Just Let Me Say

Just let me say how much I love you
Let me speak of your mercy and grace
Just let me live in the shadow of your beauty
Let me see You face to face
And the earth will shake as Your Word goes forth
And the heavens will tremble and fall
But let me say how much I love You
O my Saviour, my Lord and Friend

What a joy it is when we first come to know and accept Christ! The wonder of His love and grace, His sheer beauty that we see in the Spirit. Our hearts shake as His Word enters forth, and the walls of pride and deception come tumbling down. O the joy of knowing and loving you Lord!

Just let me hear Your finest whispers
As You gently call my name
Let me see Your power and Your glory
Let me feel the Spirit's flame
Let me find you in the desert
Till this sand is holy ground
And I am found completely surrendered
To You, my Lord and Friend

Once we have accepted Him into our hearts, God begins to open the doors of heaven into our lives. We hear Him speak to us; we see His power working so mightily in our lives, we feel His glory in our hearts. Perhaps one day you will reach, or have reached the point, where like Moses, you meet Him in the desert of your life. A life that has grown somehow barren in the light of His wonderful love, and is waiting for new life. God will reveal Himself to you in a burning bush; He will declare the ground you stand on as holy. It may not be a grand event, it may be as quiet as in a prayer or the silence of the morning. And like Moses, He will call you to follow and give all to Him. Like Moses, you and I may hesitate, fearful and unsure. And He will say to us, "Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Gen 4:12). He will say to us, Go, for "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20.

Just let me say how much I love You
With all my heart I long for You
For I am caught in the passion of knowing
This endless love I've found in You
And the depth of grace, the forgiveness found
To be called a child of God
Just makes me say how much I love You
O my Saviour, my Lord and Friend

Once we have taken that step, or those steps, of faith, to dedicate our lives to Him, we will wonder why we ever hesitated to take them in the first place. For more and more of His love and grace will continually pour into our lives, and the more we have tasted of it, the more we are caught in the passion of serving and following Him. And at the end of the day it's not what He gives us in our lives, or what we can do or accomplish for Him, but simply being His child through Jesus, that will make us say to Him with all our hearts, "I love you".

Lately I have been struggling with the question- does God help us to fight sin and temptation in the flesh? I have always struggled a lot with lust, and for certain periods it gets very bad. I know that I must fight the sin, and am greatly motivated, but many a time I will fail and fall. I consulted some friends; indeed there seems to be no verse in the Bible that states that the Spirit will help us to fight sin and temptation directly.

There are some sins that we find it quite easy to fight; it varies from person to person. But I believe for many of us there are certain sins that we struggle a great deal with; sins that often seem to have a very strong hold on us. For me it's lust. There were times in my life that it got really bad; to the point that I really felt like it was controlling me. I sought help in God's Word, and was greatly motivated by His love to continue fighting sin. But it seemed like the longer I tried to fight the sin in the flesh, the worse the situation became. At times I grew very tired and confused, sustained only by the grace and forgiveness of God. I don't know if any of you have similar experiences.

There is however, a very interesting chapter in the Bible about sin, one that many people consider hard to understand, and that is Romans 7. I encourage you, if you are asking the same question that I am, to read this whole chapter carefully. Paul chronicles His own struggle against sin; surprising as it may be, the greatest apostle also had a great problem with sin. And amazingly, his experience almost parallels mine-

"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I...
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not..." Romans 7:15, 17-18

He too, had the will to fight sin and do good, but somehow his flesh refused to obey. But it is interesting how he says it is "no more I that do it". What does he mean? Reading on, he describes essentially how there are two "laws" within Him, the law of the Spirit, and the law of sin, and how they are constantly battling each other. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Romans 7: 22-23.

We all know, from our own experience, how weak the flesh is. We all know that even after our conversion, the flesh still remains full of sin; "in me (that is, my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing". And the flesh, left alone, will naturally and very irresistably sin. "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." Romans 7:19. I believe that is what Paul meant when he said that he was "in captivity to the law of sin which is in my members"- that his flesh just could not stop sinning.

Paul goes on to say in the last verse, "So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." Romans 7:25. Considering all he has said all along, he seems to be saying that the Spirit and the flesh are separate, that they are not compatible and do not mix with one another. At first this seemed to be rather new and surprising to me, but I was reflected more upon it, it made more and more sense. And I believe that this is the key to how to have victory over sin.

I have yet to find a verse that praises the flesh, that says that the flesh is capable of fighting and overcoming of sin. I have also yet to find a verse that describes how the Spirit helps the flesh. But what I have found is that whenever the flesh is mentioned, the Spirit is usually mentioned in contrast. There are many verses; the most significant of which would probably be Galatians 5: 19-23. "Now the works of the flesh are manifest... Adultery, fornication, uncleanness... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." There is no mixing the two. It confirms what Paul has been implying- that the flesh and the Spirit are indeed separate.

And now that we think about it, does it not make sense? The flesh is but a shell, a dirty, hopeless shell, that will be shed and destroyed when we die; but the spirit in us will go on. "For all flesh is as grass... the grass withereth..." 1 Pet 1:24. "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." 1 John 2:16. The flesh is hopeless, condemned, doomed. The spirit is everlasting.

