God’s Hand In Repentance

I always thought we had to look at allllllll our sins and repent for each and everyone of them BEFORE God could change our hearts and put His Spirit within us and give us the strength to obey Him. Like we gotta clear our house before allowing Jesus in. I read Ezekiel today and v31 really blew my mind.

Ezekiel 36:25-32

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.²⁸ Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. ³¹ Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. ³² Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”

Here Ezekiel is splitting up the relationship between God’s action and our action very clearly. v25-30, He will cleanse, He will change our hearts, He will help us walk in obedience, He will give us the inheritance and prosperity, He will make us successful in what we do, He will make us forget our shame. THEN and only then, will WE, v31, will realise our sins and hate our past sinful self.

It actually does kinda make sense.

Firstly, we are sinful and sin filled creatures. We only want the best for ourselves and to satisfy ourselves. We will never willingly repent until the Holy Spirit does some kind of work on our hearts and some kind of rewiring in our minds. The first step of repentance and humility requires a soft heart. v26 says God will put a spirit in us which would soften the heart of stone into the heart of flesh. God was labouring in us even before we said yes to Him.

Secondly, we can’t possibly know ALL God’s laws and repent of all the sins. I don’t think we could even know our heart attitudes or problems that well until after we’re dead. If we had to be super holy before Jesus could come into our hearts, no one would ever be Christian. God’s work in perfecting our lives is a step by step process. We realise and overcome one sin, then another. We learn one Godly attitude, then another. And this whole process can only be done with God’s strength and grace.

We need Him for us to be rid of sin. We even Him even for us to just repent for the first time.

The Knowledge of Christ

The words of Paul in Philippians 3 says

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.

I find myself asking what is this knowledge that Paul is talking about? This knowledge that can cause us to be found in His Presence and also in His Righteousness (v9).

What if Knowledge is an important key? Without knowledge, we would be believing in all sorts of made up imaginations. Let’s call this False Knowledge. With True Knowledge we would really know for sure.

Now WHY do we need to know for sure? I think it’s because knowledge brings forth faith. No matter if it’s false knowledge or true knowledge, it will bring forth faith. We practice faith everyday. Even in the simple things. We have faith that the chair we sit in will support our weight. We believe that the amount of salt we add into our soup adds the right amount of saltiness we want. But we also make mistakes of having faith on a pen that is out of ink, so we only brought one pen to class. Or leaving the powerbank at home because we remember (falsely) that we charged our phone at home.

Why do we need true knowledge? Because it affects our faith which affects our actions. The value of knowing Christ Jesus that surpasses every other knowledge. I have yet to achieve this level of value and regard to the knowledge of Christ Jesus. But I believe I will. Let’s press on into God’s will and words. Keep studying His word, keep looking to Him for perspective and leadership, and keep doing everything you can for His glory. And may He Grace you with revelation upon revelation.

Teamwork

We must have good support and we have to be good support for people. Here’s a nice example:
​Exodus 17:8-13 (NKJV)

8 Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.”

10 So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Lust

Random Thought Of The Day

Have you seen those top fashion designers? They usually wear weird fashion outifts… Sometimes, I do like some of their work, sometimes I don’t. That’s fine. But I always dislike the way they themselves look.

I hope I’m not the only one who thinks so.

__________________________

Greener Green

Alright, I’ve succesfully started my blog post with a bad deviation haha.

So did you know that there are a lot of Malaysians in Australia. Whether migrated or just making a living short term. And there are really a lot Sabahans there. I’m Sabahan, so I know of people who have moved there for good or are planning to. 

It’s mostly an escape, I believe. There’s just a chance for a ‘better life’ out there. And it would be a waste not to grab hold of it. 

I, for one, disagree with this ‘better life out there’ attitude. Sure we do have to move on and finish chapters every once in a while, but we should not always compare our life with someone else. We should not get tempted and jealous of the seemingly greener grass.

Last night my youth group was going through the ten commandments. And one of the commandments was to not covet our neighbour’s property. Do not steal or even lust for something that is not yours. This sparked the conversation in my mind about this: People migrate for the same reason, ‘betterment’.

But how could that be a sin? God wants us to grow. To get better. To perfect ourselves, our situation and people around us. 

Well, the difference is this. God put you in your situation. God has your best interest in mind. How do you know for sure that your ‘betterment’ idea will really be better? 

Ah, ultimately, do you trust God to have put you in the right place from the start? Or do you trust what the world has to offer?

God asks us not to worry. He’s got things in control. In fact,  He’s planned where you are now from the beginning of time. No mistakes. I don’t think it means to be content with what we have, but to be content in Him. Re-read that. It’s majorly different.

Key point. Being content or even discontented with what we have shows that our trust is either in ourselves or in our situation. Being content in God shows that our trust is in the Father who provides even when we don’t ask, who keeps all His promises, and who has a good future and a successful/fruitful path planned out for us. 

Let’s stop having the attitude that we deserve anything. And let’s start having a thankful attitude. I’m telling this to myself. Lusting is the opposite of thanksgiving.

So lust less. 

Check yourself before you think about migrating. God might not have finished with your perfectioning and molding.

Some random facts:

Lust often fuels shopping.

Lust always fuels pornography and extra-marital affairs.

Lust often fuel jealousy and sinful attitude (opposite of fruit of the spirit) towards other people.

Lust is usually disguised and blamed as an outside temptation, but we all know it’s 100% a matter of the heart. 

Sorry for this late-night straight-forward post. 

Therefore: 

Have faith in God and be always thankful.

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Righteousness Begins With Faith

​Genesis 15:1-6 (NKJV)

1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.”

5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Why We Can Be Brave

Psalms 46:1-3 (NKJV)
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

My Prayer This Morning

Psalms 33:20-22 (NKJV)
20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

Mazmur 33:20-22 (AVB)
20 Jiwa kita berharap akan TUHAN; Dialah penolong dan perisai kita.
21 Hati kita akan bergembira kerana Dia, sebab kita percaya akan nama-Nya yang suci.
22 Limpahi kami dengan kasih setia-Mu, ya TUHAN, sebagaimana kami berharap kepada-Mu.

Purpose of Old Testament Laws

1 Timothy 1:5 (NKJV) Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,

1 Timotius 1:5 (AVB) Tujuan perintah ini ialah kasih yang datang daripada hati yang suci, hati nurani yang bersih dan iman yang ikhlas.

Joy

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4 NLT
http://bible.com/116/jas.1.2-4.NLT

Neverfall

 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3-11