Personal Thoughts...

3 Guidelines for Every Christian

First guideline for the new year: Get to know God more deeply. In the business world, there is a saying that "it is not what you know but who you know that counts". This is true in all areas of life. It is even true in death. If you do not know God, you don't have anything to stand on - not in this world or in the next.

To know God, is to have a desire to be aware of Him more and more each day. This is a life-long endeavour. There are some people who have no desire for this.

In Romans 1:28, the Bible tells us that there are some who refused to have God in their knowledge... "being filled with all unrighteousness... hateful to God... without understanding... unmerciful: who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them."

Recently, brother Mark Brewer gave me a few books which his parents brought all the way from USA. One of the books was entitled "Can Man Live Without God?" This is the next book on my reading list.

For me, knowing God is more than just pure knowledge or being able to prove His existence or quote X number of verses.

If we know God, who He is, what He wants for us to be, our lives will be transformed. Our outlook, world view and practices on a day-to-day basis will be different.

The verse that comes to mind as I ponder on this thought of knowing God is Proverbs 27:1: "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus puts it this way, "Be not therefore anxious for the morrow: for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof".

I put it to you that if we know God and what He has in store for us, we will learn how to live each day fully, one day at a time.

I know some of us are having health problems - long term ones that need a lot of care. I received a note some time ago from Sister Nora that she had glaucoma, just like my wife. This is a very frightening and depressing ailment. Then last month, she wrote again saying she had injured herself in a big way! Please remember he in your prayers and send her a card after you have read this to cheer her!

Others have relationship problems and wonder if it will ever be alright. Then there are those with failing business, falling grades and so on... and you wonder how this year is going to turn out.

May I encourage you to get to know God... live by His grace one day at a time!

Suppose I could see all that was going to take place on the first day of 1996, I would have been totally overwhelmed! Death of my mother, Nat's illness, my father's operation, 2 deaths in Nat's family... what a year!

But because we know God and have tasted his goodness through the years, we are able to take on each circumstance in full trust and even with thanksgiving, relying fully on His goodwill at all times.

Thus when the year is over, as we look back and take inventory, we see a string of good things resulting from knowing God and living in His providence.

Let's count some of these: Baptisms increased from 7 in 1994 to 9 in 1995 and last year it doubled to 18. Personally, it has been the most creative year in my ministry. I was able to launch the youth development programme, work on encouraging godly fathers and men's involvement, further extend our missions participation, revamp our planning day, enhance our worship, start the internet services etc - thanks to a supportive leadership and a caring membership.

The idea is to live a day at a time fully in God's timetable. After making plans for the future and laying by something for old age, let God take care of tomorrow.

Give today your best shot; not just for your personal gain but for others and especially for God. Ask often during the day, "Is this what God wants me to be?"

So many people miss today because they live for tomorrow, weekends and that special occasion. They look forward to the time when they finish their exams, get married and the kids grow up... and miss today altogether!

Draw nearer to God

A second guideline for the new year that I would like to recommend is for us to draw nearer to God.

Where are you in relationship to God? If your relationship with God is compared to a family car where would you place God? Is God in the back seat or in the driver's seat? I know some people who put God in the boot and leave Him there until they need Him. You know, kind of like a spare tyre.

The Bible says in James 4:8 for us to draw near to God with the promise that He will draw near to you.

When our lives are ordered in such a way that we want to be with God in an intimate way, our hearts and our minds will be seeking His will and doing the things that please Him.

Drawing near to God means living every day in full awareness that you are in partnership with God in everything that you do.

I love the way the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

If we know that today belongs to the Lord and you are walking close to Him like partners...you can take whatever the world dishes out and turn every moment into a blessing.

One way of looking at this is to think of ourselves as missionaries. Suppose you are sent by PP to Batam, Indonesia.

As a missionary, what do you do?

Do you complain when you go from pillar to post to obtain a visa? Do you worry if all the comforts of home are not readily available? What do you do when you come across some people who seem to want to make your life difficult?