So we come to the most important part- how does this relate to how we can fight sin? What we do know is that we cannot fight sin in the flesh, and that the flesh, left by itself, will sin. But we also do know that in the Spirit there is no sin, only the glorious Fruits of the Spirit. So what is the solution? The flesh must decrease, but the Spirit must increase! The saying "an idle mind is the devil's workshop" is very true, very true indeed. So long as our flesh exists on its own, with very little presence of the Spirit, idle and empty so to speak, it will continue sinning. But once the presence of the Spirit increases, the presence of the flesh will decrease. And sin will correspondingly decrease. So what must we do practically? We must seek God through the Spirit with all our hearts; we must focus our attention on Him, and in seeking the Fruits of the Spirit. We must turn our minds away from sinful things and focus them on spiritual things. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace" Romans 8:6. We must eliminate, as far as we can, all presence of the flesh in our lives, and replace it with the Spirit.

And when we look back to the Bible, we find that this is the precisely what it prescribes. "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." 1 Tim. 6:11. Paul spoke very often about the old man and new man in Christ; note that he never talked about the abolition of the old man per se, but it was always accompanied by a replacement of the old man with a new man, one in the Spirit. "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph 4:24. "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Romans 13:14. In short, we must replace the flesh with the Spirit, to the point that we are "filled with all the fulness of God." Eph. 3:19

I know all this sounds very abstract, so I'm going to share with you my own testimony. Like I said earlier, during those times that I tried to focus all my energy on fighting lust, the situation got worse. Those times in my life when I was able to overcome lust were those times that I focused my energy and mind on seeking God. On reading and learning from His Word, on talking to and helping others, on writing in this blog, on anything related to God. With the heart and mind focused in the Spirit, I could really feel the presence of the flesh decreasing. The temptations no longer seemed so strong; the lustful drive inside of me seemed to have weakened. Whenever my flesh seemed to even suggest going back into sin, my mind and heart would rebuke and refute it, because they were focused on the Spirit. It is just like the Bible describes. It is truly amazing, praise the Lord.

This does not mean that we should cease struggling in the flesh. Romans 6 makes that clear- "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid." (v.1) We must still fight sin wholeheartedly, but at the same time, we must seek the Lord and focus our minds and hearts on Him, so that the Spirit will fill us more and more. A student whose full attention is on his teacher will not be likely to be distracted by other students; in the same way a heart that is focused fully on God will not be easily tempted by sin. Also, very practically, when our lives are focused on seeking and serving Him, there is very little time left to sin. Remember, the Spirit must increase, the flesh must decrease. "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God..." 1 Cor. 15:50.

But what happens when we do sin? When the flesh somehow fights through and prevails? Fear not, for the picture is made complete by Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. "There is there now no comdemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound..." Romans 5:20. You are forgiven, forgiven fully. Because of what we He has done we are forever freed from the flesh, even though we still remain in the flesh, but only for now. Remember that always, and press on towards Him.

This is a very important lesson that I have learnt, and if you feel that this is speaking to you but somehow you still don't understand it fully, please write a comment and I will do my best to explain it more. God Bless.

My friend asked me, if we don't know when Jesus is coming again, then how are we going to be prepared? Well, it is precisely because we don't know when He is coming again, that we must always be prepared! Imagine what would happen if we knew when He was coming. The world would kick up a big fuss, the media would go crazy, but worst of all, people would probably postpone all personal, spiritual preparation for His coming until near the date. "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night..." 2 Pet. 3:10, so that when He comes again, He can see who are those who have earnestly been waiting for His coming and lived every day of their lives in dedication to Him.

I know this question has been quite commonly asked, but it would be good to ask ourselves constantly, "What if Jesus were to come right now? What would He find my life to be? A neat room completely in order, ready for Him to enter; or a messy, overturned room with everything out of place?" Are we still clinging on to things that we should be letting go? If Jesus were to say to us now, "Follow me", would we be ready to cast aside our fishing nets and go? Let's bear this in mind, so that when Jesus comes calling, which He definitely will, we will not be caught like the man who said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." Matt. 8:21. We will say emphatically, like Isaiah, "Here am I, send me." Isaiah 6:8

Sometimes when I'm feeling loneliest at night I'll look up to the heavens, and I will see one solitary star shining. No matter how cloudy it may be, I will see that one star. And God gently whispers to me, "Winston, I'm like that star that you see. No matter how cloudy your life may be, I will always shine through, and you will never be alone." And soon after that I will see another star, near to the first. Does that second star represent me? I believe so, especially when God whispers, "Rejoice! I'm close to you; you're not far away at all."

Isn't God like that star? No matter how clouded our lives may be, He shines through. And the darker our lives get, the brighter His love shines. Isn't that wonderful? It made me want to sing, and sing I did; sadly my songwriting skills are not there yet, otherwise I would have written one by now. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." 1 Pet. 2:9. Jesus, the light of the world, the light of our lives. Compared to Him all other lights pale in comparison.

I'm captured by Your holy calling
Set me apart, I know You're drawing me to Yourself
Lead me Lord I pray

O God knows how I often struggle so hard in my spiritual life! It is not easy to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ; so often I find myself struggling with my old nature and desires, my desire to trust God with everything battling with the carnal desire to cling on to the things I once had. But we must never, never stop struggling. Like Winston Churchill who said, "Never give up. Never, never give up. Never, never, never give up." We may struggle for all our lives, but if we are not willing to face the struggle, then we will never go anywhere in Christ. Better to struggle with your fear of heights and slowly inch upwards than to forever remain on the ground.

