Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. - 1 John 5:14–15
God’s sovereign will shapes how we pray.
Consider this other verse: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. - John 15:7
The big condition is this: Do Jesus’s words abide in you? What words in particular of Jesus, by abiding in us, would shape our prayer life — how we pray and what we expect when we pray?
Perhaps some struggle to understand why God doesn't heal or raise everybody in this world. There’s a certain timing for when things will happen, and reasons for why things happen, but these all work to the glory of His name. If our prayers are unanswered, does that mean God is not on our side? Or, maybe we are just not asking according to His will.
We need to examine our hearts therefore and ensure that we truly abide in Him, not so that we get what we want, but so that our actions magnify something bigger than our wants: God. And the good news is this: The more we abide in Him, the more we want God's will, the more we glorify Him.
Jon Bloom wrote an article on this. He says, “Jesus really means for us to move mountains (Mark 11:23). But we are meant to move the mountains God wants moved.”
Keep on asking, keep on trusting that He is at work doing great things, good things for you, in this world, whether you can see it fully or not. And that it is owing significantly to your praying.
Source: Desiring God
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 253. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
One of the things in relationships that drives us is to know and be known. The bible says God knows everything about us. He has always been very personal with His people:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. — Jeremiah 1:5
O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. — Psalm 139:1
God wants a relationship with His people. It is not meant to be a one-way vertical interaction. We were made to know God and search for Him.
Our identity should be so deeply rooted in Him that in our search for God we find also our identity — who we are in Christ. Our souls are made to drink deep satisfaction from Jesus.
The problem is that many Christians fail to see that we are meant to desire and pursue.
We assume it would hit us like adrenaline and come naturally, almost automatically, but that is not the case.
We expect movement and we want it quick and snappy but pretty soon we realise that growth can be painfully slow.
We expect God to show up in some supernatural way but God doesn't owe us any of that.
In fact, if we paid close attention, He has already done that when He met with us at our conversion where we first gave our lives to Him. He continues to do that all throughout Scripture and that should be more than enough for us to believe in His matchless power.
We ought to take a reality check: Is this faith or frustration?
When His living water fills us, we stop jumping and fidgeting around and we just learn to drink from His well at His pace.
That's when we begin to realise Jesus is not found out there in the places to which people of the world frantically run — new jobs, new relationships, new adventures, new experiences — He is found inside us.
That's where we learn to be deeply contented in Him. And when we begin to move, we move with Him.
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 239. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
The world is anxious for her freedom. We were caught off guard by the virus that wreaked havoc in the whole world.
Now, we want to be three steps ahead of it. Societies join hands and make plans to reclaim our lives with the remainder of year:
3-year strategies, the 12th Malaysia plan, the global vaccine action plan, 2019-2021 global strategic plan... the list goes on. We keep our hands busy with worldly matters.
But in the midst of all the busyness, where is Jesus in this place?
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. — Luke 2:7
If Jesus comes again, will He find room for Him here?
Is there any room for Him in the White House, or at the other extreme end of the world, China? Have we room for Him in Malaysia? In our palaces, forums, marketplaces or streets? In Focus or in our own abodes? Are we making room for our soon coming King of Kings in our hearts?
The parable of the great banquet in Luke 24 speaks about a certain man who prepared a great supper and many were invited. Alas, when evening came and the things were prepared, his invited guests made excuses and none came: "I'm busy with my business," "I've to care for my real estate," "I'm newly married."
This angered the master and so he instructed his servant to go into the streets and lanes and bring in here the poor. And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room," to which the Master responded, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper."
Perhaps there is no room in this fallen world. But now there is an exchange. If Jesus is preparing a place for the final supper, will you be found in it? And if there is still room, who will you invite? There are only two ways to respond:
Sorry, we're all booked out for the new year. Please, come again another time.
