Grace In Holiness, Holiness In Grace
Do you feel divine grace is out of reach to you? The gospel tells us God extends His grace even to undeserving sinners, and where sin increased, grace increased all the more. But does such grace mean we can feel free to sin more? Certainly not! For God is also holy, and He judges and disciplines sinners.
No Illusion About Comfort In This Life
We all wish to rest from what we deem as laborious. If we ask the question: “Why are we working so hard now?”, the simple answer is so that hard work will end. Yet, why did the Apostle Paul labour till the end of his life? What is so important about laboring that is so glorious? Why shouldn’t we be brought over by the comfort which the World yearns for if we are living an authentic Christian life?
The Need To Be Sober-Minded
To be sober is not just a suggestion, but it is the command of the Lord. Both the Apostle Peter and Paul had given compelling instructions to believers about being sober, and more so in times of trials. Let’s understand what “sobriety” truly means for the Christians.
Resolve To Live A Holy Life
If to be consecrated means to be different, then we need to ask if we truly dare to be different from the world, even when it may come with persecutions? Would we rather be socially acceptable, or God-acceptable? God wants us to start the year right with a consecrated and holy heart. Consecration is not a one-time resolution but a lifetime lifestyle. Even if we are already believers who are serving God, we need to guard ourselves from a “typical” Christian living, which is not what consecration is about. So how can we restore a consecrated lifestyle and serving?
Be Holy And Consecrated
Most people are not so much interested in being holy. Rather, they are more concerned with being happy. Yet, there is a definite link between holiness and happiness, for only when we are right with God then we can taste true and lasting joy. Thus, blessed children of God will pursue holiness. So what does holiness mean? Are we consecrated? How do we know? How can we sustain a consecrated living?
Blessed But Betrayed
We often imagine that to be blessed by God means a comfortable life without suffering. Yet, a promise of blessing does not exempt believers from troubles. God sometimes has a way of keeping His blessings under cover and His providence hidden. However, whatever our circumstances may be, God is always in control, planning for our good and His glory.
Knowing Our Sins
One of the most dangerous things in the church today is that the doctrine of sin is not well taught. Many in the church are beginning to shun messages that give the suggestions of sin. Rather, they love messages that speak about societal issues, morality, or what works for them. Or they embrace messages that boost their self confidence by telling them how loved and favored they are in Christ. Yet the reality is they are nowhere near the kingdom of God if they do not know their sins. Find out why is this critically so.
Go Back To The Lord!
In our Christian walk, we may come to a point where we are not as excited or interested about God like before. Perhaps the word of God starts to sound boring, or we feel very tired of serving, or the world seems more attractive to us than ever. We need to purify our lives from any idols, beliefs, pursuits, selfish desires, etc, that are ‘foreign’ to the Christian faith. Like Jacob, we all have our “Bethel moment” with God, where we encountered Him in a very real and intimate sense. May God help us find back our first love for Him and enjoy walking sweetly with Him again.
About Speaking In Tongues
Tongues speaking has been a much controversial topic in the church today. Why is it so? What are some of the critical arguments we need to know about tongues? And what is the new tongue that Jesus had commanded all Christians to speak?
Crisis Arising From Not Obeying God Fully
Some people may think that partial obedience is good enough, at least it is better than not obeying at all. Compared to the accusations that arise from outright disobedience, partial obedience can make us battle less with whatever is displeasing to God, because we won’t feel as guilty after obeying a little and we think it is enough to satisfy God. Yet, partial obedience is still disobedience. We give the devil a foothold when our obedience is incomplete. God will also discipline His people who do not obey Him fully, so as to bring them back to His wonderful plan and love.