As a missionary, I presume you will take all these in your stride. You know you have been sent, that you are not alone or without support. You will turn every encounter into an opportunity to share Christ. And rather than complain, you rejoice that you are privileged to be sent as a missionary.

It is easy to understand the role of a missionary, but should not our lives be lived in a similar vein if we desire to draw closer to God?

There are times in the ministry, when I feel distressed and discouraged. But there was never a time when I felt the urge to quit, no matter how tough the situation was. Why is this so?

2 reasons.

1. Just like the missionary, if God is with me and wants me to keep going, why should I dishonour Him and let people and things cause me to desert the Lord who abudantly provides?

2. As I look back at each of the unpleasant situations, troublesome times and discouraging moments, I notice one thing common to all.

A "Bosses' Day" card I received some years back read:

"When this place gets frantic, You're here!

When this place gets stressful, You're here!

When this place is driving us nuts, You're here..."

Inside the card reads:

"Is it possible that there's a connection?"

Jokes aside, in all those difficult, discouraging moments the thing I noticed was these were also the growth points of my life.

Every time the church meets a challenge, faces a crisis or struggles with a problem... if we draw near to God, let Him take over and stay with it the way God wants us to...there is everything to gain.

I think of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail that resulted in the conversion of the jailor and his family. I think of the dissention between Paul and Barnabas that resulted in Mark becoming once again a useful worker in the kingdom.

Then I saw how the death of my mother brought my father back to church and how Nat's illness brought such support to our lives by so many.

We don't have all the answers but as we draw near to God...we find that everything that happens to us, good or bad... can be used for His glory and praise.

Love God more dearly

Finally, my third guideline for the new year is to encourage us all to love God more dearly.

Of all the things I do, this is one area that I need most help on, and one that I need to grow on more than any other.

Sure, it's easy to say I love God - I gave my life for the ministry didn't I? Yet, if I were to use this to say that I love God, I would have missed the point altogether!

I know for a fact, that there is nothing that I would not do for God. No one that I would not give up. Nothing that I would not sacrifice.

And if Jesus were to come today, my response would be "even so come Lord Jesus!"

But all these would be too easy.

You see, for us to truly love God, John says in 1 John 4:20, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also."

To love God we must love His creatures. We must accord them the love and respect due. On no occasion should we wish for anything other than heaven's blessing to be among our fellow men.

This is a hard saying because people don't always treat us right. Sometimes we are mistreated and people often do not take the time or trouble to see our point of view. And at times we are just dismissed as of little or no importance.

As I am thinking of following-up my series on the Beatitudes with the Sermon on the Mount, I have been making some notes and reading on the side.

One of the verses that has given me new insight was Matthew 5:22 in which our Lord Jesus teaches, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." First, notice the progression: angry without a cause - judgement; call Raca -council and then worst : fool - eternal consequences.

Why would it be so terrible to call a person a fool? If you are in military service, you probably hear this every day. I won't be surprised if it has been applied to you more than a few times! And too often, we spew these out in rapid fire like a machine gun!

Driving a car, we may call the inconsiderate driver, a numbskull. In discussing politics, we may refer to certain people whose policies we cannot agree with as a bunch of monkeys or less complimentary terms. And sometimes I wonder over Sunday lunches how many members have roasted preacher on their menu?

This has to stop! What these actions actually say is we have no respect for the other party. That we know it all, that only our opinions or ways are right and if they do not listen to us or do it our way that they are fools!

Jesus says that this is not the way that a person who truly loves Me will treat another.

I am so afraid that many of us who will never ever be condemned because of our doctrine, works or faith will miss heaven anyhow because we fail to love our brother.

So here you have it - 3 guidelines for 1997

1. To know God more deeply.

2. To draw to God more closely.

3. To love God more fully.

Our response to these three guidelines should be just one word - repentence. Pause, take stock of our situation and where we are heading. Consider the 3 guidelines and make the necessary adjustments. And if we do, this year will be different.

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