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Hi guys,

I wrote this song a couple weeks back. It all started by a thought. I was thinking about how unworthy and filthy we are as sinful people. Yet, God with His great great love would send His Son to die for us. So that we would have a way to be with God. How amazing is that? He has chosen us specifically to be His child and we could be with the Father.

The first verse is about our confession and how we were before we received God and how God took us and nurtures us in Him despite our rebellious nature. Ultimately, He cleansed us as white as the snow with His Holy Blood. This is the greatest gift that one could ever imagine. What a wonderful God we have. Every row in this serve is deliberately started with the word I to explicitly show our self-centered-ness and our struggles as believers trying to grow.

The chorus reminds us that everything is only by His grace and nothing else. Not our power, not our strength, not our kindness, not our act of goodness here and there to others, but only by grace we were chosen and saved. The chorus also shows how beautiful His grace is to us. Again, the most amazing grace is when He came to die rise again to show that He defeated death and became a bridge between God and us, so we can cross over to God.

The second verse tells about how we have a powerful, mighty, and awesome God. In all His greatness he graced us with salvation. The defeat of Goliath is an allegory of Jesus’ victory against death. The lions mouths refer to the story of Daniel in lions’ den. It is also deliberate that the word David and Daniel was not mentioned there, however great and awesome those two guys are, they are not the point. It does not matter who God chooses to defeat Goliath. For all we know, David is only a tool. God defeated Goliath and not David.(not discrediting David by all means though as there must be a reason He was chosen, but again, that’s not the point) . Lastly, the last line in the second verse shows our commitment to God that we are ready to be used by Him for His purposes as our expression of thanks and love to Him.

I hope this song can bless you as it has blessed me.

Yohan

Only by Grace

Lyrics:

Verse 1
I am a nobody, but you labelled me as worthy
I was lost, but you took me in amazingly
I am a rebel, but your love nurtures me steadfastly
I am a sinner, but you cleansed me with your blood
Chorus:
Only by grace
You found me from the darkness
Only by grace
You took me as your child
Only by amazing grace
You sent Your Son to die and rise again
Ending:
And i am Yours
Only by grace

Verse 2:
You are a God of strength, that Goliath was defeated
You are a God of power, that the lions’ mouths were sealed
You are amazing God, your loving grace has saved me
Here is my life, so please use me as you will

Each one of us has one or more “idols” in the Bible. People that we admire, such as Jesus, Daniel, or Paul (probably one of the most popular ones). But these few years, I have grown my admiration to Noah. Now I rarely hear people actually admire Noah. I mean, yes, we know his story and we’ve heard countless of sermons on him too.

But personally, how far do you know his struggles and admire him for it?

Please don’t take my words literally, because obviously we have to admire Jesus and Jesus only as a Christian. However, there is nothing wrong in admiring and following a good example of another fellow Christian.

Noah – his story

Okay, in case you didn’t go to Sunday School or have forgotten his story, feel free to read Genesis 6 and Genesis 7 (and it’s a good idea to re-read it, even if you already know about his story in detail).

Why I admire Noah

[1] He knows exactly that it was God who spoke to him

I believe every Christian has this struggle. To hear the voice of the Lord. To find out what He wants and what His will is for you. There was no record that Noah struggled, was fasting, or prayed hard to find out whether it was really God who wanted him to build the ark. How close are you to God that you know that it is His voice that speaks to you? And after years of struggle where things don’t seem to go well, are you still certain that it was the voice of the Lord?

[2] He did all that God commanded him to

Even when you know it was God and what He wants from you, how easy is it to follow Him? What if He asks you to do something so hard that it makes you struggle every day just thinking about it? You may think that if you are really close to God, then you shouldn’t have any problems whatsoever following His will. Well, yes and no. At first, you may find it easy. Along the way, God feels silent which leaves only your faith and conviction. What then? You doubt, you stumble, and you give up along the way (and we’ve seen many examples of this in the Bible and probably our own struggles in life).

But look at what the Bible recorded about Noah:

Genesis 6:22 – Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

Genesis 7:5 – And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

[3] To believe in something that you have never seen or heard before

You see, no rain ever came before in the era where he lived in. So pretty much he had to believe in something vague and unimaginable. And how about that God wanted to make an end to the world? To wipe out every single being on earth that He Himself has created? How could you believe in something like that? You’d probably think “This must be the voice of the devil!” or possibly your own twisted conscience.

[4] He struggled for years and years and obeyed God still

It wasn’t clear how long Noah had to build the ark and how old was he when God commanded him to. The Bible recorded:

Genesis 5:32 – After Noah was 500 years old, Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 7:6 – Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth

So it wasn’t really clear but it was somewhere between the age of 500-600. Now obviously, building an ark that big (that can fit all sort of animals, etc) would take ages. Not to mention that they wouldn’t have all sort of powerful and modern tools as we all have today. It must have been years and years.