The Bible itself commands us to struggle. "...but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience hope..." Learning to struggle willingly teaches us patience, and teaches us to continue seeking the Lord even though it may be difficult. And more importantly, "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:3-5. The Christian life may be difficult; but it is also easy, and ultimately victorious, because the more we struggle, the more the love of Christ will fill our hearts and move us onwards. When we have been to the deepest depths of struggle and despair, and found that even there, the love of God is sufficient to keep us going, our faith will surely increase many fold.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:
for when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

I want to share one experience I've had with witnessing, one that I will surely not forget for the rest of my life. Sometime ago we were having this public speaking lesson in OCS, and at the end of it each platoon had to nominate one person to go out and speak about anything. It was a competition of sorts. Poor me got arrowed, or sabo-ed, so to speak.

I was thinking hard of something to speak about, but suddenly it struck me that I should speak about God. After all, it was the perfect opportunity! And it would probably never ever come again (it didn't). So, with teeth kind of chattering in nervousness, I thought about what to say. At first I thought about how to perhaps twist the message of God around something else, so as to make it not so obvious and outright. I thought and thought, and eventually turned to the Bible for help. This was the verse that opened up before my eyes-

"And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power..."
1 Corinthians 2: 1-4

It was, to quote my friend, something God dropped from heaven.

And so I summoned all the courage I had, said a prayer for guidance, and stepped out. To be honest, I did not have the courage enough to talk about Jesus in front of that crowd. But I shared about a God who is with us in the depths of physical suffering, a God who loves us, and the song that has sustained me through much of my army life:

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

And through the speech and after it, the peace of God was in my heart. All thanks and glory be to Him.

I don't know if my speech had any impact on anyone in the crowd at that point, but weeks later a Christian friend in my company wrote me a letter. This is what he wrote:

"Just wanted to encourage you...you were amazing when you shared about God to Delta and Sierra wings. You honestly were... you made me cry- I know God is so proud of you, and I am too. Always remember that whatever effort you make in the name of the Jesus is NEVER in vain. 250-300 souls heard the gospel that day- that there is an Almighty God who loves them. Wait and see what God does with your gift to Him."

When I read those words, I too almost cried. I am deeply humbled to know how God has used me, despite my own fear and weakness, and even though I was not brave enough to share the full Gospel that day. The words that my friend wrote were like words from God Himself.

I hope that this will encourage you in your own life to take up the job of witnessing for Him. It doesn't have to be to a large crowd, though rejoice if God gives you that opportunity! Anywhere, any time, to anyone. Always remember that it is not you who is witnessing- it is God who is working through You. He will be with you, He will use you. Rest assured in that. God can use YOU to bring His love to others if you are willing to let Him. Take that step of faith.

My friend also wrote these two verses in his letter:

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I pleaseand it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:10-11

Rest assured that whatever work God guides you to do, no matter how small or big, will never be in vain. Thanks be to Him!

I mentioned in my previous entry that men's hearts are hard. Yet at the same time you would be amazed to know how many hearts there are out there that are actually seeking, looking for answers; very fertile ground, ready for the seeds of the Gospel to be sown. "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35. Can you almost hear the passion and desperation in Jesus' voice? There are indeed many out there, who may not appear so, but are looking for answers. Some have burning questions that need burning answers, others just want to know more, some may even want to come to Christ, but are not sure how. I have been very surprised indeed, during times when I thought that there was no hope of preaching the Gospel, when God opens the door to share with someone. When people come forward to ask about Christ.

The thing is, we will never know until we are willing to step out of our comfort zone to talk to such people. Yes, it takes courage, and it is not easy at first, but did not Jesus warn that we must count the cost? We must go in knowing full well the importance of our work and with God's love in our hearts always compelling us onwards despite our fears. God's love is too important, too great a thing to be compromised because of our petty fears and discomfort! We must always remember that. If you believe in it, Just Do It, for His glory. I believe God will give us the words, and His Spirit will work in the hearts, we just have to be willing to be the earthen vessel. Snatch every opportunity, no matter how small, to share about Christ, to answer questions about Him, to sow the seeds of truth. No opportunity is too small, too trivial. If God opens a door you can be sure that it is big enough to be walked through.

At the same time we must build up our own faiths as well, and study the Word diligently, so that we can give answers to people with the most difficult questions. If there are questions that we cannot answer, don't give up! Look for those answers, ask others for help, and never rest until you give that person the answer that he needs. Talk to him, write him letters, buy him books, whatever is necessary to bring your message across. And at the same time our lives must shine as lights for Christ, as good testimonies for Him, so that people would know that we are Christian, that there is a difference in us, and hence be more confident in asking us questions or simply listening to what we have to share. An authentic, genuine faith that people can see is very, very important in witnessing. If we are not fully submitted to what we believe, how can we convince others to be?

And of course, we must pray, for as always, it is the Spirit which accomplishes every work. The Spirit will prepare the heart to be reached, the Spirit will open the door, the Spirit will give us the words, the Spirit will sow the seeds, and the Spirit will bring the work to completion in the heart of the non-believer. We must pray passionately for that.

People like to criticise Christianity of being unfair. How is it fair that only those who know and believe in Christ can be saved? Isn't it rather narrow-minded a view? As Christians we must be able to answer this very common question.

No, it is not narrow-minded because Man was never created segregated into different religions. All Man was created by the same one God. We cannot consider other views because there can only be one truth, the truth that comes from God the Creator. If truth were relative and every religion could contain truth, even though they blatantly contradict each other, then it wouldn't be truth at all.

