MY MIND WAS TOO ACTIVE

I had difficulty sleeping last night. I was reorganising my data folder which I collected from all over the place when I lost my original data from my external hard drive. I mean it was not difficult or stressful yet I was unable to sleep. I decided to go surfing on my computer. Maybe I should be praying instead. 

Actually I have been troubled internally - like my “stomach” don’t agree! I was struggling with some of the discussions, debates, and articles flying around. It is not the articles or discussions per se that I am troubled BUT the stark reality of the unsurmountable task of trying to reasonably and plausibly able to explain the existence of God, the problem of evil, meaning of life, and morality from a Christian worldview without being too emotional, too defensive and too weak in the argument.

I am confronted with the fact that I am still very poorly equipped to handle such loaded questions of my faith, my beliefs and worldview. I felt so inadequate to handle the philosophical brickbats from people who are not only knowledgeable but armed to the teeth with text-book answers and questions to counteract Religion in general and Christianity in particular. I think I need to take serious courses on Philosophy 101, Critical Thinking, and Apologetics 101. There may not be many vocal people who boldly speak aloud for the world to hear their questions, their doubts, and their struggles BUT there are certainly many young people out there who are quietly asking the same questions over and over again. Some may search and seek for answers from the Internet, books, and what not. There’s always the possibility of seeking the wrong place and ended up with a skewed worldview OR in the right place and discover the beauty of truth.

The thing that I drag the most has been the tough enquiries by these skeptics about the Bible, Genesis account, and the existence of God. They have all the right questions to corner us with our backs against the wall. I am not saying that they are vicious, evil or conniving BUT that they are always so prepared compared to the Christians. I know we do have the answer but we have to study hard to show ourselves approved unto God and to be able to give an answer of the hope that is found in Christ.

I am encouraging myself to search the Scriptures, research other literatures, and listen carefully to what the people out there is saying, is questioning and challenging our Christian faith. We must be prepared. We are living in a fast changing culture - a global culture that is connected through the Internet and Media. We cannot assume that people are ignorant and naive anymore. The wast world out there wants answers - it better be convincing. If we say we have the Truth - Jesus the Ultimate Truth - then we better be prepared to help them understand by rationally engaging them and presenting the One True God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

BLATANTLY UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR SUDDENLY BECOME MORALLY JUSTIFIABLE

Human being is a strange creature of all of God’s creation. We are supposed to be the most intelligent of all of God’s good earth BUT we can also be the most silly of all of creation.

We argue to prove and justify our sins. We appeal to emotions, to some “goodness” in our actions to justify our lack of reason for doing a wrong thing. We leave God out of the equation when we want to prove our choice is the right one, our fight is honourable, and our sinful practices is fine.

Recently i had an encounter with a woman who is having an affair with a married man. One of her reasons for getting into this relationship is the fact that the man have 4 grown children who are all in their thirties so it’s alright to have this adulterous relationship. The simple explanation is that because they are all grown ups they will not be affected by this sinful relationship. They are well able to handle it emotionally, and take care of themselves. What a reason!

The other reason is that the man is very good to her especially during the time after her own husband passed away. She was alone and lonely, and this man helped her, did a lot of things for her, and so it’s alright to have him come into her house to live with her. She even pride herself for not asking the man to leave his wife. In fact he praised the man for always running back to his wife and children to buy dinner for them. Oh wow…what a husband and a father. That makes it alright for her to have the relationship.

Another classic example of a morality based on this: the end justifies the means. He is good to me at the point of my need so it’s okay for me to live in with him even if he’s a married man. Human being, given what they lust after, what they desire selfishly, will give all kinds of reasons - will even fight tooth and nail with anyone who objected to the relationship.

I remembered someone one shared with me this illustration:

Child : But Mum, it’s only a white lie!

Mother : But Son, God is coloured blind!

A sin is a sin. There is no sin that is harmless! Our personal worldview will at the end forces us to make a decision based on it. Just like this woman in the story her first statement to me was that as far as she’s concerned life is NOT black and white meaning it’s grey - hard to discern, difficult to decide what is right or wrong. With this kind of view of life no wonder she was able to live in sin with a “pure conscience” as she claimed in front of me. 

DOES THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS?

The impervious handling of God’s Word for one’s life is intrinsic to one’s personal belief. There is no room for error therefore no room for private interpretation. So where do we go to get the correct answers to cement our faith and to secure our future in eternity? In Christendom today we have such liberty for any individual to handle the Bible for themselves that we ended up with so many views, so many presuppositions, and so many premises even to a single theological issue. What about moral issues? Your guess is better than mine!!