Assuming no one believed in Noah about the upcoming end of the world, then it was only his family who were building the ark (and surely the animals weren’t helping like what you see in the “Evan Almighty” movie!).

[5] His family supported him and believed in him til the very end

I’m sure most people thought that he was crazy. His family believed in him til the end or at least, the Bible would have recorded if they didn’t. Believing and following God’s will is one thing. But having someone closest to you and friends who support you to do God’s will does not happen very often in life. If you do find them, cherish them with everything you’ve got. For they truly are your best friends.

At times, you’d have to juggle between hearing human’s wisdom and God’s wisdom. Even when you believe that you are following God’s will, your closest friends may make you doubt and bring you down with their words. Mostly, they mean good (like Abraham’s wife, Sara) but only you yourself can understand the struggle. I don’t know what Noah did to keep the family together and not falling apart from years and years. And I certainly want to have a family like that in the future.

There are possibly other things that you can learn from Noah but for me, it’s that years of struggle trying to do what God wants from you in life; believing and doing His will even when it’s hard and even when it is unclear why, at times. God didn’t seem to tell Noah a few times (again, based on what was recorded in Genesis) or trying to convince him every year. It was just pure faith. Plain and simple. In fact, if you read through some of the stories in the Bible, God often spoke once and man (or woman) had to obey in faith to the very end.

I’ve learned a lot about Noah and Abraham these past few years and though I don’t want to discuss about Abraham in this post, I often find people mock him too much for going astray from the Will of God. Hey, it wasn’t easy and it never will. However, if your heart is really pure, if you really love God, and if you have supportive loved ones to keep you in the Will of God, nothing can stop you. Not even the devil nor your flesh.

Image via Wikipedia

There are times when we are deeply troubled and pondered whether our convictions in God’s plan were fake, were shrouded by our own feelings. Problems, things we expected that never happen, plans that seem to go wrong, and many other “storm” in our lives.

A post shared by a friend that she took from a devotional reminds me (and hopefully you) about a tree in the midst of storm. A tree, planted by God. It’ll never fail, it’ll never fall, no matter how hard the storm is.

Let us be that tree. Let us be strong in what ever darkest valley we are enduring at the moment. Let us be content in God’s love, grace, and perfect plan no matter how hard it may seem.

If we were sure before that our conviction was planted by God Himself, why doubt, oh, soul with little faith?

A tree in the midst of storm

You have been in the storms and swept by raging winds.
Have they left you broken, weary and beaten in the valley
or have they lifted you to the sunlit summits of a richer, deeper,
more abiding manhood or womanhood?

The wind that blows can never kill the tree that God plants.
It blows toward east, and then toward west,
the tender leaves have little rest, but any wind that blows is best.
The tree that God plants strike deeper root,
grow higher still,
spread greater limbs,
for God’s will meet all its wants.

There is no storm has power to blast the tree God knows.
No thunderbolt, nor beating rain,
Nor lighting flash, nor hurricane
when they are spent, it does remain.
The tree God knows,
thru every storm it still stands fast
and from its first day to its last,
still fairer grows.

Image via Wikipedia

In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus was giving a great advice to all of us, along with a great parable: The Parable of the Rich Fool. The story reminds us of our main priority in life – it’s not all about being successful or being rich. It’s all about Jesus, it’s all about His Glory, it’s all about becoming “rich” towards God.

Greed makes us deviate from this true goal of life and most of us may not be aware that we have fallen into it (and greed is not just about money). Let’s try to take a closer look at this parable and the story in Luke 12:13-21.

The Parable of the Rich Fool (ESV)

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Notice that in the previous verses, Jesus was teaching the crowd about who He is, the Son of Man. Yet, all this “someone” cared about was about the inheritance (most likely his brother was with him when he asked Jesus). Jesus was disturbed because of the motivation of this man, of his heart. He gave a really good advice in verse 15:

¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Covetousness (or Greed [NET Bible]) is an “intense and selfish desire for something” or in another definition, “want more than we need”.

Now this reminds me at times of people (and myself) who often ask whether they should buy a certain item, tablet, or phone. Often we have this desire of owning something, though deep down in our heart, we know that we don’t really need it. We then try to find “excuses” to defend our own desire, our want (“Oh, I don’t really really need it – BUT if I have it, I’ll use it for X and Y”). Whether you agree with me or not, “want more than we need” is already considered a greed, according to the definition.

Now, Jesus was teaching us to always be on our guard against greed. It’s a present, imperative sentence; meaning it must be done continuously and it’s a “must-do” as a Christian. We may never know when it comes or when we have already succumbed to greed.

