God's Faithfulness

A dictionary defines the word "faithful" as reliable, trustworthy, or believed. When we say someone is faithful, we mean that he is true to his word, promises, vows, etc.

So when we say that God is Faithful, we therefore think of Him as 100% reliable,Someone who can be fully trusted to mean what He says, and will carry out what He said He would.

Like the rest of God's attributes, faithfulness is unfathomable. Our attempt to explain it will barely scratch the surface of what it truly is. The little we know of His faithfulness boggles the mind and transcends our understanding.

Notwithstanding, join me in looking into God's faithfulness from a couple of perspectives:

As an ATTRIBUTE
A brief survey of Scriptures tells us that God's Faithfulness is

--Immense (Psalm 36:5)
--Established in the heavens (Psalm 89:2)
--Great (Lamentations 3:23)
--Shield and Bulwark (Psalm 91:4)
--Extends to all generations (Psalm 100:5; Psalm 119:90)
--Abounding (salm 86:15)

As an ACT
--His work is done in faithfulness (Psalm 33:4)
--He keeps His covenant of love (Deuteronomy 7:9)
--He makes sure that His people are not tempted beyond their capability to bear and resist it (1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3)
--He will sanctify and preserve blameless His people until the coming of Christ (1 Thess. 5:23,24; 1 Cor. 1:8)
--He forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)
--His reason for disciplining us (Psalm 119:75)

Continuing our brief survey of Scriptures, we are told that God's faithfulness is
--To be declared (Psalm 40:10; Isaiah 38:19)
--To be made known (Psalm 89:1)
--To be praised in the congregation of saints (Psalm 89:5)
--To be shown forth (Psalm 92:2)
--To be sung (Psalm 71:22)



Our response to God’s faithfulness:
Love Him and Obey His commandments
Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)
9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.

John 14:15 (NASB)
15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:21 (NASB)
21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

Cultivate Faithfulness

Psalms 37:3 (NASB)
3 Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Revelation 17:14 (NASB)
14 "… because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

Matthew 23:23 (NIV)
23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Serve Him in faithfulness
Joshua 24:14 (NIV)
14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD

Dogma of Defeat vs. Liberated Life

The other day while driving to work and listening to a radio broadcast, a blog topic title dawned on me-Dogma of Defeat versus Liberated Life . I thought Wow! That’s cool. What an appropriate title for what I believe is a misunderstood biblical concept of what Christian life is about.

The Apostle John recorded these words of Jesus: “I come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” That’s hardly a life of defeat Jesus is offering us. He came to set us free, did He not? How come then that we regularly hear from among professing Christians statements like:

We cannot help but sin daily in thought, word, and deed
Sin is unavoidable
We cannot help it but sin, for we are only human
We will only be free from sin when we’re dead and separated from our physical body

These are statements of defeat, don’t you think? Are we saying that Christ did not accomplish anything at all when He offered Himself as the ultimate Sacrifice for us? The Scripture says otherwise. Consider the following:

Romans 6:6 -8,9-14 (NASB)
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you….

Romans 8:12-14 (NIV)
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Galatians 5:19-25 (NIV)
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

So the teachings of the Scripture run contrary to what we so often hear as “humble” confessions of professing Christians.
Jesus has set us free! If we are truly believers who have committed our lives to Him, then God’s Spirit is dwelling within us enabling us to live in righteousness to the glory of God.

Dogma of Defeat? No way! Liberated Life? Yes!
For if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.

Rebuked Yet Remained

Peter! What a character he was, don't you think? Always the first to react to Jesus' statements. Most often, before thinking it through. It's the case of impulsiveness; emotion over logic; tongue working ahead of brain.

Yes, he was rebuked. Yes, he denied his Master because of fear. Yes, he was all these, but he remained! He knew he yielded to the impulse of the moment and regretted with utter remorse, and he had another chance.

Christ came to offer us a chance to be changed - to be transformed. He knew His mission all along - to seek and save those who were lost. And lost, all of us were. He unreservedly and unhesitatingly climbed Calvary to be crucified like a common criminal enduring the excruciating pain. All for you and me.

Peter accepted the rebuke coming from the most tender look as Christ passed by. He responded rightly and remained. Will you do the same?

Gem from my Inbox Part 7

There are but two essential requirements: first: Has any one
cheated death and proved it? Second: Is it available to me?

Here is the complete record:
Confucius' tomb - occupied;
Buddha's tomb - occupied;
Mohammed's tomb - occupied;
Jesus' tomb - empty.

