What rules your heart?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:3)

In the Old Testament, the heart is not referred to as a physical organ. It is referred to as the core of our being that determines our actions. That is why it is crucial to be vigilant to keep our hearts for God so that what flows out of it is God-glorifying and others-edifying.

If our hearts are ruled by a desire to be rich then we give more time for work, finding part-time jobs to earn more income, and viewing the relationships that we have as potential opportunities to make more money. If our hearts are ruled by praise of men then we change what we say and do to suit the ears and taste of others to gain their approval. If our hearts are ruled by envy, then we become bitter of what others have and become ungrateful for what we do have. If our hearts are ruled by knowledge then efforts are expended to increase one’s knowledge.

The actions of the people around us really speak to what’s happening inside of their hearts. There are times that what rules the hearts of others are obviously seen in the way they live there lives. There are times, too, that it is subtle. The point is not to try to discern what rules their hearts because we are not like God, who perfectly knows all things, including the deepest desires of our hearts. The point is for us to check whether our hearts are ruled by a desire to live for God’s glory or something else.

Also, before we came to Christ in faith, we had hearts of stone that were ruled by sin. There was nothing in us to initiate change because we did not have the power to do so. We need to be changed from the outside by the One who alone could change hearts of stone to hearts that beat for Him. God does this through the good news of Jesus Christ, who came into this world to rescue us from the penalty of our sins through His death on the cross.

Indeed, true and lasting change is anchored on our great Redeemer. Let us be all the more motivated to lead people to Jesus knowing that He alone is our only Hope for salvation and transformation. Truly, Christianity is not merely about following a set of rules to modify one’s behavior. It is about radical heart transformation through the grace of God alone. By His grace, He grants repentance and faith to those who would surrender their hearts to Him.

May Jesus be the Ruler of our hearts because He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is worthy of our submission. May we daily confess our sins for allowing anything or anyone to rule our hearts. May we humbly ask God to rule our hearts as we do things for His glory and the good of others.

When I panic

There are times when I panic. I get so anxious about the future, thinking that it won’t turn out well for me. There are times that because of the panic that is caused by the anxiety that I experience, my soul becomes troubled and I shake mildly. Others experience this in a greater degree; their hands would really shake heavily, and they would really fight not to gasp the next breath. There are times that I mildly gasp for the next breath but it’s just rare. As I internalize what’s happening in my mind for me to have those physical manifestations, I realize that I am thinking too much of the future negatively. I am trying to fight off against my unhealthy pessimism. I always think of the worst that will happen instead of just surrendering everything in the hands of my Father who greatly cares for me.

Overly thinking about the future is bad because in these moments, I try to replace God’s role in my life. God alone perfectly knows what the future holds. No matter how much I think of it, there’s a staggering possibility that what I think about won’t happen. And God gives me countless situations to prove me wrong. There are so many times that what I think about does not happen. Every time I am proven wrong, I get humbled because, truly, things of the future belong to God alone. It’s not my business to try to determine the future by overthinking about it.

The worst part of this is that I assume the worst that could happen. This really cripples me because of the hesitance and fear that is brought about in my heart by my pessimism. In these times, I remind myself that I am a flawed, limited, and fallible human being. That God alone is flawless, limitless, and infallible. Therefore, I should humbly depend on Him and surrender all my cares and concerns knowing that He is my heavenly Father who has always my good in His mind.

In times of doubt, I try to ask for God to increase my faith in Him. Praying to God to: “Help me to trust You more, Father.” All of us are works in progress with regard to our faith. And more experience with God caused by more time spent with Him makes us aware that He really looks after us. Since, God is our Protector, Provider, and Guide, we can trust on Him that whatever happens in our lives would be used for His glory and our good. So, when you and I panic, let us come to the One who holds everything in the palm of His hands.

Where do we run to?

Where do we run to when troubles arise? Do we try to navigate our problems using our own wisdom and strength? Who is the first person who comes into our minds whenever distress falls upon us? Is God truly our Help at times of trouble? Or is God our last Resort when all else fails?

Maybe, we run to people, thinking that their presence and love could save us from our misery. In a sense, we functionally make them our personal savior. But, sooner or later, we realize that they can not bear the weight of our deepest longings. Only Jesus can satisfy our soul’s hunger and thirst.

