated, well respected and was supposed to be teaching others about God. Yet Jesus said he did not know God.

Does this sound familiar? Many claim to be important in the churches but do not know God. Jesus said this of teacher Nick because he did not know or understand God in the spirit. God is Spirit. There is no other way to know Him. If anyone claims he knows all about God (through head knowledge only) the person is blind or not telling the truth. Does knowing God really matter? Jesus said, to know God and Jesus is eternal life! What is the point of being a well respected teacher in your church but do not have eternal life?

How did teacher Nick accept the “shocking” comment and teaching from Jesus? He respected Jesus and heard Him out. The Bible recorded that he spoke out for Jesus once in front of his own Pharisees peers, and later openly brought expensive spices to prepare Jesus for burial after the crucifixion.

My application:

Continue to seek God and wait upon Him, in His presence, through worship, singing hymns, reading His words (the Bible), praying, and being still before God.

Last night I attended a “waiting upon God” worship service and teaching. We worshipped for an hour. After that it was sermon time. But we were then told to lift up our hands, as a sign of total surrender to God, for the entire hour of “sermon” (waiting training). The pastor read some Bible verses and spoke a few sentences occasionally as led by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise we just waited in silence with our hands lifted up. After a long time he said we could prostrate on the floor as led by the Spirit. He told us to cast our worries and make our utmost request then. God will answer. I made a request silently about the intercession I have been making yesterday morning.

Towards the end of the session, the pastor quietly read two psalms and said that some of us will find answer and encouragement. When I heard the last two verses of the first psalm, I heard my answer. It was also confirmed by the second psalm! (He read Psalms 27 and 62)

I used to be like teacher Nick and knew nothing about spiritual matters. I did not know God the way He wanted me to know Him then. Now I begin to see and hear (despite moving with tortoise speed). I would encourage you too to seek and practice consistently. You will find that God likes to be found and He will meet you in ways that really surprise you.

I pray that you too will soon see and hear God.

AAA Jack

May 29, 2009

DAY 40: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE TARES?

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. The Son of Man (Jesus) sowed the good seed. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. But the devil (enemy of God) came and sowed tares among the wheat. God is aware of it. However, He instructed the angles to let both grow together until the harvest. At that time He will instruct the reaper angles to bundle up the tares and burn them. The wheat (sons of the kingdom) will be gathered into the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)
When the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. The angels asked whether they should pull them out of the field. Jesus said, “No, lest you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.”
Why were the seeds not detected? Why would the pulling of the young tares disturb the young wheat? My understanding is as follows:
1. All Christians start with seeds. Jesus sowed the seeds. When the seeds grow, they are Christians (the sons of the kingdom of God), the righteousness of God in Christ.
2. All un-believers start with seeds too. The devil sowed the seeds. They grow up and become sons of the wicked ones.
3. During evangelistic meetings it is possible that un-believers join the crowd and get into the church as part of the Christian community. They are treated as though they have believed in Jesus whereas in their hearts they do not believe. They are seeds sown by the devil.
4. The seeds are hidden below the surface. The devil came and sowed at night, in secret. No one can detect them. On the surface there is no difference between a young Christian and a non-believer in the church.
5. As they grow in the church, the young believers make friends with one another (including the un-believers).
6. It is obvious that there is risk in allowing the fake/counterfeit Christians (who become worship leaders, elders, pastors etc.) to remain in the church. Otherwise the angels would not have asked whether they should immediately remove the tares (sons of the wicked ones).
7. It is obvious that God has the authority and power to remove the wicked ones at any time.
8. God being merciful does not want to disturb the relationship. He knows the weakness of man, how we tend to let emotion and sentiments rule in our immature days.
9. Both the believers and un-believers grow up together in the church environment, attend the same worship services, listen to the same sermons, possibly serve together, spend leisure time together, join the same Bible study cell group, sing the same set of hymns and praise songs, share the same holy communion, solemnize their weddings, birth, and death in the same church etc. They may even be buried in the same church cemetery. Yet, at the end of this age, one goes to heaven and another gets to be burned.
10. The difference between a son of God and a son of the devil is recorded in the Bible and can be detected based on the words of God. In the above passage, Jesus called them “all things that offend Him, and those who practice lawlessness”. Jesus also called the sons of God, the righteous. No man can be called righteous except by faith, believing in Jesus. The lawless ones are those who do not believe in Jesus.
My application: Examine my life and make sure I am a believer. Continue to share the true Gospel of Jesus. Continue to pray and intercede for the church. Do not take for granted that all who go to church are believers.
This is the fifth times when an elder/pastor who led the Holy Communion omitted to teach the meaning of the bread and cup of wine in accordance with what the Lord taught. When reminded, one elder told me to let them lead by the Spirit. Whilst I pray my own prayer to make sure I do not partake the bread and the cup in the wrong manner, I really worry about those who do not do so due to lack of teaching by the church elders and pastors. Why are the elders and pastors so reluctant to read the passage in 1 Corinthians 11:24-30 of the Bible? There is no need to interpret if they cannot, just read them aloud to the congregations, please!!!
AAA Jack
April 6, 2009