We join the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk 2:14)
Inspired by Have You Any Room? by Charles H. Spurgeon
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 240. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
The Mary and Martha story is too often taken out of context. Some of us who feel we are like Martha would say, "I wish I can sit and do nothing even just a little while... but there is just too much I need to do."
Let's take a closer look at the Scripture in Luke 10:38-41. What were Mary and Martha really doing?
Martha welcomed Jesus into their home (v.38b), but she was distracted with much serving (v.40a)
Mary was sitting at His feet, hearing His word (v.39).
Imagine this: Your guest comes and you invite them in for tea. He tells the members of the house that he has something important to share, but only one of them is interested in paying attention. The other is busy preparing to entertain the guest, and halfway through his sharing, she interrupts and goes, "Why is my sister not serving?"
The truth about Martha's mistake is that she didn't get the point of Jesus's visit which was to preach the kingdom coming.
Not only did Martha rudely misbehaved in front of her guest and was begrudging towards her own member, but one might question if she was even interested in what Jesus had to say. Her perspective was fixed on the practical, not the spiritual. Mary, on the other hand, responded in obedience - she was not "doing nothing", rather she was busy listening to His word. She understood the importance of His preaching, that it is not to be taken lightly as "storytelling", but about a kingdom to come. She was preparing for the spiritual.
TLDR: Both Mary and Martha were busy, but busy doing different things. Martha's mistake is not busyness, it was her wrong attitude towards the King. Mary was right, not for sitting and doing nothing, but for humbly obeying her King.
Reflection: To apply this in today's context post Jesus's death on the cross, how will we want Jesus our King to find us when He comes again? Busy with this life on earth, or busy preparing for His kingdom?
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 164. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
Like no century before us, we are submerged into media and into what has been famously called “the age of the spectacle.” Now, we see less resistance to the entertainment industry today because it's everywhere we go every day of our lives.
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from [salvation]. - Hebrews 2:1
Without realising, our world is a constant battle between the world of spectacles and The Greatest Spectacle, Jesus Christ, who should most capture our hearts. Every spectacle wants your attention and your affections.
As we “consume” spectacles, we don’t merely ingest them; we are constantly responding to them.
They invoke our consensus, our approval, our buy-in, our resharing power, and of course our wallets. It becomes an addicting cycle that seems to be nearly impossible to break.
Spectacles are what sinners turn to and to turn their attention away from God and away from the neighbour. If we are not careful with our consumption, we neglect Christ, we drift away from Him.
Attentional drift = Affectional drift
Attention and affection are linked. So, if you glut yourself on the spectacles of this world, your heart must drift away from Christ. So, what can we do? How can we be faithful stewards in the digital age?
Evaluate the spiritual impact of digital media on the health of their own hearts: How much of my media is for escape? And what am I escaping? Are my digital desires serving my God-given duties, or are they distracting me from them?
Apply the concept of digital detoxing but with a purpose: To withdraw from the power-currency system and re-centre our lives on God can we learn to use our phones in an honourable way and with eternal purpose.
Pay closer attention to the Word: What is the enemy saying to us through the media that is proving to be inconsistent with God's truth? Turn away from it.
Cling to Christ in the digital age: Digital minimalism will not save us. Switching to a dumbphone will not save us. We cannot save ourselves. The ultimate hope rests in a Spectacle, the most satisfying Spectacle of the universe — Jesus Christ.
Source: Extracted from “Who Will Have Your Attention? Clinging to Christ in the Digital Age” by Tony Reinke in the Sing! Global 2020 Conference, Desiring God
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 244. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
When God instructed Moses to perform this miracle in front of the congregation in Numbers 20, these were the very words He said to him:
“Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
But Moses made a grave error. He accomplished the task in that he yielded water out of the rock, but he didn't follow the precise instructions of God. Instead, Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod.
He might have been thinking, "I've been doing these things like a pro. Let me do it my way this time," or "That's unreasonable. Striking a rod sounds more feasible," or even "LOL speak to a rock? I'm gonna look ridiculous. No thanks."