Maybe, we try to escape our problems by numbing ourselves with entertainment. Playing games. Watching movie after movie. Scrolling social media to forget our troubles. But, sooner or later, we realize that it’s inevitable that we will still face our problems because it really never go away. Amazingly, God is sovereign over our problems. He is our true and secure Refuge. Even though, we do not have the guarantee that our problems will go away, we have the heart-steadying assurance that God is with us and He grants peace to those whose minds are fixed on Him.

Maybe, we try to seek food or sex because it could temporarily fight off pain with the pleasure it brings. Sadly, we know it could never satisfy the eternal ache that hearts are longing. These things temporarily bring pleasure, but after that, we are left empty again. Wonderfully, Christ is the Bread of Life who promises everlasting fullness to those who receive of Him.

Maybe, we rely on ourselves, thinking that our wisdom, gifts, and resources are sufficient to rid all the problems we are facing. But, sooner or later, we are faced with something that is beyond what we have. Praise God that these things happen for us to renounce confidence in ourselves and run to God who is sufficient to help us in times of need.

In every bad thing that is happening to us, let us make God our first Refuge and not our last Resort. He is in control over every trouble, problem, distress, and pain. His presence is the true comfort that we need. His power is the true enablement we desperately lack. He alone could powerfully deliver, protect, and lead us because He is our Salvation, Stronghold, and Shepherd. May we run to God and God alone. He is the true Refuge of those whose citizenship is in heaven yet who are pilgrims here on earth.

Focus on the things you really ought to do

There are so many things in this life that I want to do but I know that I do not have enough time to prioritize all the things I want. I should just choose a few tasks and invest my life in it.

As followers of Christ, our main task is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who will also make disciples of Christ. (Matt. 28:18-20) This should be the main thing in our lives because this is what Christ has sent for us to do. This is the Master’s command. On our end, evangelism and discipleship should be a lifestyle to us and not just a weekly thing. At home, work, and in our free time, we should use every sphere in our lives as opportunities to usher people to Christ and teach others to follow Christ by our lips and also by our lives.

I do not mean to say that leisure is wrong or that hobbies should be given up. What I am trying to say is that we could redefine our leisure and hobbies to suit what we are called to do in life. Even though our gifts, abilities, and desires allow us to work differently, the end goal for these things is still the same: the glory of God. We are called to make God known through our lips and our lives.

Since, our lives calling is to show Christ not just by our lips but also our lives. There are things that we ought not to do because it gives reproach to our witness. There are movies that we should not watch. There are places that we should not go to. There are activities that we shouldn’t do. Avoiding these things are necessary for us to pursue God’s call in our lives. Nevertheless, there are so many legitimate things that we could do for the glory of God.

So, let us grow in wisdom as we saturate our hearts with God’s word so that we would know the things that we ought to do for His glory and the good of others.

When I am at a loss for words

There are days when I do not know what to write about. There are times when I think that I have written so much about a particular topic already or that the topics that I have written are so interrelated that I need to think of other new things to write about. When these thoughts come in my mind, I should remind myself that God is my ultimate Audience in my writing and His glory should be my motivation in my writing.

What amazes me is when I start to write, thoughts flow in my mind. There are people who say that writing helps them think better. That is the case that is applicable for me as well. So, when I am at a loss for words, I just continue to write, praying that God will help me in this task which I offer to Him.

Reading also helps. Reading articles, books, and especially God’s word. There are always things that will strike my heart in my reading. There are always things that will make me praise God, will burden my heart, and will give me insight and wisdom. In light of that, I could use what I read for the things that I will write about in the future. So, let us read, not for the sake of knowledge, but for us to know God more and love others better. Let us fill our hearts with good things so that we will have something to share with others. In my case, my reading fuels my writing.

When I am at a loss for words, observing the world and listening from the people around me really helps. Knowing the struggles of others make me want to address those struggles in writing. This is a helpful practice so that I would already have a working knowledge of what to say if there’s an opportunity for me to counsel a person. I have noticed that the writers that I have read are really observant. They have honed this skill and integrated it into their writing. I also want to do the same so that my writing would be more experiential rather than theoretical. After all, writing that is grounded on life’s experience makes it relatable to the readers.