He stooped and fed us

In today’s reading, I read Matthew 11:28-29. Jesus called out to everyone here, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
When I first read these two verses long ago, I always thought it rather contradictory. On one hand Jesus wanted us to remove our burden/yoke, on the other hand He urged us to put on His. A lot of churches taught me to be extra hard working as I have to carry Jesus’ burden. So I had to make a lot of effort to serve Him in churches, doing good work etc. The burdens became heavy and impossible to carry on my own. I know of Christians and pastors burning out too. It doesn’t make sense as Jesus specifically assured us in the following verse, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)
However, I am determined to understand these verses this time in this living Biblically quest. I prayed and read crossed reference verses and found the following treasure in Hosea. God spoke.
“I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.” this wonderful verse is taken from Hosea 11:4. God said He loved Israel (Christians) when he was a child. He taught them to walk, take them by their arms. He healed them. He then described how He drew them with gentleness and took away their yoke. Try picturing God as a tall and mighty person who stooped down to a little child and fed him patiently and lovingly.
The definition of a yoke:
1 a: a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together b: an arched device formerly laid on the neck of a defeated person c: a frame fitted to a person's shoulders to carry a load in two equal portions d: a bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or carriage is suspended from the collars of the harness.
When I thought of Jesus before, I always had the idea that He was like any of us, small and insignificant. I thought of carrying His cross/yoke for Him as if He was walking to the place of crucifixion. How wrong I had been! Jesus is no longer on His way to be crucified. He has already been crucified, died, buried, risen from the dead and now sits in heaven as God! The Jesus now is a mighty, magnificent and majestic God. He is definitely not the little man like any of us.
When I thought of this truth, I saw a different picture of the yoke on us. Instead of me carrying the yoke by myself, the yoke is shared now between me and Jesus. But Jesus is so much (infinitely) taller and bigger, so it is He who carries the yoke and not me. I am just like the child described in Hosea 11:4, whom Jesus stooped down to feed and nurse.
My application: continue to come near to God daily and feed on His words. Yesterday after interceding for the nation I had an unusual encounter. I was prostrating on the floor and the picture came to my mind. Jesus was holding a little narrow jar/vase in His hand and poured out some oil on His fingers. Then He touched my forehead. I had the word “anointing” in my mind.
After that, I forgot about the picture. By mid morning a thought came to me that I needed to record down the picture I saw. But I have forgotten it entirely. I was troubled. So I prayed that I could recall it. Immediately the picture came, exactly as I had seen in the early morning. I am not sure what this means and I have no Bible reference in my mind. I decide to leave this subject for the time being. However I believe I need to continue to pray/intercede for the nation, seek guidance and clarification of goals and directions for my life, especially at this time of uncertainty.
Meanwhile I am happy that it is not me who carries the yoke. No wonder Jesus assured us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light!
AAA Jack
March 28, 2009