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (v. 11-12)
Some might say that was a bit too harsh a punishment. Was God being petty? I mean the water was delivered. But the point of this story is not the miracle. It was to test Moses's obedience. If you look at it closely, you'll realise Moses was actually questioning God's authority in outright disrespect. And he did this in front of all Israel. For this reason, he never entered the promise land.
Sometimes, we have an inclination to do things the way we want or we think would be better. We do this out of pride or fear or our finite wisdom or disobedience. This story is to teach us that God is the ultimate authority and He puts authority above us so that we His creation learn to trust and obey. More than a lesson of being teachable and humble, and more than a dictatorship of law and order, God wants for us to trust His reasoning and will because it is good for us, even if we do not understand it at that moment.
About Entry
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 253. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God of peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16)
When The Health Ministry reported a new record of 2,188 cases yesterday, who else thought, "This can't be real"?
The facts are hard to accept. Losing control of the situation can make us feel as though we are losing sense of reality. Another day, another jaw-dropping number. Suddenly, what used to be our regular routines turned into distant memories of what was. The future now unpredictable. It is as the Psalmist has written, "As for man, his days are like grass; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more (Ps. 103:15–16).
Clinging to the past can leave us feeling desperate and empty inside. But what would God want for us in this trial? How would the Lord want us to view our past and future?
After 40 years, Moses and the Israelites arrived at Jordan, but Moses was forbidden to enter because he didn't follow through with the Lord's command (Num 20:12). Moses could have dreaded the memory of his sin, unable to move on and carry out the task, but he didn't. He pressed on and eventually led the people to the river across the promised land. This is how he made sense of their past, present and future:
Past: "Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor... The Lord was angry with me because of you... For the Lord your God is a consuming fire (Deut 4:3, 21, 24).
Present: “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life” (Deut. 4:9).
Future: "When the Lord your God brings you into the land... devote [the nations] to complete destruction. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God." (Deut 7:6).
Moses commands the Israelites to stay on mission if they want to possess the promised land. He recognises that it was no use bemoaning his lot, but to charge them to experience the promise and press on to the future.
Kathryn Butler had this to say about memories:
Memory was meant not only for private wanderings into forgotten shadows, but also to remind us who God is, and what He’s done for us. When we journey into those memories, we cultivate an understanding of our identity that far outshines wistful nostalgia.
When we look back at the past, we ought not remain in regret or remorse, but to keep hopeful that God is going to accomplish great things in the future and we get to be part of His story.
About Entry:
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 252. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16).
God said to Moses, “I AM who I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” - Exodus 3:14
The God of Israel is the God who is.
Understanding the weight and power of the name is important for today’s Christian to understand the complexity of who God is. He is all-encompassing and self-sufficient. A name above all other names, One that reminds the believer that God is infinite, He is sovereign over our lives, He is in control and He Is Who He Is.
He is Yahweh, the one who always and forever was, and who always and forever will be. It can be easy in the struggles of everyday life to lose sight of the majesty and holiness of God, but meditating on the name He gave Himself, and all that it represents, can help put our time on earth into perspective.
What does this mean for us? It means...
1. We serve the One True God
2. We can trust His sovereign hand
3. We know His love for us is true
4. He will see us through till the end
We have a magnet on our kitchen door at home and on it is a poem written by Helen Mallicoat which gave me comfort during this difficult period:
I was regretting the past
And fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:
“My name is I Am.” He paused.
I waited. He continued,
When you live in the past
With its mistakes and regrets,
It is hard. I am not there,
My name is not I WAS”.
When you live in the future
With its problems and fears,
It is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.
When you live in this moment,
It is not hard. I am here.
My name is I AM.
About Entry:
Since the start of the Movement Control Order, I joined a closed community in penning down daily devotionals and inspirations. This is Day 251. I decided to take them to tumblr in the hope of edifying any person who comes across this entry. May the God peace Himself give you peace (2 Thess. 3:16).
