Why must we be obedient to God?

We do not seek obedience to God in order to earn salvation, or to earn entry into heaven. Every believer in Jesus as Saviour is assured of salvation from hell and is eternally secure, since that salvation is based solely upon the once and for all, finished work of Jesus Christ.

We read in John 10: 28,29: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

The Bible does not teach that we must seek, gain or keep eternal salvation by godly living. The Scriptures, however, do present several motivations for obedience in our walk with God and with his Son.

1. Gratitude:A powerful motivation for living the obedient Christian life, is gratitude to God for saving us by his grace. We read in 2 Cor. 5:14,15: Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2. God blesses obedience.
True Christians should also be motivated by the knowledge that their heavenly Father both blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience in his children

We read in Heb. 12 :3 - 6 and 11: Consider him (Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

3. God holds us accountable for our choices – particularly when we are saved.

Every Christian must on the Day of the Lord stand before the judgment seat of Christ, not to determine his destiny in heaven or hell, but to assess the quality of his Christian life on earth and his grateful obedience to God.

We read in 2 Cor. 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Anticipating either reward or loss of reward at the judgment seat should also motivate believers to perseverance and to faithfulness to God's revealed will:
I Cor. 3:12-15 If any man builds on this foundation (Jesus and salvation in him), using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day (of Christ) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

May our perseverance in faithfully seeking God’s will in everything we do, because we show grateful love as people saved only by grace through faith, produce righteous, fruitful lives that are filled with the peace of God.

True Christians

Look into your heart. What do you see there? Do you see a true Christian or someone who only “plays church”?

So what do we look for in the life of the true Christian? What do you look for in your heart? What it boils down to is that the true Christian hears Jesus and obeys him, whereas those who are not sincere and authentic in their faith relationship with our Lord, hears Jesus but does not obey him. Listen to what Jesus says:

(Lk 6:47) "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Do you see where Jesus puts the emphasis? True believers are those who hear Jesus, who call him Lord, and who do what he says.

When you look into you heart, do you see a spirit of obedience? Do you see faith working itself out in love? Do you see the salvation that God has worked within you being worked out in your life? Do you see the fruit and gifts of the Spirit? Do you see an eagerness to obey God and love God and serve God?

Jesus is not teaching a sinless perfection. Nor is he teaching a justification by good works. Rather, he is teaching a faith that makes every effort to show itself in all of life, that claims all of life for the Lord and wants to turn everything in their existence over to the control of King Jesus.

May you be blessed when you look deeply, carefully at yourself and see someone who in faith builds his or her whole life on Jesus Christ...

Be filled with the Spirit!

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit gives to every believer one or more gifts. They are God-given abilities for service in his church and kingdom. He gives these gifts as he chooses. 1 Cor. 12:11: “All the gifts are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given for worship and for service. Any list of these gifts found in the New Testament demonstrates the diversity of capabilities distributed among believers by God through his Spirit. The purpose of the gifts of the Spirit is to better exalt the loving Giver, our Lord, and they emphasize service to the community of believers. The list that follows is not complete, yet summarises what we emphasise when we seek God’s purpose for our lives. It has been put together by studying the following Bible passages, written to reveal to us the various gifts that Christians receive: Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10, 28-30; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 4:10,11.

Do you know that you received one or more of the following gifts? If you do not realise it yet, we want to help you this year to understand and be excited about the gift/s that God has given you through his Spirit.

1. Apostolic gift: Those who are sent by God with the ability to proclaim the gospel and plant churches amongst unbelievers (Eph. 4:11).

2. Prophecy: To receive revelation from God and share it with others. Mostly it is the ability to interpret God’s revelation in the Bible and proclaim its vital and convincing truth. (Eph. 4:11; Rom 12:6).

3. Evangelism: To present the gospel with clarity to the unsaved so that they respond with saving faith (Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5).

4. Pastoring: To provide spiritual leadership, nurture, healing and protection for God’s people in the church (Eph. 4:11).