be the wise man who built his house on the rock

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and when the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was built on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25
Yesterday I finally heard what this passage is all about. I always thought I was the one who had to do the work of building. I had to choose the ground properly. I had to calculate and select the materials for the building. I had to make sure that the house was built on strong foundation or it would tumble down in the storm. I had focused on the word “I” and no wonder I failed.
Yesterday a speaker told us that it was the other way round. He asked, “Do you let Jesus dig deep into you?” “Do you let God build into you deeply, all the way to the bedrock?” He was preaching on something else but he opened his sermon by mentioning this passage and asked us these questions.
What? I never thought of this passage this way. It makes sense as it tallies with what the apostle Paul had told us. He reminded us that we are God’s workmanship. It is God who builds into us. Another preacher writer also had been writing on this subject of work too and has been hammering into my head and my heart that Christians’ main problem is that we do not let God work into us. We like to be in control and feel important by working for God! It is obvious that our foundation is like sand if we persist on serving and working without allowing God to work deep into us and build our character!
The depth and strength of our character comes from God’s working in our lives. There is no way any one can work (whatever good works he does) his way to strength and power without God’s building and molding him.
My application: Let God work deep into me and build me on His solid foundation. Continue to rise early to seek God and worship Him, pray and intercede for others too. Continue to read His Words in chunks and be alert to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
This morning while praying for my church’s recent project of raising a big sum $15million to build a mega building, I was filled with the idea of writing to the pastor and urging him not to proceed even though the church building committee had already collected over $5million.
I could see my thoughts gathering clearly. Recently I had been thinking how to save the world from its fast track of sliding downhill. I had the idea of asking every family to grow organic vegetables and rear chickens or goats in our backyards. I thought of home schooling and keeping a self sufficient family independent of the world economy. I thought of re-cycling practically everything and conserving instead of destroying and depleting more rare resources. I read up on the subject and discovered that more and more people are thinking on this future. Today I read about the US President’s wife doing exactly the same project of gardening in the White House!
I could envisage the pictures of a church growing fresh vegetables and fruits and even keeping sheep and goats to support the unemployed congregation members and families. The pastor may ask how he will accommodate the worship service members if the existing hall becomes too full. Well, I saw in my vision people sitting on grass, under trees, in glass houses, in sheds etc. Loudspeakers are fixed on the trees and church organ music filled the air everywhere in the huge organic garden. Just think, a bit of Paris (the gardens in the city where we used to sit around and listen to classical music under trees) right here. After church service, healthy lunches can be bought at reasonable prices too.
Bible references: I keep reading a lot about agricultural and pastoral blessings from God and none about construction. GROW instead of CONSTRUCT appears to be the key word for receiving supernatural blessing. Grow something organic that gives life and generates produce in return. Do not construct something dead which depreciates with wear and tear. (Not to mention the wasting of resources and spoiling the environment). When we build, be like Abraham. Build altars for God. (Not monuments for men).
AAA Jack
March 23, 2009

Day seven: be the salt of the earth and be a man in light

“You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13)
I still cannot figure out much about the Christians being the salt of the earth other than salt being traditionally used as seasoning and preservative, having a number of culinary and therapeutic effects. Nowadays people are avoiding salt in fear of putting too much pressure on the heart. Salt are still hidden in a lot of foodstuff anyway. Does this mean we are needed in meeting the health and nutritious requirements in a variety of essential but unobtrusive ways? On the other hand, no matter how one tries to avoid salt, one just needs it to survive. Similarly the society needs Christians to survive. Incidentally food with a pinch of salt is always tastier. Life with Christians around should be more interesting too!
“You are the light of the world…let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Jesus so commanded those who followed and believed in Him (Matthew 5:14-16).
Jesus spoke about Himself: “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12) In John 1:4, this is written about Jesus, “in Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” 1 John 5:11 further testified that “and this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
Light is associated with life. The life here refers to that which Jesus gives to His believers. When we have His life, we have His light. The light can shine before men. People can see how Jesus’ life shines through us.
It is important to take note that people in the world are not necessarily drawn towards the light. Jesus said this of them: “and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) Jesus further pointed out that “for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed”. (John 3:20)
However, Jesus commanded His believers to let their light/life (in the form of good works) shine before men. Why? There are two reasons:
1. He who does the truth comes to the light and he too will be saved. (John 3:21)
2. People who see and realize the good works are done in the name of Jesus will give glory to God. (Matthew 5:16)
My application: it is indeed amazing how fast God answers a prayer. Yesterday I wrote that I prayed for courage to stand up for my faith, and this morning I had to reply a friend about the difference between a believer and a member of a religious institution (e.g. a church, a temple, whatever.) A Christian believer has to meet the requirement of Romans 10:9-10 which I quote as follows:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Therefore I told the friend boldly and truthfully that by becoming a church member will not automatically qualify anyone for heaven citizenship. A church that does not preach about Jesus and His salvation is not guiding people to heaven. Jesus Himself warned the Pharisees and scribes that they were in fact leading their converts to hell. (Matthew 23:13, 15)
As for today’s application, the Amplified Bible detailed the good works that Jesus referred to which include moral excellence, praiseworthy, noble and good deeds, that others can see and recognize and honor and praise and glorify out Father (God) who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Who can ever perform such good deeds? Only Jesus can. That is why I must always bear in mind that it is Jesus in me that will shine and not me. What a relief!
AAA Jack
March 4, 2009