So is God fair? In asking this we are talking as if God owes the human race something. But that is not the truth at all. What we believe, what the Bible tells us, is this- it was Man who first rebelled against God. God created Man in a perfect environment, the Garden of Eden, and provided Him with everything that He would ever need. I urge you to read the entire account in Genesis. But it was Man, under the temptation of the devil, who first rebelled against God. God made it clear to them- "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Genesis 3:3. Man himself chose death.

And so the entire race of Men was from then cursed, under the power of sin. Read on in Genesis and you will see the first murder, and how Man grew so wicked that God was deeply grieved. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Genesis 6: 5-6. Man is innately wicked. Some people may ask, is it fair that I should be condemned because of the sin of one man? But it is not just the fault of one man alone, it is the fault of human nature. Human nature is grossly imperfect; a good look at the world around us today would make it quite clear. Again some people say, but how about those who live good, even close-to-perfect lives? But that's the point, that no one, no matter how good, is perfect. Every man has sinned, and has in himself the sinful nature.

That is one thing that we must make clear to people. That we can never never earn our salvation . God is perfect and holy, we are not. We have sinned, and are thus alienated from Him. "For the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. We will all be judged and found wanting, even the most near-perfect of us.

So then, how is God fair? This is the crucial part that people must understand. If God was fair, we would all be languishing in eternal death, a just punishment for our disobedience. And God is fair; He knows that if we were ever to come back to Him, someone must take the punishment. But God is not just fair, He is much, much more. He is graceful, because He loves us. He loves us despite our sinfulness. He loved us enough to send His only Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sins. That is the message of Christianity. That God loved us so much, that He provided the way back to Him by sacrificing His Son for us.

So then, the question of whether God is fair becomes quite irrelevant, even ridiculous. Despite our sinfulness, He gave us what we did not deserve. He gave all Man the way back to Him, free, so to speak. God is fair in this aspect, that He died not just for some, but all people. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. So the question is really not whether God is fair, but this- why is the Gospel not being spread to all people? Why is God's message of reconciliation, meant for all people, not being made known to all people?

And that is where we as Christians come in. That is why witnessing is so important. That is why Jesus' last command was for us to "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15. We have been given the task of reconciliation; every soul which enters the kingdom is another soul that can go out and win more souls for Christ. Yes, it is not easy, and the hearts of men are hard and deceived by the devil. But we must at least give them the truth and nothing but the truth, to give them the hope of entering the kingdom.

Just this night I was talking to a very senior grassroots leader, and he was sharing his anti-Christian sentiments. "If a son is drowning and he calls out to the father for help, will the father deny his son help just because the son does not acknowledge him as father? You'd be a fool to think so!" The truth is, God desperately wants us to be saved. "Who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth." 1 Tim. 2:4. And He has provided the way back. But the truth is, that we cannot be saved unless we acknowledge Him, because it is only through acknowledging Him that our sins are washed away. "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me." John 14:6.

I sometimes wonder why men's hearts are so hard. I believe part of it is due to the fact that there is a lot of misunderstanding and micsonceptions about the Christian faith, which is why we must be careful to preach the truth, as in the Word, and correct these misconceptions. Is it that difficult to accept that we are sinful, and to accept as Saviour a Lord who loves us so, so much? Is it really that difficult? This is the message that we must take every opportunity to spread, in all love.

"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1 Cor. 6:12

There are many things and pursuits in life that are in themselves neither sinful nor harmful at all. And yet they will not benefit us in our pursuit of Christ, they will not edify us and strengthen us in our walk. They may even distract us and occupy our time, and minds, such that we can no longer focus them on Him. Anything, anything at all, can become an idol. There is nothing wrong with a golden calf; but it is a grave mistake to worship the golden calf in place of God.

If there are such distractions in our lives, we must put them as second place to Him. They must be removed if necessary. Seeking God must always be the top priority, above all others. We must come to realise that no life is too extreme, in the light of the love of God. There is absolutely no limit to the amount we can sacrifice and give to pursuing Him. Jesus never put a cap on how much devotion the disciples could give; on the contrary, he warned them to first "count the cost", implying that it was a great cost indeed. His standards were extreme, no less- "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62. "Take up your cross and follow me", He said.

I think we will find no greater example of devotion to Christ than the apostle Paul. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." Phillippians 3:8

Paul was willing to give up everything, truly everything, because He understood the depth of God's love; I believe, so should we.

Is it possible that in loving others we can get more joy than being loved?

People are always looking for love from others; "All you need is love". But do we realise that in God's love we have the greatest love that we will ever know? A love that far surpasses all other earthly loves that we can give or receive? Yes, it may not be from a concrete, human person whom we can meet everyday, but it is nonetheless love; and not just love, but Love itself, from which all other loves flow. Indeed, we can only love because God Himself, who is love, has given us the knowledge of what it is to love. And there is no greater example of that love than Jesus Himself, the perfect expression of God's love.

As such, if God's love is our foundation, our bedrock, then ours is joy indeed! Not only that, but we are freed from the need to be loved because we know the greatest love, and hence freed to let all God's love flow through us to others. Of course we would be fools to turn away the love that others give. But the need to be loved, if too strong, can be a great bondage. When we turn away from thinking about ourselves, and thinking about being loved, then we are free to turn all our attention to others, and that is when God's love can flow strongest. And we can only do this because we rest secure in the greatest love of all; we need nothing else.