I believe that the Church at large is going through a moral crisis. There are so many issues that require some form of moral juggling and theologizing. Hopefully we can get out of this moral maze with some form of satisfactory moral decisions. And quite frankly, we are in a quandary, in a predicament! I always believe that we are to be counter-cultural and not pander to the constant seismic shift of modern culture around us today!

Let me explain what I mean by highlighting the seismic shift in moral, ethical, and ideas as a result of the rise of modern culture – a popular culture influenced greatly by secularism, privatization, and individualism.

Take for example the moral values 30 years ago and now and you would realize that it has shifted tremendously. Those of us from the 70 eras would understand that vulgarity in TV and movies were greatly a “no fly zone” but today it is so common that even Christians are vulgar in their thoughts, jokes, and words. Talking about movies vulgarity has become a common feature. Christian parents no longer squirm at vulgarity even in front of their children! What does that tells us about moral values? Those who hold to statistical morality would say that because majority of the people seem not to be embarrassed by it or be “affected’ by it then it must be okay. Christian morality is not so much what is but rather what ought to be! This “ought-ness” hinges to a higher moral law – one given by the ultimate Moral Law Giver God Himself!

What about the marriage institution? What about the issue of the sanctity of life? How about the theology of suffering – often being replaced by those who advocate the “future grace” position or the preachers of the prosperity gospel? On a side note; our theological premise on suffering would mold our view on morality, hell, sickness, pain, heaven, problem of evil, eschatology and even about God! What about God’s universal law? What about science, this world, human dignity, and the love of God? The list of questions is unending for sure!

My question is: Does the end justify the means in our moral conscience? Just thinking.

FREEDOM

The word “freedom” can mean so differently to so many people. I am amazed. Some see freedom as freedom to do anything they feel like doing without giving any consideration to those around them. Some will fight for freedom of speech, that is, freedom to say what they feel, think and believe in. Others think freedom of speech should only have truth in it but truth that does not hurt others or embarrass others. Others said there should be no-holds barred. Some women believe that they have a right (perfect freedom) to their bodies – they can do whatever they want with it like prostitution, multiple sex partners and abortions. Some men think that they are “gods” and can do what they like as long as they have the power to do so – oppressing women (wives and daughters included), bullying others and using all kinds of unsavoury words on others!

I can go on and on with the list. But I am interested in how easy it is to talk about freedom in God when we are so bound up inside us with our own rules and laws made so stringent by the many secrets within us. Fear of exposure keeps us in bondage. Exposing our weaknesses is the other thing. We don’t want to look bad because we have an ego problem.

As long as we are on this earth with all its stain of sins, sickness, and wickedness, freedom as the world tries to grab hold of is elusive; it is chasing after the wind, it sits largely on some existential philosophical hot-head! True freedom can only be found in a Person - Jesus Christ. Without the atoning work of Christ on the cross there is no freedom from the bondage of sin. So freedom cannot be pursued and attained through some intellectual discipline. It merely gives rationality but freedom can only be found in a relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Freedom cannot be experienced through free and unrestraint expressions of an individual without regard of his neighbour. Freedom in Christ or true freedom actually has boundary.

Think about it

THE LOCAL CHURCH

Maybe we need to re-look at the whole understanding about the church – the "ecclesia" of God. The word “ecclesia” is with reference to “the called-out ones”. While I thanked God for Martin Luther who gave us freedom to be able to read the Word of God for ourselves, that our justification is by a personal faith in Christ, and that each one of us can have a personal relationship with God I also have a bone to pick with him. He is responsible of taking away the rich understanding of the working of “ecclesia” – the church of the living God. He promoted the authority of interpretation of Scriptures from the Church to the individual. He is responsible for opening the door to so many deviated and slanted teachings that came out of the Church since then. Take for example, the extreme grace teachings, and you will notice that it is a Luther teachings right to its very core – the idea of “working out your own salvation” is anathema and everything is by faith alone. That’s one of the key reasons why Luther never accepted the Epistles of James.

Coming back to some of the misleading notions about the church are:

1.   I don’t need to go to church on Sunday (or whenever a church meets) to worship. I can do it in my own home. We have people today attending virtual church in their living room. We have people making excuses for not coming to church when they are tired, already attended some spiritual events the day before, or plain lazy.

2.   The Father loves me just the same because my salvation is personal. I don’t need to be part of any group of believers. He loves me just the same. Whatever happened to the scripture that tells us not to forget to assemble ourselves together as there are some who have make it a habit not to!