Day six：why rejoice exceedingly when being persecuted?

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)
“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:14)
As a Christian who speaks out for Jesus we are ridiculed and even reproached. I usually avoided such occurrences. But my wife is a brave woman and she is determined to share the Gospel with her ailing father. Her brothers scolded her and even threatened her. At times it was so bad that she cried. Of course she felt hurt under the insult and ill treatment from her siblings. She became sad and miserable.
If being persecuted results in unhappy feelings, then what did Jesus mean when He asked us to do the opposite? How can one rejoice exceedingly when one normally feels hurt and being unfairly treated?
Today when I read these two verses spoken by Jesus and their cross reference to 1 Peter 4:14, I realized that Jesus was right. Being persecuted for Jesus’ sake is a good thing and signs of a lot of good happenings!
1. You are raised to the status of the prophets.
2. Great reward immediately comes from heaven.
3. The Holy Spirit rests on you.
4. God considers you glorifying Him.
Of course, the evil person (bully who persecutes you) cannot get off scot free, as he has blasphemed against the Holy Spirit! Jesus has warned that those who blasphemed against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)
Application: I share with my wife about what I read and she feels comforted now. As for me, I pray that I will not be afraid to stand up for my faith too. Again, it is a matter of whether I care about living before God more than living before man. I need to really ponder on this.
AAA Jack
2009-03-03

Day four & five: living before God or before men?

I took two days to review what I learned on the previous days. I realized that it was not as simple as I had thought and written on the first three days. My heart was not at peace when I wanted to proceed further. So I read the eight important verses again and again in Matthew 5:3-10. Why was Jesus saying these to the crowd on that mountain at the beginning of His ministry? Why were they recorded at the beginning of the first book of the New Testament?
What was the most important thing Jesus had to say before He could carry on to other matters? Jesus Himself provided the answer. He came to save the world (Jews and non-Jews). He brought salvation. The above verses were His declaration of purpose and method of achieving the purpose. The purpose is salvation to all who believe. The salvation content include: eternal life for the present and the future, meeting our needs for food, security, belonging, and social, emotional, mental (self-esteem, actualization), and spiritual goals.
Yes, salvation brings the believer citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, membership in the household of God, inheritance of property, fulfillment with all good things, comfort and peace with God (and with men), receiving mercy and compassion from God (and forgiving relationship with other men), intimate relationship with God (having the reality of God’s presence in life).
What are the requirements? Yes there are things each one must do to receive all the above.
1. Be humble (acknowledge not just in one’s mouth, but in one’s heart too that one really needs God)
2. Be real about one’s miserable condition (without God and without hope) and wants a change desperately.
3. Be gentle and thankful that God is willing to free one from all the miseries and give one a more abundant life.
4. Be truly yearning (as in hunger and thirst) for Jesus and the righteousness He brings!
5. Be merciful and forgiving to others (grateful that God has forgiven you).
6. Be God-focus in one’s heart (not distracted or diverted by things of the world, including financial/business/marriage/relationship failures, sickness etc.).
7. Be helpful to others, lead them to reconcile with God too!
8. Be dignified as the citizen of the kingdom of heaven (not afraid of others’ ridicule or even persecutions).
Application: Now that I know it is all about God’s plan, I find it easier to think of application. On the other hand, the requirements are not a one off act, but an ongoing process, a life-long process that demands consistency in actions and steadfastness of the heart. It is not easy at all!
AAA Jack
2-3-09