Now of course, the magic question is how much is enough? Is it really wrong to buy something that we don’t really need? If there is a clear definite answer to this, then we can safely throw away all our “excessive” shoes, clothes, shirts, and gadgets. How about being rich, piling our savings, and investing? Is that considered a greed? What is the fine line?

Note that Jesus didn’t say that it’s wrong or non-biblical to be rich and live in abundance, don’t get me wrong here. If it is, then we may have to erase the book of Job (because God returned his riches and even in double!) and all books about Abraham, for he was really rich.

The main problem of this man in the story is clear – he thinks that riches and materialism are everything. The root of the problem is his heart. He even put this above the relationship with his brother – I’m sure you’ve often heard that brothers (or even life partners) are fighting with one another when it concerns money. Life is not about possessions (as Jesus stated in verse 15b)!

Why the parable is titled “The Parable of the Rich Fool”?

Simple answer: because the man in this story is a fool. But why?

[1] The source of his blessings

He was never aware that God was the One who gave all the blessings to him. Jesus cleverly pointed this as “The land of a rich man produced plentifully”. Note that it’s the land who produced plentifully. Yet the man wasn’t aware of this. You can also count how many times the word “I”, mentioned in this story. Aren’t we like this sometimes? “I’m rich because I work hard”. “I earn that salary”, etc.

[2] The ownership of his blessings

Notice how many times he said “my”, “my”, “my” – my goods, my grain, my crops, etc. This is related to the first point above. He forgot that he didn’t really own these things. Neither do we. We don’t own our money, we don’t own everything in this world. We are His steward. We will be held responsible with what we do with our blessings. Don’t forget that.

[3] The goal of his blessings

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.

To enjoy life was his goal. To have fun while he still could. He was a fool because he thought that’s what being rich is all about. He never gave it back to God, he never asked what God wanted him to do with his blessings.  In fact, he didn’t include God at all in this planning and life.

Our blessings do not come for free. Have you ever thought what God wants you to do with all the money or talents that He has given you? Or you are too busy being happy and have fun with all the things you have/like at the moment?

[4] Richness as his sense of security

To him, richness gave him a sense of security in this life. “If I’m rich, I can do anything. I’m safe for many years to come.” Unfortunately, he is a fool to think this way because he thinks he can control life. All he thinks about is what he’s going to do with this richness for himself. Yet in the end, it was all be taken from him.

In the next hour, we may lose our job, we may lose our savings, and everything that we’ve built in decades can be gone in a matter of minutes. Which is why we need to lay up our treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20).

—

The problem with greediness is that when greed has overtaken us (whether we realise it or not), it shifts our focus on God to the thing that we greed about. Whether it’s money, hobby, or something else, it doesn’t matter. When we want something really bad (or when we solely focus on it), all we want is to get more and more and we put God aside. We will never be satisfied with what we have and I’m sure you know this already.

1Timotius 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Here are some questions to ponder about even when you think that you are not a greedy person:

• Have you ever cheated or lied to get something for free or cheaper?
  When a friend works in a place (restaurant, cafe, etc), often we are offered a free drink or a free food. Did you accept this happily? Can’t you afford it? Will the owner be happy about this? If you are the owner and your staffs give free food and drinks to their friends, will you be happy about it?
• Have you downloaded pirated software/games, music, or movies?
  Again, can’t you afford it? We may put up an excuse “If only it’s cheaper, I’ll buy it”. Really?
• Are you happier to buy new stuffs than seeing someone new in the church or giving himself/herself to Jesus?
• How many times do you think about money, your future, or hobby compared to thinking about God?
• Have you ever wanted something so much that you know it’s not right (or it’s not necessary), yet you finally bought it? It can be as simple as buying a drink, a cake, or an ice cream!

Take these questions seriously. Greediness is not all about money. When you greed, your heart becomes corrupted and at the end, all you care about is “worshiping” the item or things you care about. Even more than God.

Giving offering, tithing, or sponsoring a child is one of the examples to guard you against greed (in terms of money). Be on guard always and fight it!

Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions!

Image by ater_unda via Flickr

In the last part (Part 4), I will discuss about the “WHAT” factor – What if we are still unsure? Especially for major decisions, it is imperative for us to really know that it is the voice of God’s. Following our “intuition” is going to cost us grief in the future if we are not in tune with God’s will.

Then I’ll close it with the “WHEN AND WHERE” – when you feel God is silent or just doesn’t care with what you are going through at the moment. Or when you just can’t seem to hear His voice or answers to your prayers.

WHAT – What if we are still unsure?

 
There are moments when we are still unsure what God wants from us even when we’ve prayed hard. Perhaps there are 2 difficult choices that we have to make (such as studying in different universities or being offered a job in 2 different companies).