Most importantly, let us beg God for words and thoughts. He is our Giver and Enabler. We write because He empowers us to write. May we acknowledge our inadequacy before God knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing. And let us ask for His grace, to help us think and write in a manner pleasing to Him for His glory and the good of others.

Unbreakable Link of Salvation

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

This is the passage where the unbreakable link of salvation, or the golden chain of salvation, is found. It’s a comfort to know that God holds everything in our salvation – the beginning, the end, and everything in between. That is why this passage is worth memorizing and worth daily remembering because it points us to our great God who saved us. Kindly join me as I meditate upon God’s amazing grace when He foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified us.

The first word to be mentioned in the unbreakable link is “foreknew”. The knowledge of God that is talked about here is not just God’s prior knowledge, meaning that God knows all things that will happen before it happens. It’s deeper than that. The level of knowledge used here is deeper than intellectual head knowledge, it is knowledge in an intimate sense. A knowledge that goes deeper than the intellect and has one’s loving affection. Just as it is used in other verses like in this passage: “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain” (Gen. 4:1). This level of knowing is used to describe the consummation of a couple’s love and then the conception of the miracle of child-bearing. And God, our Husband, fully knows us deeply and intimately, that it is better to use “foreloved” instead of “foreknew”. Indeed, it is sweeter to know that before the foundation of the world, God chose to set His heart upon us.

The heartbeat of our salvation is grounded upon God’s love for us. A love that transcends time because it is given before time began. And this same eternal love has set our destiny toward Christlikeness as mentioned in this passage: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”. His eternal love governed our wonderful destiny: conformity to Christ. God, by His love, decided beforehand what will take place in the end for us. He wants to save us through Christ, for Christ, and to Christ. That is why our life’s ultimate end is Christlikeness because it is the only way that we would be a pleasing offering for our Savior, that our lives point to Him because our image reflects His image. Even though we could never fully reflect Christ in our sanctification, we will fully reflect Him in our glorification because sin will be no more. He is our Firstborn, and we have eternity to perfectly follow hard after Him to image His image.

But the problem is, we were dead in our sins. (Eph. 2:1) We have no power to pursue Christlikeness because the Holy Spirit, our Sanctifier and Enabler, only dwells in us after receiving and trusting the truth of the gospel. (Eph. 1:13) That is why, calling, the third sequence in the unbreakable link, is essential. It is found in this passage: “And those whom he predestined he also called“. God loved us eternally but starts the work of salvation in our souls by means of calling us to Himself through the preaching of the gospel. Apart from Christ, we were dead in our sins. (Eph. 2:1) Through the hearing of the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16), we were made alive. God revives people from their spiritual death through the life-giving work of the gospel by means of His life-giving Spirit. Just as Christ, cried out and said to dead Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth.” (Jn. 11:43), and Lazarus gained physical life out of his physical death. So, God imparts to us spiritual life, through the trumpet call of the gospel, for us to be made alive from our spiritual death. This is the effectual calling of God. Effectual in the sense that God really brought us to spiritual life just as Lazarus was brought up to physical life.

After we are brought to spiritual life, we come to faith in Christ and are justified. That is why calling precedes justification, as we can see in this passage: “and those whom he called he also justified”. Apart from the grace of God, we are dead in our sins. We are incapable of responding to the things of God because a dead man cannot do anything. A dead man cannot see the beauty of Christ. Present all the sumptuous foods to a dead man, he will still not respond because he has no life in him that empowers him to see, delight, and eat the foods placed before him. Hence, God’s calling us from the dead to spiritual life is a necessary requirement before we would ever come to Him by faith and consequently be justified in Christ. Through God’s work in our souls by means of effectual calling, we now have the capacity to see, delight, and take hold of our irresistible Savior. In this act of holding Christ with the arms of faith, we are justified. Through faith in Christ, God clothes us with His spotless robe of righteousness. We now stand faultless and blameless in the sight of God, because we are covered by the perfection of Jesus. The wonderful gift of righteousness of Christ is ours by faith. And on that basis alone, we are declared righteous, not guilty, in the sight of our perfect Judge. This is the beauty of justification that our verdict is righteous instead of guilty because the righteousness of Christ is given into our spiritually bankrupt account. Let us marvel at the justifying work of our Savior. He died for our sins’ penalty, He lived for our righteousness, and He rose to secure our justification. We cling to Christ alone.

