A Spirit-Filled Life

One hard question is being posed during the 6am Men’s Bible Study last Friday. What are the practical ways which we as Christians can be living a spirit-filled life?

I believe all true Christians know the importance of living a spirit-filled life. A student of The Bible knows many verses which talks about the importance of living a spirit-filled life. One of which is these verses:

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of the sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6

But the question which slapped the men in the faces is HOW?

We see Paul himself struggling with sin in Romans 7:7-25. He concluded by saying, “So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” After which, he opened Romans 8 with “Therefore, there is now no condemnsation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”

Hebrews 12:4 tells us, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds us that “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

In my own personal struggle against sin, I do realize that many times when I sinned against God, I am at a crossroad. This means that I do have a choice to make at the point of either sinning or obeying God’s command. Sad to say, I often make the wrong choice.

In reading Hebrews 12:4, I know that indeed in my struggles against sin, I have never yet resisted to the point of shedding my blood. This literally means that I have not lost even a pint of blood so as to prevent myself from sinning against the God whom I love.

Therefore, I know that the practical ways of living a spirit-filled life is to be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit whom is in us from that day when I believe and place my faith in Jesus Christ, our LORD.

Living a spirit-filled life is definitely not restricted to simply not sinning against God. It however means to be living a life which glorifies God, acknowledging His Amazing Grace of offering His Salvation to us and reconciling us back to Him to a perfect relationship.

There is a choice to make to fear God and obey His commands at all costs. In our struggles against sin, we may be entangled in all kinds of sin for many years to come but ultimately, we want to be seeing progress in our fight against sin till the day Christ returns to give us a brand new glorified body in Him.

And this is the spiritual growth in our souls.

Amen.

Go WEST - Pet Shop Boys

Chee Can Cook, so can YOU!

A Sad News

This story reminds me of the days when I was training to compete in this sport which was about sixteen years ago. I am sadden by the occurence of this incident which has deeply dampen the spirit of this amazing sport back in my home country, Singapore.

I pray that may Jesus has mercy on his soul...

Believe Promise Obey Command

This is one liner which captured my mind during last Tuesday’s prayer meeting when we were studying on the topic of the LAW of the Bible. A short recap was done on the very 1^st law which God gave to us - the forbiddance to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

That is the very first law from God but we still failed to obey it.

Let us go back to the time where God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac in Genesis 22:

Abraham Tested

¹ Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

² Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"

"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

⁸ Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

¹² "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

¹⁵ The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."

¹⁹ Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

God commended Abraham for his great faith simply because Abraham believed in the promise and obeyed His command without a second thought. I truly need to learn from Abraham in this aspect.

My Self-Cooked Chicken Rice

Find Yourself - Brad Paisley

Who am I in Christ?

I am able. (John 15:5)

I am peaceful. (John 16:33)

I am saved. (Romans 6:23)

I am not condemned. (Romans 8:1)

I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37)

I am loved. (Romans 8:38-39)

I am unified with all believers. (Romans 12:5)

I am pure. (1 Corinthians 1:2)

I am spiritual alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22; John 1:4, 2 Timothy 1:1)

I am established. (2 Corinthians 1:21)

I am victorious. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

I am not blinded. (2 Corinthians 3:14)

I am new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I am free. (Galatians 2:4)

I am blessed. (Ephesians 1:3)

I am chosen. (Ephesians 1:4)

I am accepted. (Ephesians 1:6)

I am redeemed. (Ephesians 1:7)

I am God’s heir. (Ephesians 1:11)

I am secure. (Ephesians 1:13)

I am in position-ally seated with Christ in Heaven. (Ephesians 2:4-6)

I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)

I am close to God. (Ephesians 2:13)

I am given access to God. (Ephesians 3:11-12)

I am forgiven. (Colossians 1:13-14)

I am mature. (Colossians 1:28)

I am satisfied. (Colossians 2:9)

I am confident. (1 John 5:14)

I am preserved. (Jude 1)

Amish of Lancaster County, PA

Recently, had a chat with a fellow brother in Christ who is from Pennsylvania and learnt about the Amish community of Lancaster County, PA. Attached are some links for your reading interest on this group of people who lives traditional lives in order to get closer to the God of the bible.

Not exactly my stand in the faith of Christianity but it is good to know that there exists a community like them in our world today.

The Amish and the plain people: http://www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml

Amish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

Running with Mr. Gonzales in Provo