If you are still unsure (as both options seem good):

1. Keep praying for it EVERY DAY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY to find God’s wisdom

   Jeremiah 29:11-13 – 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart

   God promises when you really seek Him, you will find Him. God says when you ask for wisdom, He will give it generously without finding fault (James 1:5-8). Pray for it. Fast for it.

2. Ask for signs from God

   If you are still unsure and you really need to know God’s will, ask for a sign. However, don’t let this become a habit and certainly remember your position when you ask from God (that He is your father IN HEAVEN). If you really are close to God, you should be able to identify God’s voice clearly so you don’t need to ask for “supernatural” signs. I remember when I gave God a deadline to answer my prayer so many years ago for a sign. I was ashamed now, although in the end, He indeed answered and showed me that sign on the last day! Occasionally, I still ask for signs when I am really unsure and when I really need to find out His will for really major decisions.

   Read how Gideon in Judges 6 and Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24 about asking for signs from God. Even signs can be misleading, so keep the prayer up and be closer to God.

WHEN? WHERE? – When God is silent

There are times when God is silent. If you really can’t hear from Him no matter how hard you’ve prayed, then pick a choice (out of the choices you are praying about – as long as it does not contradict with the scriptures). Take a step of faith and walk on it (and keep praying about that choice). I’m sure when this happens, He wants us to walk in faith with Him – to strengthen our trust in Him.

This is probably the hardest moment in your life when you think God has left you and as if He doesn’t care anymore about the decision you are about to make. Wrong! He allows times like these to bring you even closer to Him than before. Open your heart for God to speak through the scriptures, through others, and through things that you would never have thought possible.

When God is silent – He is there. He wants us to grow our faith in Him.
When God is silent – Doesn’t mean He doesn’t care
When God is silent and we are at our deepest, darkest valley – it is the time we realize that we can’t live without Him, without His love, without His wisdom, without His grace.

Ask Him. He listens. He will answer. In His time.

I hope that these series have been a blessing to you and I do pray that you will always follow what God wants from you, not what YOU want. Often we don’t know what we want but by following what God’s want, you’ll find that you’ll always have joy in whatever you do. It’s never a disappointment when you follow what God wants from you. God bless.

This is one of the books that I’d trully recommend for others to read (or listen to). Enemies of the Heart strikes deep and makes us to truly identify the most core foundation of what we say and what we do, our heart.

Have you ever wondered what’s your heart condtion at the moment? No, not the physical one. Have you ever wondered why certain nasty things came out from your mouth? Or  an action that you did in the past that left you regretting for the whole life? Ask your heart – it’s the place to answer all of your questions.

Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley covers a variety of topics and at all times, he asks us to pause and ponder about the condition of our own heart. He covers the topic beautifully yet authoritatively.

Greed, Lust, Anger, and a few others were discussed in details by Andy Stanley. There are stuffs there that we may not even realize at first (as we often go in “self-defense” mode and say “I’m not like that!”). Well, this book is for those who are willing to let that “self-defense” mode down for a while while they are listening to this audiobook. You’ll get much more that way and let God speaks to you in person through this book.

I totally love this book as God opened up my heart throughout the listening of this audiobook and pinpointed the areas that I needed to work on. There are also many great quotations from the book that I can relate and remember.

The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Lloyd James with a great passion as if he writes the book himself. I truly enjoy listening to the audiobook as Lloyd pauses where the writer really wants us to pause a bit and reflect. Would definitely recommend this book to my friends at church!

Knowing God is a book by J.I Packer that focuses on explaining the true God in biblical manner. Often in this modern world, our concept about God has diminished or simply been clouded by current trends, society, culture, and many more.

Some people find it hard nowadays to see the true God such as His real characters and what He approves and disapproves. Some even believe they have known God really well and close, where in fact, they haven’t.

J.I Packer explains from the Bible about God and He covers almost everything you can imagine about God – such as His Grace, His Wrath, His Sovereignity, and many more.

It’s a good book for new Christians but also a good book for Christians in general. Knowing God in practice is of course not as easy as it may sound. Even with 9.5 hours long, this audiobook cannot simply cover everything about God and we can never uncover 100% about God as He is simply way beyond our knowledge and brain to understand. However, this book does cover many foundational doctrines about God and in biblical truth. There are a few minor interpertations that I disagree but they are pretty minor (such as the author mentioning that it was a volcanic erruption that hit Sodom and Gomorrah – which was never mentioned directly in the Bible, etc).

The audiobook is narrated by Simon Vance and in general, being read wonderfully. It can be monotonous at times, but this is not a “story telling” kind of book, so it’s understandable. The book is unfortunately, not the type of book you can just read or listen to in one whole swoop as there are lots of things to grasp slowly. It’s then recommended to read/listen to this book by chunks and ponder them before you continue on to the next chapters.