3.   The moment I feel obligated to go to church it would be wrong to go. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I know personally that my Father still loves me. There is such a thing as discipline, obedience, and diligent. There is such a thing as rebellion and walking in independence! There is such a thing as spiritual authority.

Our hearts are deceitful above all else and desperately wicked! Who can know it? Let us not deceive ourselves to think that we can get away from it all just because we sincerely believe that God loves us nuts and that He is a prodigal Father who would pamper us, love us to the socks and would never discipline us. Get our theology right, for God’s sake!

Let me make this statement: any activities, ministries, or spiritual events conducted outside the perimeter/boundaries of the local church fall under the category of para-church activities. It has always been the case that ministry flows out of a local church (a church within a given locality). At least that’s how I understood a church from the Bible. It is always not safe for ministries to be developed outside the covering of a local church authority. The local church in the New Testament always operated under the local authority of elders, otherwise, also known as bishops or overseers, but built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets. There were no ministries outside of that perimeter. When a ministry is not under the authority of the local churches, the ministry run the risk of deception, error, and there would be no pastoral guidance.

The same goes to an individual believer. If a believer is not part of a local body governed by overseers that individual is but a sheep running around in wide open space on his own without any protection or spiritual responsibility. It is time to put a stop to the notion that we can be a Christian lone ranger just in fellowship with other lone rangers without any spiritual authority except believing that we are completely under God our Father who loves us in spite of. We don’t need accountability with any local body. We can be accountable to another lone ranger to whom we enjoy fellowship and company, whom we love and “understands” us.

No one should feel obligated to agree with me OR believe me. The freedom is yours but remember, the consequence is also yours. Believe me, take the time to find out from the Bible how we ought to behave in the house of God!! 

WORDS

There are so many lines been drawn nowadays with so many opinions to a single subject or a single word! How do we even know what is right or wrong anymore? The hardest thing is to actually interpret correctly a given situation or even a word for that matter. The choice of words is important because a wrong use can lead to horrible insinuations and cruel misunderstanding. Take for example an advert for some slipper with a caption that reads, “Feel the Rubber!” Either the advertiser is one who wants to give out sensual vibes or inadvertently didn't get the nasty insinuation! You decide!

Likewise, there are host of subject matters in the world today that give splitting headaches to common people while at the same time they are the playthings of the intellectuals who love to “sit at the city gate” and debate over every word, every statement and every comment. One comment would lead to a question and the answer to the question would lead to a further question by the questioner. At the end it would all be words and sound but no satisfactory answer!

JOY

“A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Prov. 17:22).

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed”(Prov. 15:13).

We have every reason to be joyful; we have every reason to rejoice. We are created in the image of Christ. Christ is being formed within us. We are complete in Him.

Wells of Salvation

Isaiah 12:1-3 - You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though You were angry with me, Your anger turned away, that You might comfort me.  “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.”With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

One of the greatest dispositions that one can have or live in is to have the joy of the Lord! Joy is an attitude – an attitude of willingness, an attitude of thanksgiving. The reason for Isaiah’s praise is God’s salvation, strength, and song. God is our salvation and that is good reason enough to rejoice. Salvation is more than a secured place in heaven but a state of being where the perfect peace which cast out all fears resides within us and the joy of the Lord becomes our strength. God is our strength; He is our fortress, defender, and solace in times of storms and in the face of our enemies. His strong arms will protect us. God is our song – His anger is turned away from us and He comforts us instead. That is why Isaiah said that he could trust in God and no longer be afraid and fearful.

Let me give my translation of Isaiah 12:1-3 - “I will praise the Lord because He’s gracious and has forgiven me of all my sins –He provides me with salvation, strength and song. Let me admonish you and encourage you: you can also draw – from the many wells of salvation – answers to all your problems and difficulties with the absolute and complete joy and freedom that I have been drawing from.”

My firstborn is a boy and that is good for a Chinese family. We call him Judson meaning “son of praise”. I was happy and I still am. However, I felt that a family is not complete without a daughter. The simple reason is that I longed to have a daughter. The Lord was good to us – now, I have two sons and a daughter in between. That’s just perfect for me. Of course, I would love to have more children and I often challenge young families to have at least three to five children. Unfortunately, we had to stop at three.

Three years after the birth of my eldest son my wife and I decided that it’s time to have another child. This is good family-planning! But what I did not know, obviously, was that the second pregnancy would not be smooth sailing like the first one.

