"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:11-13

Does this verse evoke in you that deep longing to be content? All of us deep inside long for contentment. But it is very easy to look for contentment in all the wrong places. Paul gives us the Lord's meaning of being content- and it is certainly not the kind of contentment that comes with lying on the beach enjoying the sun and the sand or standing on a mountaintop with the world before your eyes and the wind in your hair. Looking at it carefully, it almost sounds- difficult.

Contentment is not a momentary, fleeting feeling that lasts only a while. Contentment is a state of being- it is us being content through every season of our lives, whether it be pain or happiness, joy or sorrow, abundance or poverty. Contentment is a lasting state of the heart, that says whatever comes, I am still joyful and completely secure, and I would not trade this life for anything else. How is it that, with specific reference to the words that Paul uses, we can be content in all those circumstances.

Everywhere and in all things...to be in need, abased, hungry... I believe that we can be content under these circumstances because they draw us towards God, and teach us to constantly, not just temporarily, rely on Him; to make it a habit, a way of life. And why does this bring contentment? Because we know that God has everything in control and has only the best in store! We may not see it at the moment, but we have the full assurance that His plans are good. He knows our every need, our every desire; He knows best how to bring us joy. We can walk by faith and not by sight.

And at the same time, to abound and be full... why? Because we are living in the abundant life that He has given us, at the centre of His will, and it is a blessed one! True, other people's lives may look more attractive, they can do whatever they want, but we know for sure that this life, the one lived for Him and with Him, is the most blessed, the most valuable, the most important. Think of that! It is an honour, a wonderful honour. Our lives are invested not into this material, temporal world, but into eternity. And we can look to each new day with the expectancy that God will do something great, something wonderful, and bring us joy, in some way. Every day is an adventure with Him.

No doubt, it is difficult to have that kind of contentment. It takes a great step, or many great steps, of faith. But hey, no pain, no gain.

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do...
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present within me, but how to perform what is good I do not find...
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
I thank God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Rom 7:15, 18, 24-25

Have you ever felt really frustrated because you can't seem to do things right? That no matter how you try you can't seem to obey God, you can't seem to overcome some struggle, you can't seem to fight some sin? I think we all have at some point. And we can take comfort in the fact that even the greatest apostle faced this problem -"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do..." You can almost hear the frustration in his voice, perhaps even more clearly because you have at some point uttered the same words in the same way. I know I have, many a time.

"how to perform what is good I do not find..." Does this sum up how you feel? That you just don't know how to get it right? But hey, there is something that we can do. "...for to will is present within me...". If nothing else, if all our strength fails us, there is one thing we can do- to will. Not to will ourselves in submission, but rather, to surrender our will to God. To make it our conscious, earnest will and desirethat we will follow Him and seek Him first. You may ask, haven't I been doing that? But try this, and one day you may be surprised to look back and see that actually all the while you were holding back something from Him deep in your heart. A desire, a longing, a stubborness, an unwillingness to change. To will means to consciously surrender that- the deepest things that hold you back- to Him.

And what happens after we have done that? Hear Paul's victorious exclamation- "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God- through Jesus Christ our Lord!" God begins to work in us! And He works in ways that are so amazing that we would never have believed it. There were some things in my life that I thought I would never be able to overcome, sins and struggles that I was clueless about how to handle. Until I realised that I was holding back so much from the Lord, and thhat deep within me I did not really want to let Him work, and all that was keeping me from letting Him work in me. And when I slowly, with His help, began to let go, I saw Him working in my life once again, and my reaction was, "Wow Lord, you are working! Why was I ever so foolish to doubt!"

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus..." Eph. 6:21

Through It All

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You
And I wait on You

And I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of love
For your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...
He has made everything beautiful in its time...
I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever
Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it."
Ecclesiastes 3: 1,11,14

People often think that I have no struggles in life; that everything is smooth sailing for me, that I am strong enough to face whatever comes. If only they knew the truth about how weak I am, about how I struggle so much, about how easily I go astray. Truly I can stand and say that without Him, I am nothing.

As I look back on my life, I realise that all the major breakthroughs in my life have come not from myself or as a result of my doing anything, but as a result of God working steadily and slowly, often using external things, notably people, to help me and guide me. It is very humbling, and at the same time very comforting to know who is control. I have come to realise that I would much rather trust in Him and leave it all to Him, than trust in myself. I often cannot see beyond the day ahead of me, and can only live in the moment as God guides and leads, living each step by faith; often I wonder and fear if I am going astray, if I am doing something wrong. But at the points of breakthrough I look back and realise that God has always been at the stern, patiently guiding and leading me. He is in ultimate control. We could write a book full of our worries and anxieties and doubts, and give it to God, but He would simply put it aside gently and say, "I am in control."

I would not have the courage to write about faith if I have not experienced the reality of God's control in my life. It is in our nature to doubt, but that is where we must exercise faith. Like a shepherd guiding a fearful, bewildered sheep through a dark valley He gently leads us on and never lets us go. He will do it for You.

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3

It's the examination season again; O Levels, A Levels, University. May I offer a word of encouragement to all who are taking exams.

It's kind of difficult to exercise faith and trust when your examination is tomorrow and you're not sure about your stuff. Panic sets in and the stress takes over. But perhaps during these times we are placing our faith in the wrong place? Often we ask God, please give me the results that I need. Please help me to answer all the questions. Please help me to do well. But all the while we are not really thinking about God, but about our results. That is foremost on our mind, and the worry remains. Perhaps that is why we find it so difficult to trust.

