Fatherhood Aborted

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Confident In God

“But now, this is what the Lord says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” - Isaiah 43:1-2

The world is not getting any better. But the Lord says “Fear Not!!” There are 365 times the words “Fear Not” found in the Bible. It seems, each day the Lord has to remind us not to fear.

Passing through waters mean, passing through troubles, rivers = trial, fire = testing, flames = difficulties. Yet the Lord none of these shall be able to harm you.

We need to our confident in the Lord. There are three reasons to have confident in God.

1) God has investment in us.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” 1 Cor 6: 19-20

God has redeemed us and bought us.

What is the price? See 1 Pet 1:17-18, not with silver or gold but by the blood of the Lamb.

“Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers..,”

What make God so willing to pay you with such a high price? It is because you are so precious to Him. If you know the price, you’ll know how valuable you are. If you remember the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, the word “passion” means suffering. And one interesting part in the story was, the end part, where we saw the camera was zoom out from heaven, and suddenly there was a tear drop falling down from the sky, and shook the earth. That was the tear of drop of the Father in heaven. Leaving His Son, Jesus died on the cross as a ransom to pay our iniquities.

You see, how precious you are before God. How valuable you are in His eyes. He is willing to redeem you with such a high price.

Why are so many Christians are still walking in low self esteem?

2) God has knowledge of us

He called you by name. See John 10:14. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”

When somebody calls you by name, you feel secured. God knows our circumstances. Yet we always think God does not understand.

Lazarus – the friend of Jesus Christ was very sick. When Jesus was told he was sick, He did not go immediately to Lazarus to heal him. He waited for three days. Lazarus, finally died, and was buried. Mary and Martha experienced the worst trial in life. Lazarus died.

Friends, God knows our deepest circumstances. We might be in the darkest situation of our life. However know this one truth; God is never in the dark. He aware of our circumstances long before we even open our mouth to call Him for help. See Matthew 6:8. “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

3) God has possession of us

What you own you will take care. Just for instant, if you just bought a brand new car, and park at the church parking lot. Suddenly there was someone, come to you and say, “hey I saw someone is trying to scratch your car.” What will you to? I am sure you will rush to the parking lot, just to make sure you car is ok.

You will do anything to protect what’s belong to you. The same goes to God. He will protect, preserve and secure what’s belong to Him. And we are His. We are well kept by the power of God. See 1 Pet 1:3-5. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Isaiah 41:13-14 – God will hold you with His right hand.

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.”

The way you love me

The way you love me,
The way you care.
The things you do for me
I know you’re always there.

Love and devotion I give to you
With all my heart and soul
I give my life to you.
And I know time will discover
The strength that lives within me
Living my life, loving you always
To the end.

The way you love me,
The way you care.
The life you gave for me
I know how much you care.

Love and devotion I give to you
With all my heart and soul
I give my life to you
And I know time will discover
The dreams that live within me
Coming all true, living in heaven
There with you.

The way you love me
The way you care
The things you do for me
I know you’re always there.
With all my heart and soul
I give my life to you, to you.

Fearless

“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:25

I believe some of you must have seen the movie “Fearless”, where Jet Li was the hero. He was such a fearless man because he was a master of kung fu @ martial art and none could defeat him. However in the real world, is there such thing called “fearless life”? People live in all sort of fear. Fear of the future, fear of rejection, fear of the unseen, fear of failure, fear of darkness, fear of death and 1001 kind of fear. Fear becomes a bondage!

There is nothing in this world could give us a sure security. Not money nor wealth, for many who are rich yet having sleepless nights. Not friends, for many who have good friends yet their friends sometime deserted or even betrayed them.

The only way to have a fearless life is to have sure foundation to stand on. Ask yourself this question today “On what foundation am I standing on for my security in life?” Is it strong enough to stand against the life catastrophes? When the rain fall, the stream rise and the winds blow and beat against you, could you still stand strong and not be shaken? Is your foundation dug down deep enough to hold you through?

The only sure foundation we could stand on is the ROCK. And the ROCK is Jesus. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior yet, now is the time for you to start praying this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I open my heart right now to accept you as my Lord and personal Savior. I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart that you die on the cross and rose again for my redemption. Forgive me for my sins. And set me free from the bondage of fear. Amen!”