-- G. B. Hardy

The Choice: Builder or Wrecker

It is a beautiful sunny Sunday in the Toronto Area. Not a spot of cloud in sight and it's 6 degrees celsius as I compose this installment. It's one of those days that makes you recall a passage in Psalms - This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Earlier today, I had a chance to share in a small church in the East end of Metro on the topic "Building Up One Another." I based my discourse on a few passages of Scriptures, notably, Ephesians 4:11-16; 2 Peter 1:5-11. Essentially these passages underscore the following:

The way Paul sees it -
God sets up ministry offices in the church;
The ministries are for the equipping of believers;
The goal is the building up of the Body of Christ;
Believers are to grow in all aspects of Christ who is the head of the church;
Believers are individual parts and are to work properly in order to cause the growth of the Body in love.

Along similar lines Peter reminds believing readers -

Add to their faith, virtue (moral excellence);
To virtue, knowledge;
To knowledge, self-control;
To self-control, perseverance;
To perseverance, godliness;
To godliness, brotherly kindness;
To brotherly kindness, love.

Just think what kind of impact believers would have on each other if they heed these advice. Peter is convinced of the necessity of these attributes that he repeatedly stated to always remind his readers of these qualities.

FAITH - A leap in the dark?

The notion that faith is a leap in the dark just doesn’t set right with me. Unfortunately, that’s how many see it. They say Christianity like all other religions, is a religion of faith, and as such, adherents jettison their rationality in favor of superstition and untenable system of beliefs. Nothing could be be farther from the truth.

Here’s my take on it: If I believe in something, there must be a rational basis for it. I am not just trying to convince myself that something or someone exists or is real without an intelligent reason for such assertion. That’s why I am a Christian. Christianity as a system of beliefs or world view provides me sufficient logical and rational reason to believe in a personal God.

6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 (NASB)

Response to Carah #2

Dear Carah,

While I don’t deny that part of culture inculcation is to believe in the Unseen and Supernatural, we have to go back further and ask the question where the idea came from in the first place. Did someone just imagine it? It’s rather hard to entertain such idea when as I mentioned earlier anthropologists report similar finding regardless of geographical tribal location – the commonality of belief in the Invisible or Force/Spirit.

As a Christian, my reference is the Scriptures. The idea of a Supreme Being is “written” not just around us but within us. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God. And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Romans 1:19,20 says, “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

So, as you can deduce, even a pagan has at least two sources on which to base this awareness – creation and conscience. Man has an intellectual and spiritual capacity to “read” the attributes, power and nature of this Supreme Being. There is enough information for him to go by if he sincerely desires to know this Being more deeply.

That’s the reason why we can infer that Paul in his letter to the Roman believers concludes that anyone has no excuse to say he or she doesn’t know anything about God. He or she may suppress or deny this awareness, of course, but the fact remains that he or she is spiritually aware. It is then incorrect to say that the “supernatural” is imagined and concocted by those who knew nothing better. It is indeed innate and exists within us.

Cheers,
Osteinz

P.S. My name is pronounced Os-tie-nz.

Letter from Carah #2

Dear Osteinz,

Thank you for your response to my letter. I must say I appreciate you finding time to write.

I find it interesting that you said, “Belief in God or Supreme Being is not taught but innate. In fact, one has to be “educated” to deny this awareness.” I always thought it was the other way around – when we gain awareness about the world around us, we are conditioned to believe and accept the mores of our society including superstition. So we grow up believing that there are spirits or forces greater than us mortals and that if we don’t do their bidding (worship and sacrifices?), they’ll do us harm.

Shouldn’t I be thankful then that I am being “educated” to be free from this superstition? As my professor confidently prophesied, “By the time you finish this course, you will have been liberated from the bondage you are in if you believe in anything supernatural.” Is it not correct to say that the “supernatural” is imagined and pure concoction by those who knew nothing better? As we advance in our knowledge, shouldn’t we strip ourselves of explanations of our world which are fictitious, irrational and unscientific?

Awaiting your response.

Carah Nee Won

P.S. How do you pronounce your name?

Divine Economics

Every time I hear and read about the current state of affairs, I am reminded of the words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew. Here’s an excerpt:


Matt. 6:25 – 34 (NIV)
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

To Christians, these are comforting words. As we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, our heavenly Father will provide our needs. He knows what they are and we can fully trust in Him.

Speaking of Sin

It's hard to believe that we're now on the first day of the last month of the first quarter of 2009! Oh, okay I'll just simply say March 1, 2009.

Anyway.....

Nowadays, it's called by different names, let alone being denied that it even exists - mistakes, lapses, political incorrectness, shortcomings, cultural divergence, negligence, flaws, etc. - when there is a three-letter word for it, SIN. Let's call spade a spade.

Viewed as a moral act, it is putting one's interest more than doing what is right. It is a violation of the law of love, which is choosing the highest good of God and His Universe. It is saying "I'll get what I want regardless of who gets hurt along the way."

A question is asked, "Is it natural to commit sin? After all, we're just human."

No, it's not, if you look at it from God's vantage point. His word is clear on this: He hates sin. He never planned it.