A foreign social worker said something that really struck me- "It's not just about giving, as I get a lot for myself too. I can feel absolutely dead after work, and if I trundle down my own path, that adds to my fatigue and stress. But as soon as I turn my energy to someone else, it picks me up and puts everything in perspective. I feel restored."

On the last day of a field camp this year, we had to endure a gruelling 9km march with heavy packs in sweltering heat in order to finish the camp. At the half way mark, I really felt like I couldn't take it anymore. I was in tears. But thank God my close friend came over to pray for me, and I felt the love and strength of God quietly enter my heart. I was still very tired. But there was another of my platoon mates who had already told the instructors that he wanted to give up, and a few of us were trying to persuade him not to. Amazingly, when I put my effort into encouraging him on, my pains faded away, and I felt new strength in my body. I kid you not; I seriously and honestly doubt I would have had the strength to go on if that had not happened.

I believe this is exactly what Jesus meant when He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). There is joy in being loved by others, but there is even greater joy in loving others. And did Jesus not exemplify this with His own life? He loved us, even though we persecuted, insulted, tortured and crucified Him, and did not hesitate to do so, because He was always supremely confident that the Father was with Him, and loved Him. "For the Father loveth the Son..." John 5:20. "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." John 16:32

May God truly teach us to have that kind of confidence in His love, and to love like He does!

A boring life, an uneventful life, an obscure life, a life that does not go as we would like, a life that is filled with disappointments; are you facing any of these? Perhaps this would be relevant to my dear friends in the army; I often felt like that too when I was in there. But these may not be as bad as you think, because it is during these times that we are forced to give up our own expectations and hopes of life, and in doing so allow God to reveal His plans and expectations. Many times, it is these plans and expectations that we cling on to that are barriers to God's purposes in our lives.

Take the example of Jeremiah. He is often called the Prophet of Tears; He began preaching when he was merely a child of 8, continued preaching throughout his life, but people passed him by on the streets without turning a ear to what He spoke. Imagine what He must have felt! Can a life get more obscure than that? Imagine what would have happened if Jeremiah had given up, said to God, this is not the kind of life I want, there are much better things I want to do. But thank God, Jeremiah clung to His calling in God, refused to give up, drew strength from Him, and from his lips God gave us beautiful words like "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Jer 31:3. Jeremiah submitted himself wholly to the will of God, even though the life that came along with it was obscure and painful. And God used him mightily because of that.

From Jeremiah's example we can learn one more thing- that in times like these, we can learn to rest not in the things of the world, not in the fleeting treasures and pleasure of earth, but in the everlasting love of God. I can imagine that Jeremiah himself must have been greatly sustained by the everlasting love that flowed from God. Though nothing may happen in our lives, though life may sometimes be filled with dullness and despair, we can learn to rest secure in God's love and find our eternal joy there. We can learn to make God's love the bedrock of our joy, which means that our joy will last not just for this time, but for all time.

If you find life a real bore, turn to Him and seek Him even more fervently, for it may be that He intends to use this time to prepare your heart for greater things later. One thing we know is that God is always in control, and we remember the promise of Romans 8:28.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1

However, there is one very important thing that God has taught me about His will. We can never see far ahead, no matter how hard we try. God does give people callings. Some are sure that they are going to be missionaries, some pastors, some doctors, etc. But it is no use thinking too far ahead, or even planning, because how it is going to happen, only God knows, and only God will reveal. We are powerless at this point, only God can shape the furure. We must never never forget the callings that God impresses upon our hearts, for God never lies. God will never call us to something when He will not provide the grace to bring us there.

But more important is we focus on what God wants for us at the present. Because He has so much to teach us each day, before He brings us to the future. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:34. Every day is a new adventure in God, loaded with new lessons to learn, new things to experience. We must focus on living the day to day relationship faithfully with Him, such that even when the future comes, it will still be the same case, everyday.

God most often reveals His will in small pieces, bit by bit. Just take the example of the apostles. God did not give them long-term directions; He guided them as they went along. Day by day He would guide them by His Spirit where to go; sometimes His Spirit would turn them away from certain places; often they were unexpectedly thrown in prison. Stephen is a great example- He was a man "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 6:5), who "did great wonders and miracles among the people." (Acts 6:8). It appeared as though God had placed a great ministry in front of Him. Yet His life was abruptly and cruelly ended by the stones of the religious leaders, when He obeyed God's command for the present and stood up for His faith. But part of God's will it was, for His story as the first Christian martyr continues to inspire and strengthen millions up to today.

Sometimes we may not even be able to discern God's will for us, no matter how hard we try to listen. But in all circumstances, we have this glorious assurance-

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

Sometimes God chooses not to reveal His will, sometimes we just fail to hear. But we have this promise, that for those who love God with all their hearts, all things will work together for good, to reveal the wonderful will that God has for us. And when His will is revealed, do not be surprised, do not be disappointed, and do not reject it, for God's plans are always the best.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Then ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13.

People always ask then, how do we know what is God's will for us? Whether it be for the present, or for the far away future?

In the same way that we cannot understand a scientific theory until we have a firm grasp of the basic concepts it involves, I believe we will probably not be able to discern God's will until we are seeking Him first with all our heart. Until our relationship with Him is deep, it would be difficult for us to see His will. I mean by a deep relationship what I have written earlier- reading His Word fervently, meditating on His Word day and night, putting His Word into action, and praying for the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. I would not presume to say that this is the only way to discern God's will. God reveals His will in many ways; this approach has worked for me, and perhaps it may help you too.