5. Teaching: To explain and apply God’s truths. (Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:28,30).

6. Knowledge: To understand and arrange the message which God has revealed in his Word (1 Cor. 12:8).

7. Wisdom: To apply the insights of divine knowledge to specific situations (1 Cor. 12:8).

8. Exhortation: To draw close to someone in time of need, with prayer, counsel and encouragement, directing change in their lives (Rom. 12:8).

9. Serving: To perform with joy any task in such a way that it encourages and helps the believers. (Rom. 12:7).

10. Helps: To bring support and assistance to relieve a pressing burden in someone’s life. (1 Cor. 12:28).

11. Showing Mercy: To show practical love to relieve the suffering of the deprived, i.e. the sick and the aged. (Rom. 12:8).

12. Giving: To joyfully and generously share one’s material resources without selfish motives. (Rom. 12:8).

13. Leadership: To direct a work or church for the Lord (Rom. 12:8).

14. Organization: To give vision and direction toward the accomplishment of goals ( 1 Cor. 12:28).

15. Hospitality: To receive strangers and friends, making them welcome and edified. (Rom. 12:13; Titus 1:8; 1 Tim. 3:2).

16. Faith: To trust God for the supply of needs, even when it seems impossible. (1 Cor. 12:9).

17. Discerning of spirits: To distinguish between truth and error; between God’s Spirit and the works of evil. (1 Cor. 12:9).

The believer who glorifies God and follows Christ in an attitude of humble submission to the direction of the Spirit, is “filled by the Sprit” and exercises these gifts with amazing benefits to the body and cause of Christ. To lead such a Spirit-filled life is a command for all believers, Eph. 5:18: Be filled with the Spirit.

Prayer

"One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God" (Luke 6:12). A quick look through the Gospels tells us that Jesus spent a lot of time alone with God in prayer and meditation. Is there any space or time for that in your life?

Our quiet time with God is important, because it is when you pray when you hear him saying that he loves you, sustains you and calls you to work for his Kingdom.

There are many other voices speaking too – loud voices. They say: "Prove that God loves you. Prove you're worth something. Prove you have a contribution to make. Make a name for yourself, then people will love you; then people will say you're wonderful, you're great." The loud voices represent evil temptation.

As with Jesus, we have to pray and listen to the voice of God. When we do we can deal with evil – and we will understand God’s purpose for our lives. Jesus spent the night in prayer. We too need to pray. We too need to spend time alone with God. Take a passage, or even a verse of Scripture. Think about it for a while. Let it fill your being, your thoughts, your heart, until the words are written on all your inner places. Then listen prayerfully what God wants you to do for him. Time alone with God is where serving God’s Kingdom practically begins. It is where it began for Jesus and where it begins for us.

May you be blessed when your quiet time with God enables and empowers you for your challenges and confirms your calling to work for God. May God show you your gifts and your assignments in his Kingdom.

God's guarantees

We are guaranteed that God is with us.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

It is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. We are not able to stand firm in our own strength. We are not even able to choose to stand in Christ, to begin with. It is the work of God, and if I find myself standing firm, I can be assured that God has called me and that he has made me one with him in Jesus.

The cross of Jesus is the bridge that we go over from being a stranger to God, to becoming a child of God. Through the forgiveness we receive in Christ, we are able to stand firm in him and through his glorious victory we can remain standing. Only Jesus is the beginning of our relationship with God. What comes after we are called and are standing firm in Christ - our whole life for him and our eternal security in him - are summarised in three potent words describing the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
Seal, deposit and guarantee!!

Seal: Kings, governors and even Caesar would imprint the design on their rings using wax, to certify the authenticity of a document. A sealed document was truly from the man of authority who sealed it and could be believed and acted upon.
When we find the Holy Spirit working in our lives, God through the Spirit sealed us as being authentically his own children.

Deposit: A deposit is made as a firm pledge that someone will purchase an item and it serves as assurance that the rest of the payments will be made. When God “deposits” the Holy Spirit into our lives, we know in faith that everything that is promised to God’s children will follow – his presence, salvation, victory, gifts, fruit and even eternal life. Starting with the gift of faith, God will through his Spirit not leave us until we receive his perfect glory as one of the saints around his throne in the glorious light of his heaven. The wonders of the indwelling of the Spirit is the deposit of his gracious work in our lives and it makes us excited about everything that certainly is going to be given to us as we journey with God.