From being foreknown, to being predestined, to being called, to being justified, to being glorified as stated in this passage: “those whom he justified he also glorified.” God will lose no one whom He set His love upon. He will lead us unto the end. The fact that glorified is written by the apostle Paul in the past tense means that our glorification is so sure to happen that is like a thing of the past. That is how they write it in that context. If someone is so sure of a future event to happen, they convey that assurance by rendering the verb in its past tense. Our God is indeed faithful in finishing what He started. He has loved us from the beginning until the very end. What an amazing love! In our glorification, sin will be no more. And we will see our God face to face.

As we meditate on this unbreakable link, our assurance in God grows stronger. Truly, nothing and no one can ever break this link because it is God who authors and accomplishes it all together. As you can notice, each sequence in this unbreakable link, are all acts of God. Indeed, this is what gives us assurance, that it is God who authored our salvation. And He is not just the Author, He is also the Accomplisher, the Sustainer, and the Finisher. With that, let us give back all the glory due to Him for indeed from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. (Rom. 11:36)

When we have wasted so much time

I always regret the time that I have misspent. I always regret the valuable tasks I could do that are foregone because I chose other tasks to do. Unfortunately, there was a season in my life when the task that I chose to invest my time in did not have an eternal value, if not a waste of time. There was a season in my life when I played a game that costed me so much of time.

As I look back and reflect, I could have used that time to do valuable tasks such as reading. I checked the number of hours I wasted, which was roughly 3,500 hours. If I could finish one book in 30 hours then I would have lost, approximately 116 books, because of my unwise use of time.

Every time I think of the things that I forgone because of an unwise decision that I made, I cringe in shame because I know that those wasted hours could never be recovered. Nevertheless, as I move forward with my life, I am more adamant about using time wisely the remaining hours that I have in the life God has given me.

What do we do then when we have wasted so much time?

We remind ourselves of the awesome providence of God. God, in His providence, governs everything that are happening in our lives. We are not strong enough to thwart God’s purpose in our lives by means of our mistakes, foolishness, and sins. God directs our lives by even using our mistakes to accomplish His plan. Even though, we are still responsible for all those bad choices, it’s comforting to know that our God is in control over all things. And He could use even our bad choices for His glory and our good.

We should also always go back to our Suffering Savior knowing that our misuse of time was fully paid for on the cross of Christ. Our sinfulness should deepen our love for the One who suffered and died for us. If we do not remind ourselves of what Christ did to pay for our sins and give us the righteousness that God requires then we will just wallow in shame and guilt. Praise be to God that there is now no condemnation in Christ. (Rom. 8:1)

We also remind ourselves that our short little lives are not all we have. Through faith in Christ, eternity is ours. Looking back to the time that I have wasted fills me with regret but looking forward to the promised eternity gives me hope. We have eternity to perfectly and fully commune with God. We won’t have to worry that we could waste any amount of time because sin wouldn’t be there to make us foolish and unwise decisions. All of our time will be perfectly spent for the glory of God who rightfully owns everything even our time. Since, He is the God of eternity and even our tomorrows, we move on with our lives full of hope.

When we try to outweigh the bad

Are there times in your life when you try to outweigh the bad things you have done by the good things that you will do in the future? You are not alone. There are times in my life when I am in that state too. I usually observe this happen every time I misspent time. I try to outweigh or offset hours idly spent watching movies by trying to be diligent in my studies and my reading so as to make the most use of my time.

I do not mean to say that we should not spend any time for leisure because it is also a gift from God. What I am trying to say is that I idly use my leisure time without any self-restraint. Every time I misspent time, I always get convicted because my time is not really my time, it is a gift from God, and He will hold me accountable with the way I have used it and maximized it for His glory and the good of others. That is why, there are times when I find myself, trying to be productive because of misspent time.

It might be different with you. It might be anger, irritation, and impatience towards others. You might try to be kinder to others to outweigh bad feelings towards them. Or it could be passivity to what God is calling you to do. You might try to be more active for a season of time to outweigh the season of passivity in your life. The point is that all of us are not exempted from having that motivation of doing good so as to outweigh the bad.

