Stop Living For Yourself

Apart from the transforming grace of God, it is natural for us to live for ourselves. We want to pursue our dreams, desires, and plans without due regard if God is also pleased as we pursue these things in our lives. As we pursue these things for ourselves, we realize deep inside our hearts that there is always something missing. We also realize that it is tiring to live for one’s self. We are not meant to live for ourselves. Our selves will always fail us. Our selves will just want more and more and more of what we pursue. It’s a never-ending vicious cycle of wanting more and being empty in the process.

We are meant to live for Someone bigger than ourselves. We are meant to live for the One who created us; the One who made us for his purpose and design; the One who wants to use us for His glory, our joy, and the good of others. It’s tiring to live for ourselves because we will always be dissatisfied as we seek our self-centered aspirations in life. Only God can satisfy our souls. Desiring God is the only means through which our insatiable desires can be met because He alone is endlessly satisfying. Only the cause of God to save sinners through the preaching of the gospel through us is the greatest cause we could ever live for.

We are not our own. So let us stop living for ourselves. We are not our own because we are bought with the precious blood of Christ. (1 Cor. 6:20) So let us live for God; our rightful Owner; our righteous Master; our all-wise Creator. And as we joyfully live for Him and sacrificially live for others, we know deep inside our hearts that there is where our utmost joy can be found. We are not meant to be the center of the universe. God created the universe to be so staggeringly vast and created us to be like specks of dust in comparison to speak about one thing: that God is truly the Center of everything and that we are not. Let us surrender our lives for Him and His great cause for it to truly matter, knowing that everything done not in accordance with the glory of God will just be put to waste.

Expecting Brokenness

The world is obviously broken. The world does not function in a predictable manner. Earthquakes and storms have killed thousands of people. Hearing and watching the news, observing our circumstances, and listening to the experiences of others will make us arrive at the obvious conclusion that the world is broken. The creation that God has declared to be good in Genesis 1 has been damaged by sin.

And we know deep inside of our hearts that it is not just the world that is broken, we also are broken. We could not live this life without experiencing sickness, deformities, and incapacities in us and the people around us. People are dying every day. Death is the ultimate consequence and universal proof that our bodies have been damaged by sin.

That is why, we should expect brokenness in our lives and the lives of others around us. We should not be shocked and stressed out when brokenness surfaces because it is to be expected from the world and the self that is broken and tainted by sin. And when we ground our expectations and perceptions with this reality, brokenness becomes a little bit bearable because we have accepted the truth.

But God is just so loving, gracious, and merciful because He did not just leave us and this world in a never-ending state of brokenness resulting in horrible suffering in this life and eternity. God sent his Son to rescue us and the world from brokenness. Christ lived, died, resurrected, and ascended to save His people from their brokenness and their horrific destiny. The Holy Spirit applies the saving work of Christ in our hearts when we hear the good news of what Christ did to sinful people. God grants us the grace to repent and have faith in Jesus. We become new creatures in Christ through faith. (1 Cor. 5:17) Indeed, there is still available hope in this broken world through Christ. God is in the process of ridding ourselves of all brokenness that we have until it is fully gone when we will be in His presence and see Him face to face.

And it is not just us that God is transforming, “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Rom. 8:22) will also be transformed to our long-awaited dwelling place: a new heaven and a new earth. (Rev. 21)

In this ever-joyful state of glory, the brokenness we have experienced in this world are light and momentary as compared to what God has prepared for us. Let us wait with joyful longing the time when we will have our glorified bodies to be with the Lord of glory in a glorified place. This is the time when we joyfully experience God and everything that God has created in all its fullness. Sin will be no more. Brokenness will be no more. Pain will be no more. Because “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)

Wasted Time is Wasted Life

The length of our existence is determined by the length of our time. From the moment we are born to the moment of our death, the time we have in between is numbered. That is why we should make the most of our time knowing that wasted time is a wasted life.

Our lives are too short to be wasted in trivialities and nonsensicalities. Let us fight for the proper use of our time knowing that wasted time will just burn in the judgment day. Christ has loved us with an everlasting love. He showed it on the cross when he suffered and died on our behalf. He purchased us with his precious blood. We are not our own. We are now his. As his treasured possession, He watches us with a jealous love, not wanting us to devote ourselves to broken cisterns that could not hold water. He wants us to time and time again be quenched from our spiritual thirst by drinking in His fountain. Truly, nothing in this world could ever satisfy. Only Christ, our living Water, could end our soul’s spiritual dryness.

Since we are his treasured possessions, all that we have actually belong to Him. And that includes our time. We are too stewards not owners. And as responsible stewards, we are to make sure that we do not waste the time that God has given us.