At the time, we were in the midst of relocating to a little old town some 45 kilometers away from the beautiful island of Penang, when we discovered my wife was pregnant. I was praying that this child would be a girl. I had even toyed with the idea of a girl’s name and did not bother too much about a boy’s name! I think I was way out of line to try to push the hands of God for a daughter.

I remembered one particular night I was singing in my sleep. My wife told me the next day that I was singing from Isaiah 12:3 –“Therefore with joy shall you draw waters out of the wells of salvation”. In my teenage years there were many Scripture songs and Isaiah 12:3 was one of them. I love the Scripture because it depicts the state of a person full of praise, worship, and adoration. And with joy he draws the refreshing water from the wells of salvation – out of the life of Christ afforded to us when we receive Him into our lives.

It was amazing because from that day onward I knew God has given me a daughter and it was settled that we shall name her Joyce Lim Sze Yuen. Her Chinese name means hymns and melodies! Though the nine months pregnancy was tough and we had a number of scares – including a threatened abortion – yet I knew God would preserve this life and she would be special. She was indeed a bundle of joy; she came out into the world without any scars and she weighed four kg. She is still a bundle of joy and indeed she is a constant reminder that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

My third and last child was born three years after his sister, Joyce. We named him Jesher, meaning strong and steadfast. His Chinese name is Jian Tzin meaning steadfast faith. Each one of my children reminds me of God’s grace. Each of their names is a reminder of an important disposition that I need to possess: to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, to rejoice in the Lord always, and to be strong and steadfast in faith! My children’s names have a way of reminding me of God’s hand upon my life, through it all!

Prophet Isaiah tells us that we can draw from the wells of salvation. If we can draw from the wells of salvation which is in Christ then we can also draw from the wells of sin and condemnation by our own strength, without Christ!

When we draw from the wells of sin and condemnation, we draw self-pity, bitterness, bad-habits, criticism, slothfulness, laziness, or depression.  So the call is for us to draw from the many wells of salvation. It is in plural. Out of the wells of salvation comes forgiveness of our sins, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical healing, fullness of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God – grace upon grace, faith upon faith, strength upon strength, and gifts upon gifts.

But we are told that to draw from the many wells of salvation we have to draw them with joy. In fact, Nehemiah of old told us that “…the joy of the Lord is our strength…”(Neh. 8:10). Joy of the Lord is an antidote to an unbelieving heart, weariness of the spirit, a slothful mindset, or a depressing circumstance.“A joyful heart is good medicine…” (Prov. 17:22a) and “…a glad heart makes a cheerful face …” (Prov. 15:13a).

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

How do we come into this JOY OF THE LORD?

First, we come into this joy through worship. Psalm 16:11 said: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”Let us see the connection laid out in this verse. Worship leads us into God’s presence. In His presence is fullness of joy. Joy comes when God makes known to us the path of life, and when we know that our purpose in life is found in Him we come to Him in worship.

Second, we come into this joy by feeding on the Word of God. Jeremiah 15:16 said: “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” The picture given here is that of eating the Word of God. And in doing so, it will be a delight and a joy to our heart. Reading and studying God’s Word is like feasting on fresh bread and drinking fine wine. It should bring delight and joy.

Some people read the news and get despaired. Others read the news and get angry – with the Government, with the system, and with the world. Why let these distressing news and discouraging reports get into our nerves? We should get into the Word of God, the Word of life and find joy, refreshment, and satisfaction instead. The Word of God is a delight because that’s where the fullness of the joy of the Lord comes. Again we need to be reminded that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Let us consistently meditate on the Word, diligently study the Bible, and faithfully apply the Word of God to daily living.

Third, when we speak the Truth we bring joy and peace into our souls. Truth will always set us free. Proverbs 12:19, 20 recorded: “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.” When we speak the truth in love, we not only have peace in our heart – we also have joy. There are far too many people living in deceit and possessing a lying tongue, but we know that those who live under such situation never really have joy and peace within them. They would properly live in fear of being found out. Our sins will find us out eventually. Let us learn to speak the truth, for in it we will have joy and that joy will be our strength!

Fourth, only the meek will obtain joy because we will inherit the earth. In Isaiah 29:19 we read this: “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” One commentary defines the word “meek” as the godly afflicted and the idea is that of a virtuous suffering. The Matthew Henry commentary has this to say about this verse –

“This intimates that even in their distress they kept up their joy in the Lord, but now they increased it. When joy in the world is decreasing and fading, joy in God is increasing and getting round. This shining light shall shine more and more; for that which is aimed at is that this joy may be full.”