Why is it so important to read His Word fervently? His Word is our guide to how to live; it would not be surprising at all if we find that God's will for us can be found in that great store of treasure. Often I have read His Word, come upon a verse and immediately known with great conviction in my heart, by the Spirit, that this is part of the will of God.

But God does reveal His will to us in ways other than the Bible, which I will share about later. But the Bible is always relevant- I have found that God's will for my life always finds corresponding passages and verses in the Bible- simply because God's Word is indeed the guide to helping us find His will for us. And God's will for us would never contradict what He has said in His Word- this is a great way of checking if what you believe to be God's will for you is from God, or from you, or worse still a deception from the devil. God's will, revealed to us, will always be strengthened and built up by His Word.

God does reveal His will to us in many other ways too. Through speakers and pastors who deliver messages that strike a chord deep within our souls, through powerful books and testimonies, through friends and people around us whose actions or testimonies impact us, through simple things that happen that somehow have great meaning. The list goes on. But the point is not how God reveals His will- He has innunmerable ways. The point is how we receive His will. There is so much that God wants to say to us in our lives; the sooner we learn all the time with attentive ears, the better.

That is why the next step, meditating day and night on His Word, is also so important. I believe meditating on His Word should not be a one-off thing, restricted to the 15 minutes of quiet time or prayer each day, or to during Sunday services. It must be done all the time, as often as possible. If our thoughts can constantly be bent on Him every moment of the day, that would be wonderful. The more we meditate and reflect on His Word, the greater we can understand His character, His nature, what our lives need in relation to Him, and hence it naturally becomes easier for us to discern His will when He speaks. Keeping our thoughts on Him also makes us more attentive to what He could be saying in our lives. A student who is paying full attention to a teacher and constantly seeking to understand concepts in his mind will most likely be able to catch new crucial concepts or facts that the teacher reveals and puts forth, while others who are paying less attention are likely to miss them. We must keep our focus on Him as much as possible if we are to catch as much of what He is saying to us as possible. It is amazing, I will testify, how God can reveal His will day to day even through the smallest, most mundane things, when our hearts are open to listen.

Putting His Word and will into action is also very important because God's will for us is never segregated into many different tasks or compartments. His will for us is a cohesive whole, a master plan; hence naturally one thing would lead to another. When we are engaged in practising something for the Lord He often will use that to reveal the next step, or shed light on another area. Some time last year God moved me to buy a Christian book for my non-Christian friend's birthday; I ended up buying that book for myself, and it strengthened me greatly in my Christian walk. I think the greatest example thus far for me would be this- when I was struggling to give up my previous relationship, in accordance with His will, God revealed to me like never before the depth of His love, and called me a life of greater devotion and commitment to Him.

And lastly, prayer as always is indispensable. Like Jesus, we must constantly pray with all our hearts, "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." We must earnestly desire to know God's will for our life, and pray as such. And we must also pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us, for without the Spirit within us, we would have no hope of knowing anything about God, save His will.

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." John 16:13.

One thing God has taught me is that He places us where we are for a reason. There is always some purpose that God is seeking to achieve in us in whatever cirumstance we are in. When I decided to study at NUS I was dismayed to find out that I could not disrupt at the end of Service Term 1, and that I had to stay for two more weeks and endure another field camp (You know how much I hate field camps). But God whispered at the back of my mind that He was making me stay for a reason; that there was some work left to be done. And that work materialized. Thank God and Him alone, He opened the door for me to share the Gospel with a friend and answer questions that he had about the faith. He has at this point said the sinner's prayer in his heart. Praise the Lord! He also gave me the opportunity, before I left, to minister to a fellow brother in Christ who was struggling in his faith and had many problems.

After I disrupted, I was again dismayed to discover that I had to attend the PSC Pre-Departure Course because I am a potential scholar. It seemed as though I would never get any sort of freedom, but again God whispered that there was a purpose behind it all. And thank God, yes. That fellow brother in Christ was also attending the course, and I had even more opportunities to minister to him and encourage Him. A week ago he told me that he had experienced a revelation of God- God had, while he was sitting in the bus reading a Christian article, suddenly filled him with a sense of peace of surrender that he had never experienced before, but had always been seeking. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah.

God places us where we are for a reason. And He will never move us on to another place until all His work and purposes have been accomplished, whether in us, or through us. So wherever we are, let us consciously seek His will and His plans. And this holds true not just for uneventful times, but for all times.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time." Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11

Do we sometimes struggle to trust God with the things of our lives? I want to share with you an experience I had at OBS that shed a lot of light on how to trust God.

During rock wall climbing, I had the chance to go up the wall blindfolded. It was a totally new experience; I had no choice but to rely totally upon the guidance and instructions of my buddy and friends below. It was pretty much they say, I do. Sometimes I thought that the grips and holds that they directed me to would not be strong enough to hold, but it turned out that they were. And all through it, the belayer below held strong, giving me that extra bit of support that was so crucial. I slipped once, but the belayer caught me, and before long I was climbing again. It was much easier in the sense that blindfolded, I could not see the ground and hence my fear of heights could not kick in.