I have decided to follow Jesus

We often sing the song “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back….” But how many of us mean what we sang?

Joshua 14:6-15

From the day Caleb and Joshua were sent to spy the Promise Land, it has been 45 years. Now 45 years has past, yet Caleb said “11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.”

Today we hear many Christians, in the beginning they were on fire for the Lord. They are willing to do anything for the Lord, even risk their life. Unfortunately, this passion die off as the years past by. Sad to say, many became backslidden. Their first love for Jesus has long ago disappeared.

In the Book of Revelation 2:1-7, we see the same thing happen to the Church of Ephesians. The Lord rebuked them, not because they do not have church activities, not because they do all kind of evil. But rather their religious activities had become a ritual. They have lost their first love.

In Revelation 2:14-19, the Lord rebuked the Church of Laodicea because they have turned to be lukewarm Christians; neither hot nor cold. Hear what the Lord said to them “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

What is the desire of God in His heart toward us? Lets hear what he said to the Church of Smyrna “….Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Rev 2:10.

He wants us to be faithful!

A church, a home, a company, even a relationship, can not be built by unfaithful people.

While He was still with His disciples, Jesus said "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Luke 9:62.

What is the secret of Caleb’s strength? His zeal and his passion are as strong as the day when he first sent by Moses to spy the Promise Land.

The Bible says, He followed the Lord his God wholeheartedly.

See Joshua 14:8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.

Jesus said “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13.

A story of a faithful dog

If you were to visit Shibuya Train Station in Tokyo today, you will definitely see a statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog. In 1934, the famous artist Ando Teru was commissioned to build this bronzed sculpture, in remembrance of Hachiko. But it was melted down during the war. After the war, Hachiko was hardly forgotten. In 1948, The Society For Recreating The Hachiko Statue commissioned Ando Tekeshi, son of the original artist to make a second statue.

Why was this dog was honored in such manner. It was because of his loyalty to his master, Mr Eisaburo Uyeno, a professor at the Imperial University. Each day, “Hachi” would accompany Eisaburo to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting, tail wagging. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill o the job and unfortunately died before he could return home.

Despite the fact that Hachiko was less than two years old at the time, the bond between dog and master was strong. Hachiko continued to wait each day at Shibuya Station for a friend who was never coming back. At times, he wouldn’t return home for days at a stretch.

He kept his vigil for over ten years. On March 8, 1935, Hachiko finally went to meet his master. He died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.

Friends, if a dog can be so loyal and faithful to his master. How about us toward our Master, who has died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. But sad to say, many Christians were so willing to desert their Savior to pursue their personal dreams.

What is there to compare the Love of Jesus for us? For Paul, he has determined in his heart to follow Jesus no matter what. As he said “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”. Phil 1:21.

And at the final age of his life he said “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim 4:7.

I pray everyone of us would finally say the same thing, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

And be faithful even to the point of death.

Amen.

Why You Fail To Over Come?

The only reason why you fail to overcome sin is because you do not want to. You can not overcome your weaknesses because you refuse to. If only you determine in your heart that you want to overcome, you want to win, you do not want any longer to live in the sin, you do not want to live in the lie of the Satan again, you’ve made up your mine you only want to live this life to please God, and refuse to give in to the flesh, I assure you, you shall be one. You might think it is difficult to overcome, nevertheless the moment you say “Yes Lord! I want to obey you!” all the power in heaven will be given to you. And you shall be an over comer.

It is no point sitting down there waiting for the angel from heaven to carry you away from your situation, that will never happen. You have to get up from where you are now, and begin to move forward. Never allow anything to stop you. Never look back again. Forget about your past. Just like when you are driving, you do not look at the rear mirror to move forward, but rather to look through the windscreen to see what is in front of you.

Friend life is short, if you do not take a step now to change your life style, you are going to miss what God has in stored for you. You will miss the many blessings that God has prepared for you. And most of all you are wasting the life span that God has given you. You are suppose to be the channel of blessing to others surround you. However if you refuse to change, how are you going to be one.

God is waiting for you! Even if you are the last person who is running to catch the flight, God will wait for you. Why wait? Get up from your sleep! In God there is always a place call the “New Beginning”.

Remember friends, you are what you are today, because you choose to be what you are today.

God bless you!

Amen!