In the context of examinations, faith is not believing that God will give you good results. I'm sure you would have found that that kind of faith does not last very long, and brings very little comfort. That is desire; we are actually wanting something for ourselves. And when we do not get it, we think that our faith has not paid off, and become disappointed and afraid; in actual fact, it was not faith at all. Faith means to look beyond the results, to look to God, and trust in Him. It is acknowledging that God knows what is best and the results are in His hands. Faith is to know that no matter what happens, God is in control. Sounds cliche? It is true. Before you shrug it off as being too idealistic, ask yourself- have you ever tried developing that kind of faith? If you read Hebrews 11, one of the biggest chapters about faith, you will find that in all the examples of faith listed there- Abel, Abraham, Moses, David, just to name a few- none of them wanted something for themselves. They just believed in God and His promises.

It is very natural to want things, good results are one of them. But when our desires are for the wrong reasons, and they start to occupy first place in our minds instead of God, that is wrong. In these testing times, the challenge is to keep our mind stayed on Him. It would be good to ask ourselves- why do we seek after good results so badly? Is it because we feel that if we do not get them, our futures will be compromised? In trouble? That is the world speaking. Turn to God and you will find Him saying to you- "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" Do you feel that you have to keep up with other people and not lose out, or else you will be lost in mediocrity? Turn to God and He will say to you, "You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which I prepared beforehand that you should walk in them." (Eph 2:10) Do you feel just plain tired and stressed and worried? Turn to Him and He will say to you, "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. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30)

I am not trying to soothe your worries with empty promises or nice-sounding verses. The facts remain- that you will be facing an examination, and it is not going to be easy. But you have this assurance- that the Lord of your life is control of your future. He is the one in control, not us. "I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it." Eccl. 3:14. Release all control to Him, trust in Him, and let His perfect peace fill you. Let me tell you, there are few greater feelings in this world than the feeling of perfect peace; of being able to rest completely assured that what He wants to happen will happen, and it is going to be something wonderful. We must learn to look to Him and realise that the most important thing in our lives is not for us to get good results, but for His plan for us to be revealed- and that we know will happen, if we trust in Him. "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." Psa 37:5.

Take this opportunity to let your faith grow. And you will find that there is something to be found that is far, far more valuable than those As- God Himself.

More practically, how is Jesus going to be the answer?

"For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power." 2 Tim 3:2-4

It is easy to look like a Christian. Go to church every Sunday, sing the songs, listen to the sermon, pray, say that we believe in Jesus. But the Bible warns about having the "form" or image, but actually not having the power of Christ in our lives. Having a superficial spirituality that only demonstrates itself on Sundays. If we are so, then Jesus will certainly not be the answer for our lives.

Contrast the above passage with this one:

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." Titus 2:11-14

Salvation brings transformation. The above passage makes that clear. Jesus died for us to take away our sins, but I pray that we do not think that it ends there! Because of that we may enter into fellowship with Him, and being in fellowship with Him means that He willteach us the way to live. Soberly, righteously, and godly, redeemed from every lawless deed and zealous for good works. It is inevitable; there is no way that we can know Jesus, the righteous God, and at the same time continue guiltlessly in sin.If we really knew Jesus, we would understand that He wants to come into our lives and show us how to live. To show us what to seek for in life, how to react to situations and problems that come our way, how to treat other people, how to shine for Him... the list goes on and on. I think it is very sad when Christians think that their Christianity just ends at the forgiveness of sins. Okay, I am forgiven, I am going to heaven, that's all I have to do. It ends there. That is one of the greatest lies that Satan has concocted.

This is why Jesus is the answer for the world today. He has answered our most fundamental need, the need to be forgiven from sin; and once that has been done, He can now teach us the way to live. One thing is clear- we will never be perfect, not in this life. Christians will still sin; we are all still sinful in nature. And because of this sinfulness and imperfection of man, this world will never be a perfect place either. But Jesus can transform us in ways that we have never imagined, if we will open ourselves to Him. Jesus will make a tremendous difference in our lives, and at the same time He can use us to make a difference in the world we live in.

"Jesus is the answer for the world today
Above Him there's no other, Jesus is the way."

Do we really believe that Jesus is the answer for the world today? For the problems that we face everyday, big and small?

The 1st chapter of Acts records the conversation between Jesus and His disciples before He ascends to heaven. "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them, ' It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalems, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:6-8

Do you notice something here? Even at this point, the disciples still ask Him whether He is going to restore the kingdom of Israel in power. That is what the Jews of the time were looking for- a Messiah like King David who would restore Israel to its former glory. But Jesus says No. He tells them that it is not for them to know what God will do now, or in the future. He tells them that instead, they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit, to be His witnesses to the end of the earth.

This has great implications! Jesus is telling His disciples that the answer to the world's problems is not what they were thinking of, but simply this- to be His witnesses. To bring all men to know Him. The disciples had their own thoughts about what should happen next, but Jesus tells them, That is not the way. I am the answer. Preach Me. Jesus is the answer!

How often in our lives have we tried to find ways to get over our problems, only to find that everything became right when we came back to Him? How many times have we asked the Lord, "Will you do this for me Lord?" only to find that He had a much better way? When we learn to seek His ways first at the expense of what we may be feeling or thinking is right, we will find that He truly holds the best way. He is the answer.