Let us cultivate eternal mindsets; doing things in light of eternity for the glory of God. Let us invest what we do with our time with the purpose of laying treasures in heaven. Knowing that at the end of our lives, all that we do for the Lord are the things that would truly matter and last for eternity. Our lives are merely dots in light of the never-ending straight line of eternity. Let us use our time wisely knowing that wasted time is a wasted life.

As Each Day Passes By

As each day passes by, I become increasingly aware of how sinful I am and how I am deeply loved by my Savior. Every day is an opportunity to attest to how broken I am. There are things that I ought to do that I do not do. There are things that I do that I ought not to do. Every day, I fail my Savior, so every day, I gaze upon what He did on behalf of me on the tree. He suffered and died for my sins to free me from its penalty. He lived for me to clothe me with the righteousness that I desperately need. I receive this wonderful gift of salvation by turning away from sin and trusting in Christ. By grace, I turn away from my sins and continually trust in Him every day because I need to be desperately reminded of who Christ is and what He has done.

As each day passes by, I become increasingly aware of how I need Him. Apart from Him, I am a hopeless sinner headed to eternal damnation. Because of what He did, I am rescued from my misery and I am now ushered to joy through His presence in me. I stood condemned but through Him, I stand righteous. Because of Him alone and not in anything owing to me.

As each day passes by, I become increasingly aware that I could never be sufficient. I will always be dependent on grace. Thoughts that make me want to rely on myself and make me want to be confident in myself should be put to death because God alone is my source of strength and confidence. He supplies every grace that I need. I should be happy knowing that I have a dependable Father and He will leave always take care of me.

As each day passes by, I become increasingly aware of how sin so easily creeps into my heart; that sin is so deceitful that is why I should be vigilant. I am at war every day. I am a soldier and God has blessed me with armor and a weapon to stand still and resist the enemy. There is no time to be lax because the enemy is like a lion always seeking someone to devour.

As each day passes by, I become increasingly aware that God is the giver of every good thing and that I should live in gratitude to Him. I will always be a receiver of His wonderful gifts. I have nothing to boast about because I receive the things that I have because He is merciful, loving, and gracious.

As each day passes by, I become smaller and smaller and God becomes bigger and bigger. And that is how the ways things should be because every thing revolves around God’s glory and not on me. He alone should receive the spotlight and I should happily point people to Him because in Him is true life that lasts for eternity.

Our Hearts are Yours

Our hearts are naturally prone to wander and run after broken cisterns that could hold no water than rest our soul’s thirst in the Fountain of Living Water. Apart from the saving grace of God, our hearts are captives of sin. Sin rules and governs our lives. But through His regenerating power, our hearts are transformed and made new. We now have the divine enablement to allow the Holy Spirit to rule and govern our lives because it has now been his dwelling place.

Our sinful flesh and the Holy Spirit are in a constant battle of tug-of-war. Praise God that we are given the opportunity to participate in our sanctification. We could either give our hearts to sin or the Holy Spirit; give our wills to the rule of sin or the rule of the Holy Spirit; give our bodies to unrighteousness or holiness.

At times of wandering, let us remember Christ who bought us with a cost; He set us free with His precious blood. Let us remember the One who is alone worthy of hearts because He showed His love towards us by dying for our sins on the cross. And as we remember the love of Christ and what He did to have His bride, let us altogether say, “Our hearts are yours.”

Remind Yourself Daily of Grace

Grace is a word we often forget because it is not natural to us. What’s natural for us is to work for something to earn it; to receive something because we think that we deserve it. That is why grace is a life-changing concept because it says we have received something we do not deserve. When we come to think of it, isn’t that life all about? We are always on the receiving end and we are forever undeserving of the things we receive.

We should be reminded daily that all of life is owing to grace. This is crucial because true power is accepting that we are weak and utterly dependent on the grace of God. Through humble dependence on God, He works his strength in our weakness.

“What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (1 Cor. 4:7-8) We are always on the receiving end. God is always the Giver. We are always the receivers. God bestows upon us unearned free grace. We have nothing to boast because everything is from God. Everything is grace.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (Jas. 1:17) Every gift is from God. All is grace, dear brethren. It should humble us and relinquish self-reliance in ourselves. We are always at the mercy of God. Let us beg for His mercy and grace knowing that our breath, our life, our being, and our motion all come from Him.