Think of the horror, the havoc that sin wreaks on our world. Think of suffering, poverty, hunger, crime, despair and death that directly result from it. Natural? Heavens no!

Now think of how much it cost God. Sin cost Him His Son! Think about that.

No, sin is not natural even looking at it from man's point of view. We incarcerate criminals, rehabilitate addicts and punish the guilty ones. Why do this if sin is natural? It does not make sense now, does it?

---------

"When you attack the roots of sin, fix your thought more on the God you desire than on the sin you abhor." ----Walter Hilton

What can a 13-year old do?

Aside from fathering, that is.

Here's what Dr. Amy Tuteur* has to say about it. The context is the case of Hannah Jones but the same is relevant to "Alfie" of UK.

"As a general matter, we do not believe that 13 year olds are capable of making any major decisions, let alone life and death decisions (as in the case of Hannah Jones). The reasoning ability of 13 years olds is constrained by limitations in cognitive ability and maturity and a lack of life experience. Young teens are not allowed to drive, to drink or to vote. They are not allowed to make their own healthcare decisions, even something as simple and obvious as consenting to a medically necessary appendectomy."

And so, one is left to wonder, "How is Alfie going to cope with the realities of life?"

What's going to happen when all the media attention he now basks in will have waned? He needs a lot of prayers for sure - not just him but the mother and child as well.

*Dr. Amy Tuteur is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College and her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Tuteur is a former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School.

The Preeminence of LOVE

The world is its stage and canvas. You see it depicted everywhere and claimed to be expressed by everyone. LOVE.

The ancient Greek has four words for love:

STORGE - The kind of love parents have for their children
PHILIA - The love of friends
EROS - The love of pleasure (which includes sexual attraction)
AGAPE - The love of God

Of the four, EROS never made it to The New Testament.

The BIBLE plainly states that we would not know what true love is, unless we know God for God is Love. It further declares that we would not know how to express it unless we are recepients of God's love.

The Apostle Paul, in one of his epistles to the Corinthian christians, devoted a whole chapter describing the agape love and its preeminence. This is the love that we will only know when we know God.

HOPE, FAITH and LOVE. The greatest of these is LOVE.

Will Love Fade in 25 minutes?

Valentine's Day in this part of the world will soon be over. Will love stand still at 12:00 midnight? No, it will go on for as long as you and I continue to believe that there is no power on earth mightier than love.

Can you imagine a world without it? I can't. A world without love is a world filled with selfishness, confusion and anarchy. It's devoid of meaning and purpose.

We wait for another year to celebrate Valentine's Day but tomorrow will break forth with limitless opportunity to let love rule, but first let it reign in our hearts and minds at the dawning of another day and the next...and the next...

LOVE LISTENS

Paul Tillich says, "The first duty of love is to listen."

Love is expressed in most effective ways when its actions are prompted by what it hears. Hearing presupposes listening, and listening opens the gate to understanding.

Love is paralyzed unless it communicates itself. Love in action is preferred to love in speech, but love that listens establishes the connection.

Love is wasted when it stops to listen for then it may not show itself in an understanding manner. "Why don't you listen to me, don't you love me anymore?"
You see there's a natural link between listening and loving.

Now, do you hear me?

TRUTH Fears No Questions

Truth and Light are very closely related if not synonymous. Living in the Truth means living in the Light. Living in the light entails vulnerability, humility and courage.

Vulnerability requires the willingness to be subject to criticism or moral attack. Humility results in honesty – readiness to be known for what or who one really is. Courage is having the fearlessness to be vulnerable and humble. These virtues form a triumvirate which is de rigueur in truthfulness.

Truth fears no questions? You bet. Truth fears nothing for which it cannot or will not be entirely accountable. Light makes sure it is so.

Gems from my Inbox Part 6

"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings."

--Jeffrey Immelt

"The measure of a life, after all,is not its duration, but its donation."

--Corrie Ten Boom

Beauty, Harmony & Diversity

An unknown author made the following observation:

"We could learn a lot from crayons:

Some are sharp;

Some are pretty;

Some are dull;

Some have weird names; and,

All have different colours.

BUT THEY ALL HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE IN THE SAME BOX!"

We should celebrate our diversity and utilize it to create beauty and harmony.

A Special Greeting!

Three wonderful women who have impacted my life are celebrating their birthday today:

My Mom - whose love and prayers sustain me daily. Although oceans away I know she never fails to knock on heaven's doors for my welfare.

An associate at work - who makes me handle my day with less stress and laughter.

A churchmate - whose spiritual depth is inspiring and a reason to thank God for.

Happy Birthday, Ladies! May you receive God's best for you today and always.