I believe that this is what Paul meant when he said, "For we walk by faith, and not be sight..." 2 Cor. 5:7. In trusting God we have to be totally blind to our own thoughts and fears. When God gives us instructions or guides us, we must humbly and trustingly follow, trusting that He will never lead us astray, and that His ways are always the best. Sometimes we may naturally feel or think that the grips He gives us are not strong enough to hold, but we must throw aside those fears and hold on, and we will find that they WILL hold, because they are God-given. "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved" Psalm 121:3. And through it all, we will find that God is our everlasting belayer, always supporting us with His hand. Indeed if He were not there, how would we ever scale new heights? Finally, when we are blind to all else but Him, all the other fears and distractions that would usually take hold will have no effect.

This is what trusting God is like- we may feel doubtful, we may feel slightly afraid, we may struggle, but we must always obey Him and what He says, even if it runs contrary to our every feeling or thought. The Promise of His Word will hold true.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3: 5-6.

Fourthly, lastly, and I venture to say most importantly, we must pray and ask for God to take control. This is something that I myself often neglect. Why must we? Because without God's help and presence, we have no hope of ever going anywhere. Jesus Himself said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 14:5.

I want to tie this to one of the most important lessons God has ever taught me- that of humility. We must come to the point where we realise that we truly are nothing. That if God does not fill us, then we will forever be nothing. That anything that we ever hope to accomplish for Him can never be done if He does not empower and strengthen us to do it. William Carey, the father of modern missions, said this- "Attempt great things for God; expect great things from God." It is well that he included the second part, for it is God alone that brings every work to fruition.

There are numerous verses in the Bible that speak of this particular aspect of humility; here are some that have been particularly useful to me.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God" 2 Cor. 3:5

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phil. 2:13

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, there also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19

"I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." 1 Cor. 3: 6-7

"...for if this counsel or this work be of me, it will come to nought. But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it..." Acts 5: 38-39

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency in the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7

I personally like the last one the best; it summarizes everything succintly. We are but empty vessels that God can fill with his amazing power and grace, if only we are willing to be just that- empty earthen vessels. So long as we try to do things by our own strength, we will fall short of the great plans that God has for us. "He must increase, but I must decrease..." said John the Baptist of Jesus (John 3:30). We must be willing to surrender the work to Him, even if it means laying down our pride and our strengths, to let Him take over. For no matter how much we can do, it is nothing compared to what He can do.

Hence the importance of prayer. In everything we must learn to ask for God's help and grace; we must ask Him to guide us in every work, in every part of life. We must ask for His Spirit to work within us- "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". 2 Cor. 3:18. Of course this is only part of prayer.

And there is one last bit we must remember, that we must always give glory back to Him, whether publicly or privately. What plainer way of glorifying God is there than giving all glory to Him, glory that is truly His and His alone? "...I will not give my glory unto another" Isaiah 48:11. And rightly should God say so, for all glory is fully and truly His; we have no claim at all to any. We must fight the temptation to take any glory, no matter how tiny that bit may be, and vigorously rebuke and correct ourselves when we find ourselves doing it. We must be willing to be mere instruments in His hand, letting all glory go to the Master Surgeon. We must be willing to be mere mirrors, reflecting His glory back to Him, and to a world in need. We must forsake all glory, that our King may be glorified. Hallelujah!

Thirdly, we must put what we have learnt from the Word into action. This is not an option, for the Bible teaches us how to live. The Bible makes it very clear:

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
James 2: 17-18.

Do not be confused here; it is not our works that earn our salvation. That is grace. What the Word means here is that faith and works are inextricably linked- faith must lead to works, otherwise it is not true faith. When Jesus told His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him, He certainly would not have been pleased if His disciples had spent hours meditating upon His words and nodding their heads in earnest belief, and not moved an inch from where they were. If we truly believe in what the Word, and for that matter what God tell us, we would want to put it into action. I think it would be even clearer if we read on in James:

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?" James 2:21-22.

If Abraham had convinced himself in his heart that he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac as God commanded, but not taken the long pilgrimage to the mountain, what would his faith be? Nothing but empty promises! But as the Word says, his faith was perfected by his works. In the same way that faith leads to works, it comes full circle when works perfect faith.

I want to testify of this, that it is just as applicable in our everyday lives as it was in Abraham's life thousands of years ago. I receive God's commands primarily through meditation upon His Word, but they are at that point head knowledge that my heart believes in. It is only through trying to carry out those commands in my life that they truly become meaningful, like a bud that blossoms into a flower. When I make the effort to practise it, it moves from "head to heart" so to speak- it gets burned deep within my heart and soul. And it is through practising it that I understand far better and deeper the meaning of the Word. For example, I can understand very clearly what it means to love my neighbours from the Word, but it is only until I struggle to put it into practise, that it truly becomes part of me. From the Word I know that I must trust God with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding, but it is not until I struggle with every breath to practise it in the face of every adversity that I learn how to do it. You can learn all there is to know about flying a plane, but it is not until you sit in the cockpit yourself and take to the air that you learn how to do it.

Jesus Himself said, "I must work the works of him that sent me..." John 9:4.

Secondly, reading the Bible is not enough; we must meditate and reflect on it. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, not standeth in the way of sinners, not sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Psalm 1: 1-3. At that time the New Testament had not been written, and the Scriptures were referred to as the "law".

We must approach each time of Bible reading with an expectant heart, to see God work something in our hearts. And hence we must spend time reflecting upon the Word of God, to see what it means to us, and precisely how it can apply to our lives. By this I do not mean that we take a verse of scripture and try and twist it to suit our situation, such that the meaning to us becomes almost contrived. No, the Word of God says precisely what it means to say with regards to us. It is the Living Word.