There are thousands of ways to be thankful for God because everything we have comes from Him. May He be glorified in everything we have knowing that He is the source and end of all things. (Rom. 11:36) Let us remind ourselves daily of the grace that easily slips from our minds lest we become prideful and self-sufficient. Let us always strive for that sincere awareness that we are always insufficient and that God alone makes us sufficient through the grace He richly supplies us. (2. Cor. 3:4-6)

When Cynicism Sets In

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cynical means to be “contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives”. I struggle a lot with cynicism. I am distrustful of people. I tried reflecting on what caused it and I could not pinpoint a single reason that contributed to my cynicism. Various reasons have worked together for me to be a cynical person.

One reason is I get disappointed when people have failed me. I tend to be cynical when my expectations are unmet. I think this is partly my fault because I should not put expectations on people who are bound to fail. Another reason is that there are so many stories of betrayal in this broken world, I could not help to think that it could happen to me as well. We are sinners so our natural tendency is to betray the trust of others rather than to gain their trust. I for once have also experienced betrayal so there are times that I think that cynicism is the way to keep from being betrayed because I already expect the worst from people. Another reason is that I struggle with pessimism. I tend to think the worst of the situation almost always. I think that pessimism also contributed to my cynicism because I think both are interrelated.

I believe that I am not just the one who is struggling with cynicism because it could be a natural response to this broken world that is filled with broken people who are bound to disappoint us. What do we do now when cynicism sets in?

This is a daily struggle for me so it helps when I remind myself daily that my heavenly Father does not commit any mistakes when He allows to enter people in my life. What my God requires of me is to love people and not to resort to cynicism. And “love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor. 13:7) Love believes all things means that we are to be believers rather than cynics especially when there is no sufficient grounds to warrant distrust after thoughtful and careful consideration of a person. This is a daily dosage of truth that we should remind ourselves of.

Another helpful reminder is to remind ourselves with Psalm 27 particularly verses 13 and 14 which says: “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” The Lord is always good despite sinful people including me and you. Hence, we ought to be strong and have courageous hearts because our true hope is fixed in the Lord and not in others. Despite the evil in this world that warrants our cynicism, the Lord has still shown us His goodness. The sun, rain, food, shelter, clothing, oxygen, family, friends, and the like speak that God has not forsaken us. He is still not complete in his work in us. He is in the process of making things new until all things are fully made new in the new heavens and the new earth.

Meditating upon the providence of the Lord helps as well. Always remember that all events including all the hurtful acts of people made against us will be used by God for our good. (Rom. 8:28) What comfort it is that our God is in control over every choice and all kinds of people? What comfort it is that no one can thwart His purposes? The God who owns the universe is also our Father who governs and directs all things for His glory and our good. Cynicism is not a proper response to the God who is bigger than all problems. Let us ask the Lord to increase our faith in Him regardless of the bad circumstances that befall on us.

Let us remember as well that we are also sinners who are bound to disappoint others and break their trust. We are not worthy of trust as well because we are broken people. We are a work in progress just like everybody else. We are in need of constant transforming grace. That is why, we should “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”(Luke 6:36) Let us also “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt. 7:12) Cynicism to others breeds more distrust in our relationships. When others feel that they are not trusted, they might not trust us well. In some sense, it is somehow true that cynicism is like a mirror. But Jesus exhorts us that if we want others to trust us then we should trust them as well. Let us be reminded of the wonderful example of Jesus towards Judas. Jesus loved Judas until the very end even though Judas betrayed him.

When Circumstances Overwhelm You

There are times in my life that circumstances overwhelm. In these overwhelming moments, I panic, become anxious, and overthink. Deadlines at work, problems at home, pressures due from unmet goals, sickness, suffering, pain, broken relationships, and loss of a loved one might overwhelm us. Unwanted circumstances might burden us to despair, fear, sadness, and anxiety.

So, what do we do when circumstances overwhelm us?

The apostle Paul also found himself in an overwhelming circumstance. He was put in prison while he wrote Philippians. But amazingly, he still encouraged the readers of his letter to “rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” When we focus on overwhelming circumstances, we lose our joy. But when we focus on the Lord who is in complete control over our overwhelming circumstances, our hearts will be at peace. The object of Paul’s joy does not depend on the volatility and unpredictability of circumstances but his joy depends on the stability and trustworthiness of His Savior.

Brethren, this should be the case for us as well. Our God keeps us and holds us in the palm of His hand. No overwhelming circumstance can snatch us away from Him and that alone matters. He makes no mistake in allowing overwhelming circumstances to happen to us. As a matter of fact, He uses these things as tools to refine us to be more like Jesus Christ. He uses all things for our good. (Rom. 8:28) How comforting that truth is.