Every time we are caught in this trap, let us pause and ponder of the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ. There is no need to outweigh or offset the bad things we have committed with the good things because we are not to be judged as though we are on a scale. Our bad deeds on the left side and our good deeds on the right. And if the good outweighs the bad then God will accept us. That is not how God accepts people. God’s standard is perfect. (Matt. 5:48) No matter how hard we try to outweigh the bad, the bad will always be there to render us guilty for punishment. And no matter how hard we try to be good, we could never attain the perfection that God requires. That is why, Christ is our only Hope. He suffered and died to pay the penalty of the sinful things we have done. And He lived a perfect life to attain the standard God has set for us to give us the righteousness that God alone accepts. Through self-abandoning trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ alone could we be forgiven and granted eternal life. (John 3:16)

So, let us cling to the gospel of Christ, our only Hope. Let us be relieved and be grateful that we are not to be judged by our flawed performance but rather by the flawless performance of Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. (2 Cor. 5:21, Phil. 3:9) And as we try to do good things, let us offer it to God as a form of worship because our lives are to be rendered as living sacrifices because of the lavish grace He has showered upon us. (Rom. 12:1) Let us do good to please the One who died for us for His glory.

When we take God’s goodness for granted

There are times when we take God’s goodness in our lives for granted. There are moments when we do not appreciate the blessings we have received from God. Self-entitlement subtly creeps into our hearts and leads us to think that we deserve the good things we have. The delusion that we deserve good things, even though we are not clearly deserving because of our unworthiness towards God’s goodness, makes us think we are entitled to blessings. And since we think this way, we are hurt when things do not go according to our desires and plans.

What do we do when we take God’s goodness for granted?

We must remind ourselves that everything is grace, that all the things we have received from God are undeserved and unmerited. No matter how much effort we expend, we can never merit God’s favor toward us because we always fall short of God’s standards. Punishment is what we truly deserve. But God, out of His love toward us, has granted us saving grace through faith in Christ. Let us fix our eyes on Christ. Let us meditate on what He has done for us to be reminded of God’s goodness and our unworthiness every day of our lives.

We should labor to cultivate hearts attuned to grace by rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in all our circumstances. (1 Thess. 5:16-18) Let us always involve thanksgiving in our prayers because all things are grounds for rejoicing, because all things come from a good God, and God wants what’s good for us. Let us always start the day and end the day by thanking God all the blessings He has given us. Let us be on the lookout for the things we could thank God for. Let us always deflect the praise to God rather on ourselves by being grateful people who has really been touched and changed by omnipotent grace.

Let us also acknowledge our inadequacy daily and beg God for help knowing that apart from Him, we can do nothing. We rely on our wisdom, abilities, and resources whenever we do not acknowledge our inadequacy. When we do this, we think that the fruits of our labor are primary because of us. Let us cultivate in our hearts that we are merely tools of God’s grace. As tools for His work, our value is at His disposal. Let us daily surrender our lives to Him. He is the One who fills us up with strength for us to lay hold of the blessings He has prepared for us. And as tools of grace, let us always beg God for us to be used by His redeeming hands.

Be grateful for what is there

There are times in our lives when we do not appreciate the blessings God has given us because we focus on what is not there rather than what is there. We observe the lives of others and it would seem theirs are better than ours. We realize that they have some blessings that we do not have. We become blind to the fact that God has also blessed us in numerous ways if we just become grateful for what is there.

Truly, comparison robs us of the joy that we ought to experience if we are just to be grateful for the blessings we have received from God. Let us discipline our hearts to see God’s hands of favor in everything rather than to sulk over the things that God has not given us.

God sovereignly superintends by His hand of providence everything that is happening to our lives. There are so many blessings I ought to thank God for: from the moment He wakes me up until He lets me sleep, for the safety of going to work and coming back home, for the daily food for me and my family, for the shelter, for the clothing, and most of all for the wonderful gift of salvation that I have through Christ. God is working so many things in our lives, yet we are only aware of very few of them. So, let us develop hearts that are better aware of God’s kindness towards us by being more attuned to His works and ways in our lives.

And as I focus on being grateful for what is mine, the blessings of God become more valuable and the Blesser becomes more gracious. So, let us train our hearts to focus on what is there, knowing that God has richly provided all we need. Let us make it a habit to be intentional in saying a prayer of gratitude every day for the ways God has graciously blest us, especially the greatest blessing that we could have: eternal life through faith in Christ.