Gems from my Inbox Part 5

A friend sent this to me. Anything on "Love" is always worth sharing.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Response to Carah #1

Dear Carah Nee Won,

Allow me to address your postscript first. Like you, I hope so, too. Now to answer your question, do you know that Yahoo Search returns 43,100,000 links to a query similar to yours? That’s right – you are not alone.

I’m sure the question crossed your mind a few times before. Belief in God or Supreme Being is not taught but innate. In fact, one has to be “educated” to deny this awareness. One has yet to discover an atheistic tribe. Every tribe or community that has been discovered has some sort of belief in the Unseen or Invisible spirit.

That’s why you asked that question because within you is the knowledge or awareness of something or someone invisible. Someone said that there is a God-shaped vacuum within us that only God can fill. You also have a sense of right and wrong. I call that “Inner Witness” that God exists. Then take a look at the world around you – you see its beauty, complexity, immensity and grandeur. I refer to that as “External Witness” of a powerful Creator. So if it’s true that God exists, it’s not a “bother” getting to know Him but one of the wisest decisions you can make.

Regards,

Osteinz

P.S. Yes, I made a decision to be upbeat about things and to accentuate the positives because as you have observed, there’s already so much evil in the world. No, I don’t ignore evil at all and I hope I still see the “whole picture” as you put it. If you have read my blog parameters, you will see that I try to write within them.

Letter from Carah #1

I have recently received letters, one of which I want to reproduce here. I have permission and consent to do so.


Hi Osteinz,

I’ve read your blog. Funny, but I seem to regularly visit it now to check for anything new. You seem to be upbeat on things – no negatives, only positives. How could you? There’s so much evil around us that you seem to ignore. C’mon now. You won’t see the whole picture of the real world if you do.

Anyway, the reason why I write you.

You are a believer in God, I can tell from what I’ve read (from your blog, of course). Perhaps, you might want to answer a question for me? Osteinz, I’m young. Why would I even bother with the thought of God let alone believing in Him?

Carah Nee Won

P.S. I hope you post more often and regularly.

PASSION, POLITICS, POINT OF VIEW & PROGRESS

Last night I watched a talk show which, among other topics, discussed the case of a young mother in California who now has a total of 14 children after giving birth to octuplets! Although it started calmly and civily, it very quickly turned into a passionate volley of points of view. Questions about motives and whether or not this is tantamount to child abuse dominated the discussion. Politics - California style - was briefly touched from an angle of health and human services.

The two guests, both defense attorneys, and the host were very passionate as each make a case for and against reasons propounded. The interest on this story is high judging from the media coverage given to it, and appears not to be going away soon.

My point is: Passion, Politics & Point of View could have a happy mix when handled civily without resorting to personal attacks and name calling. I, for one, am interested in discussions aimed at bringing out the best of various points of view. In other words, let's look at the merit of the idea or ideas being proposed. We can debate, offer our critique and counter the ideas, and yes with passion but never hurl darts at one another. If we can do this, I'd call it Progress in our humanity.

CHANGE!

With President-elect Barak Obama being inaugurated tomorrow (January 20, 2009) as the next US president, I think it worthwhile to revisit what I wrote on February 9, 2005:

What I learned...
...from a business retreat I'd just been on.. With the theme, "Cruising Into the Future", our president underscored the challenge of constant change that we have to deal with. From all the presentations that each VP had to do, I came up with this quote: "HE WHO RESISTS CHANGE, WILL CRUISE INTO OBLIVION" Think of businesses that have gone under. Many if not all have resisted the inevitable CHANGE that's inherent in the adaption of new technology. You've heard this before: We have always done it this way, we're not gonna change it now.

I congratulate the Americans. They face the future with so much hope and optimism that things will change for the better. It is not far-fetched for time and again they have proven themselves to be people of strength, determination and fortitude.

The SPT Principle

You've heard it quite a few times before, "It's easier said than done." Notwithstanding its triteness it is true, isn't it? In fact I can't think of anything that makes it less veracious.

What's the "SPT Principle?" It's Study, Practice, Teach method gleaned from the Book of Ezra. It's a rule of action that I think we should bear in mind when we give counsel or directive to others.

When we want to teach a particular subject matter, we should Study and at least learn enough of it and about it so as not to give a misrepresentation to the hearers. There are exceptions of course, but often times we bypass the second stage - Practice. We should ask, "Is it part of my life?" "Have I become it?" If we swiftly move on to Teach, we come across hollow, half-baked and unauthoritative.

Resurrected Old nature?

Whew! It's been awhile. I did not even know that this blog of mine still exists but here I am - starting at it again!



Oh yes, the title! Well right now it refers to two things: (1) my old interest in blogging is back to life once more; and (2) my old self (which is to be reckoned as dead as the Good Book says) still quickly reacts to comments that impugn upon one's character.

The first is a welcome resurrection, the second I wish it would never happen again. The first I hope does not wane, the second I earnestly want burried forever.