Let us surrender our burdens to God because we are not designed to bear the crushing weight of our burdens. Only God can do that. And He will bear our burdens and cares because He deeply cares for us. (1 Pet. 5:7) Let us cry out our pain and sorrows to God knowing He is near to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. (Psa. 34:18-19) Let us seek the peace that surpasses the understanding that God gives to those who cast all things before His throne of grace in prayer and supplication. (Phil. 4:6-7)

God does not promise a storm-free life. Rough and overwhelming storms that want to make us sink are to be expected from this sin-stained and broken world with broken people in it. Nevertheless, He promises a storm-free heart through the peace that He will give us because He is our sovereign God in complete control of whatever storms might befall us. By His almighty power, He can calm the storms. How much more are our hearts?

When Satan Accuses You

“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Romans 8:33)

Satan is the accuser of the brethren. (Rev. 12:10-12) Satan uses our failures, sins, flaws, and weaknesses to tempt us to wallow in self-pity, shame, embarrassment, guilt, despair, hopelessness, and uselessness to disable and immobilize us from the work of the ministry. People who are part of the kingdom of darkness could also be used by the king of darkness in his evil schemes. We receive insults from others. We get hurt by the words and actions of others.

But you know what? The world around us and satan might accuse us but it will never change the standing that we have before God. That is why the apostle Paul asked the rhetorical question in Rom. 8:33, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” No one. Not even satan. He is already a defeated foe. All the accusations, insults, and schemes to tempt us to despair are useless. All the charges that could be brought against us are useless even though the charges are true. Why? Because God has already cancelled the record of debt that stood against us when Christ nailed our debt to the cross. (Col. 2:14) The charges that make us guilty before God were owned by Christ on our behalf. He paid our fine to set us free from sin’s penalty.

God is fully aware of all the charges that could be raised against us. However, the good news is, that the righteous Judge who alone has the right to condemn us as guilty has justified us. What an amazing reality that is! That we are declared righteous in the sight of God because we are covered by the perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ. Christ’s righteousness is a gift from God that becomes ours through faith alone in Him. He suffered and paid for the consequences of our charges so that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1) There is no room for wrath because Christ satisfied the wrath of God on the cross. All there is for us is love.

Brethren, when satan accuses you, let us be reminded of the words of the hymn writer:

excerpt from Before the Throne of God Above

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within.
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the Just is satisfied,
To look on Him and pardon me.
To look on Him and pardon me.

Brethren, when satan tempts us to despair with all the charges because of our guilt, remember that Christ died for that charge to free us from it. No more guilt. No more shame. Because Christ took it all. The shame and the guilt ended on the cross of Calvary. Let us not look down in despair because there is a wonderful reason to look up and see that our Loving Savior is there.

Debtors of Grace Forever

We are debtors of grace forever even at times that we are unconscious that the grace of God is operating in our lives; enabling us, transforming us, sustaining us, forgiving us, and strengthening us.

It is the common grace of God that makes the sun shines, rain falls, and oxygen flows to the believer and the nonbeliever alike. (Matt. 5:45-47) Apart from the sustaining grace of God, every thing in the world will fall apart. The planets, moons, stars, and the sun will move out of their proper places and then collide with each other resulting to chaos, disaster, and calamity.

Apart from the grace of God, we can never move one inch of our bodies. We could never exercise our mental faculties and physical capabilities because “in him we live and move and have our being”. (Acts 17:28)

By His grace, there’s life.

By His grace, there’s motion.

By His grace, there’s existence.

Salvation is all by the grace of God. (Eph. 2:8-9) Grace has worked all the way from the time of repentance from our sins and trust in Christ as our Lord and Savior to our moment-by-moment effort to pursue sanctification to the second-by-second preservation until the moment we die. It is all by grace.

It is by grace that God chose us before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4) It is by grace that we are loved beforehand by God. It is by grace that we are predestined to be Christlike. It is by grace that we are effectually called unto salvation and justified through faith in Christ until our glorification. (Rom. 8:29-30)

Everything is undeserved. Everything is unmerited.

We can do the things that we do for God because of the strength that God supplies so that in everything we do, God alone would be glorified. (1 Pet. 4:11) The effort that we expend to be transformed in the image of Christ is empowered by the gracious God who is “at work in us, both to will and to work, for His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:13) We willed and worked because He graciously willed and worked through us. Apart from the grace of God that wills and works in us, we can never accomplish anything.

We will be debtors of grace forever. From childbirth to death, grace has worked in us in wonderful and amazing ways. Our debt towards grace increases every second of our lives until eternity. We will forever be indebted to God. That is why we will be forever grateful for the grace that sustains us, saves us, sanctifies us, empowers us, preserves us, and that will glorify us. Grace should crush our pride, humble us, and cause us to praise the glory of His grace. Indeed, “for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

All praises belong to our gracious God that we are debtors of grace forever.