       Fifth, those who are the redeemed of the Lord have everlasting joy. Those who have no joy or have staleness in their lives, are either deceived or are not yet redeemed – one who has not yet appropriated the gift of grace from Christ.

“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 51:11).

Our salvation experience brings forth the joy of the Lord. We need to keep in focus that we are saved by the grace of God – we are the redeemed of the Lord; redeemed from the slave marketplace. We have cause to rejoice. Our joy and gladness comes from the unchanging fact that we obtained salvation through Christ, and an assurance and hope of eternal life.

Sixth, Paul gave us a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God is like. In Romans 14:17 we read these words: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” It is remaining under the reign of Christ that we can hope to find righteousness, peace and joy. These belong to those who made Christ the Lord over their lives. His rule is not tyrannical for selfish gain but His rule is a rule of love and His throne is a throne of grace.

Seventh, it is to those who would offer their lives as a living sacrifice, who would be able to shout for joy and not be subjected to shame! Psalm 27:6 puts it succinctly: “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.” There is a sense of delight, joy and celebration that ties in with a willing sacrifice. In the New Testament we are called to offer a living sacrifice; a sacrifice that is acceptable and perfect. It is in such sacrifice that we find what true joy in the Lord is all about.

Rejoice in the Lord Always

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:4-9).

Somehow I think there is a connection that Paul wants to make between rejoicing and worry; things that are lovely and good versus the unsettled-ness of the heart. Joy is a very good attitude to possess at all times. It is in learning to rejoice in the Lord that we shift our focus from ourselves to our wonderful God. What causes anxiety? More often than not, it is caused by the fact that we need to have everything under our control. If we sense some things are slipping out of our grip, we begin to worry. Worry shows up in our inability to trust in him. Peace and calmness can only come to us when we have a right focus, a right perspective, and a right outlook of life. Therefore, the biblical injunction is to rejoice in the Lord at all times so that the peace of God can keep our hearts and mind in Christ.

When our mind focuses on that which is lovely, virtuous, and good, there is a renewal of our mind – the mind of Christ being formed within us is what Paul is getting at. And the place to start is to have an attitude that is thankful and full of joy and gratitude.

Concluding Thoughts

Some people’s idea of joy is some happy time at a drinking club. Some others think that the more [fill in the blanks], the merrier. Of course, what they mean is more money, more toys, more drinks, and more sexual rendezvous! But what I meant by rejoicing always, is to be intoxicated with the Spirit of God and be drunk with the joy of the Lord in our lives.

Anxiety and stress have caused more death than sickness and diseases. A joyful heart is a good medicine because it is opposite to worry, anxiety, and fear. I used to quote these assuring words of Jesus to anxious folks: “Worry will not make you grow an inch taller. Stop worrying and start resting in me. My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Lk. 12:25; Matt. 10:30)! 

Do you know that in most homes today we have more locks and grills than we had when I was young – back in the sixties and seventies? I remember my childhood home. It had six rooms and we had three families living together. But the thing about this house is that there was no fence and no gate surrounding it. The house was built together with six or seven other houses on a piece of land that belonged to a doctor living in another state. On top of that, the door to our house was always open. We did not lock our doors until at night when everyone retired to their bedrooms! Those days we lived in a less stressful environment. Today we have a lock for our gate, two locks for our grill door, and a lock for the main door with a latch inside the door. No wonder we have more cynical people, more joyless people, more fearful people than we have ever had before. There are more drugs and more pain-killers in the store than ever before. There are more suspicions, more reclusiveness, and more distrust in our world today. Happy times are gone. But for the children of God, we have the joy of the Lord. We can rejoice in whatever circumstances, in whatever situation – the good, the bad, and the ugly – because our hope is in Him and our faith rests in God Almighty! “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isa. 30:15a)!

Let me recapitulate before I conclude: we can be intoxicated with the Spirit of God and be drunk with the joy of the Lord in our lives when we daily “…enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise…” (Ps. 100:4); when we meditate on His Word day and night (Ps. 1:2); when we uphold Truth by embracing it, verbalizing it, and speaking against the pernicious lies of the devil; when we walk in meekness – which is a controlled strength. When we live as the redeemed of the Lord – as sons and daughters in His house, not illegitimate children or slaves – we become the fragrance of hope and the scent of everlasting joy!

Most importantly, joy comes when we let go and let God be the Lord of our lives and the Master of our destiny! That kind of joy of the Lord moves us to sacrifice. Jesus, who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross and all its humiliation. Sacrifice is easy when we are motivated by the joy we have found in Christ.

Yes – rejoice in the Lord always!