Guarantee: The seal and deposit message of the presence of God in us through his Spirit allows us to be certain that the Lord is our God and that nothing will tear us from him or derail our journey with him. The Holy Spirit being part of our lives, is the blessed assurance that all God’s promises to us are going to be fulfilled. Our God will never let go of us!!

In a cynical culture where most people think that no guarantees exist, God’s people may stand firm in Christ and know that they have been eternally sealed as authentic children of God! Our Lord made a significant deposit into our existence – the Holy Spirit himself - and thus we live with joyful expectations of all the wonders God guarantees for us!

Be courageous, be confident and be excited. God will certainly complete the journey that he started with you when he gave you Jesus as your Saviour and Redeemer. Live and work for him, worship him and love him, be obedient to him and serve him with joy – you are always safe in him!

True and false repentance

Two kinds of repentance are possible in human experience. One is a feeling induced by the fear of getting caught. This results in a superficial sorrow that may lead to a temporary reformation.
True repentance, on the other hand, results in an authentic turning to Christ for forgiveness.

2 Cor 7: 11 and 12 tells us about the blessings we receive through genuine sorrow about our sins: “And now, isn't it wonderful all the ways in which this distress (about our sins) has goaded you closer to God? You're more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you've come out of this (distress about your sins) with purity of heart.” (The Message)

Be blessed by finding God’s way for you, when you pray with David today: (Ps 139:23-24) “Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong: then guide me on the road to eternal life.” (The Message)

The end result of true repentance is daily living on the road to heaven!

Its not all doom and gloom...

Do not be deceived into believing that everything is dark and gloomy!

We much too often live as if we are called to carry the weight of all the world’s troubles and challenges. Add to our times of real grief, loss and anxiety also the impact of the cynicism and negativity of a culture which does not expect any solutions or answers form God. Add to all of this the warnings of economists and politicians with terrible track records and media that thrive on sensation, believing that bad news is great business - and we may be tempted to be blind for the complete and absolute reality where God sits on the throne of the universe and Jesus is eternal King and Provider!

It sometimes feels as if there is one big conspiracy to make the weight we carry unbearable. If it does feel like that, now at the beginning of 2009, listen to these inspired words of James 1: 16 – 17:
“Don't be deceived my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows”.

We are warned: Don't be deceived by cynicism and negativity. Do not believe the world that evil is out of control and nobody can help you! Do not be caught up in the doom and gloom coming from those who are blind for the gifts of God!! Pray for opened spiritual eyes that appreciate “every good and perfect gift from above, coming down from the Father” . There are lots of good and beautiful experiences in life and it is neither by random nor by chance. It comes from an unchanging gracious, merciful and good God!

Excitement about 2009 comes from the Father who made the heavenly lights: sun, moon, and stars! These awe inspiring creations of God show us stability, beauty, light and life and our God is the Father, the Creator, of these comforting, warm and beautiful “lights”. Just as his created lights, God is also much more than a “shifting shadow” – in other words, nothing. He is Creator, Sustainer and unchanging Provider of every good gift!

Therefore – never be deceived! Never become a victim of the propaganda of evil that everything is spinning out of control. Look at the great works of God in the sky and remember how great is your God! He is in control, he rules and he reigns – and he gives us every good and perfect gift!

We are much too often deceived into carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, in stead of venturing into a new year with the certain knowledge that the “Father of the heavenly lights” stands ready to provide us with every good, perfect, exciting gift we need in order to embrace our opportunities and with much joy and faith worship the Giver, the Provider, the Protector of us all!

The deception that all is bad and sad aims at stopping us to live with godly inspiration! The Gospel of Christ is aimed at mobilising each one of us to become living testimonies of God’s gifts of salvation, love, assurance, mercy and hope!!

Take heart - our God is in control, and you are in his hands this year!!!