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55: 10-11.

The Word of God is powerful and will speak to us, but even the most powerful words would come to nought if they fell on deaf ears. We must take that step to reflect and digest the Word, so that it becomes part of our understanding and belief, and not just a mere reading. We must reflect upon how the Word applies to our everyday lives, right down to the smallest actions. What is the Word saying about how my relationships should be? What is the Word saying about the way I talk to people? What is the Word saying about my goals in life?

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Firstly, I believe that anyone seeking to build a relationship with God MUST depend on His Word. There is no other way. The Bible is the God-given, God-breathed Word, the greatest evidence of God's presence of our lives. So often people say that they lack God's guidance when they fail to realise that in the Bible we have the greatest storehouse of wisdom and guidance on Earth. Truly, without the Bible, we would have no revelation of God, no idea of who He is, no possible way of knowing Him. Without it our faith would crumble to pieces.

I cannot even begin to describe how amazing the Bible has been in my life. It has guided me through every situation, and I mean every situation. There has not been a single circumstance in my life that the Bible has not been able to speak to. It has comforted me in my trials, strengthened me in my weakness, guided me in my ignorance, rebuked me in my sin, humbled me in my pride, and above all, brought me the glorious revelation of God's love. It is truly amazing to be able to open the Bible each day, each night, and to find it speaking wisdom beyond all wisdom that I so desperately need for my life, with stunning incisiveness and precision. Coincidence? If it happens once or twice, maybe, but if it happens every day, certainly not. Need we be surprised that the Bible says of itself,

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Tim 3:16

We must be hungry for His Word, as the deer pants after the water. We must set aside time each day to read His Word, whether with devotional material, or without. And even that is not enough; we should take every opportunity to read the Word, anytime of the day. I made it a point to bring my Bible to all my army field camps, and by God's grace was able to find time each time to read it, and to share it with other Christians too. Even in those weary times, God's Word still spoke like a light in the darkness. Having experienced the greatness of God's Word in the past few months like never before, now I bring my Bible everywhere I go, because truly, the Word of God can be read anywhere, anytime.

A girl who came to our church for the first time two weeks ago accepted Christ three days ago, praise the Lord. Two days after accepting Christ, on Sunday, she bought herself a Bible in church, and that night she was already fervently reading the Word despite having no prior contact with it. She has even started messaging me verses and clarifying doubts about the Word. She looks forward to weekly Bible study in church because she may not be able to attend Sunday services regularly. That, praise the Lord, is true passion, the sign of a burning first love for Christ. Have we who have known Christ for long grown lukewarm in our pursuit of Him? If yes, then let us renew our passion for His Word.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."
1 Peter 2:2

How can we glorify God? We all know that we should, but it seems a rather abstract question, and at certain times, not very practical. But I think the question would become a lot clearer if we understood something.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". 2 Cor. 3:18

I believe the verse makes it clear to us that we have no hope of glorifying God by our own strength. We are too weak, He is too great! No, for us to glorify Him, His glory must shine through us. For that is what we really are, mere mirrors that can only reflect His glorious light, compasses that point others to Him. So it follows that if we want to glorify Him, then we must, in our own relationship with Him, experience and behold that glory. Not just His glory, but all His wonderful attributes- His righteousness, grace, and most importantly, love.

Never underestimate the importance of our own personal relationship with Him. We would have little hope of touching a world in need if our own spiritual lives are in a mess. Loving our neighbours was the second commandment that Jesus gave; the first was still to love God with all our hearts, minds and strength.

I just want to share with you what God has taught me about developing a deep relationship with Him, and I hope it may prove useful to some of you.

"Then Jesus said unto His disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24

This is one of the toughest commands that Jesus gave, but I believe it is one of the most important in discipleship. Why is it so important for us to deny ourselves? You and I have probably asked God at some point or other, can't I keep this little part of my life for myself? Can't I have my way and my desires sometimes, and at the same time serving You? But Jesus makes it very clear that the cost of discipleship is a full-blooded denial of ourselves. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it..." Matt. 16:25

Why is this so important? In my own life I have discovered that our own thoughts, desires and tendencies are almost all of the time very different from God's thoughts. If our natural self was naturally aligned with God's, then there would not be much need for self-denial. But sadly it is not the case. From my experience, whenever I do not make the effort to discern God's will for me and to seek His Word, my natural thoughts will drift to other things, other earthly pursuits and pleasures. And even when God gives me a command, or a direction, my heart and mind will often struggle against it and hesitate to follow, as if doubting that God is able to do what He has promised.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8. I think the greatest example we will ever find of self-denial is Jesus Himself. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord Himself struggled immensely with the task His Father had given Him. "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me... And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" Luke 22:42, 44. Struggling with God's commands and will is not wrong, but it is our ultimate response that is important, and this is how our Lord and Saviour responded- "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."

If Jesus' example does not burn our heart and move us to self-denial, I don't know what else will. And it is because of Jesus' self-denial, to do the will of His Father, that we can stand today reconciled to Him. I wanted to share this with you because it is only through the utter denial of our sinful selves and a wilful obedience to the will of God that we can discover the wonderful plans that He has for us. Plans that are not rooted in this material world, but firmly anchored in the great spiritual gifts of God's love and grace. Plans to make us fruitful through Him, for Him. Plans to discover the joy beyond all joys, that is in Him alone.

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor. 2:9