Surprise!

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. More than two thousand American soldiers were killed and it crippled the Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy. Why did one of the strongest fighters in the world suffer such a devastating defeat? Because it was a surprise attack. The Americans were not ready.

This is similar to the Devil’s work. Satan wants to catch you by surprise so that he may achieve similar devastating results. Satan will not present something ugly and bad and entice you to do things his way. He will present something seemingly good, seemingly harmless, seemingly beneficial to you. But in reality it may be something that is not good for our spiritual health. It will prevent us from good. It may take away our time with God, or it may hinder our spiritual growth, etc. He will lull you into complacency. You will fail to notice anything wrong and then when the hard problems come, you will be surprised at what hit you. Just like the U.S. army, you might take a long time to recover.

As soldiers of God’s army, we have to be prepared to respond to Satan’s attacks. How? Paul gave us many instructions in many of his letters. Example, in 1 Cor. 16: 13-14, he commands us to “Be on alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” Simply obey this and do your best for Christ.

Be on alert, be wary, be careful, be discerning of the seemingly “good” things. If not, you will only be distracted by temptations and be swayed by false teachings. Exercise spiritual discernment by being diligent in reading God’s Word. Evaluate all things in the light of the principles and truths that you find in the Bible. Stand firm in the faith. Fight against doubt. Fight against discouragement. Pray, pray and pray, always ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us everyday. Act like men, be mature. Do not remain spiritual babies. Grow up by feeding on God’s word. Be strong. Realize that you cannot be strong by your own effort. Yield your life to the Holy Spirit and He will strengthen you. Let all that you do be done in love – love for God, and love for His people. Our God is love, we should be love too.

Love

During Jesus time, there were two prominent Jewish groups. You have heard of them – the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the conservative middle class, highly educated and very legalistic. They believed all of the Old Testament and loved to debate (and show-off their knowledge) about the Laws.

Naturally, they could not resist testing Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And Jesus answered, “You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment” (Matthew 22:35-38)

Heart, Soul, and Mind – with every part of you, wholly, totally, completely, unreservedly.

God gave Himself to you in Jesus. Jesus loved you and He laid down His life for you on the cross. Having received that love, God wants you to love Him with your heart, soul, mind, and body; that is, with all of your passions, your eternal being, your emotions, your thoughts and reasoning, and all of your physical strength. God wants you to love Him with your whole being. By doing so, you express your love and gratitude; you return God’s love toward you in Jesus Christ.

To love God begins by being loved by God. We learn to love because God first loved us (I John 4:19). You will never love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength until you allow His love to cover and transform each of those areas of your life. Simply surrender in obedience to the Lord’s will.

This is often hard to do. We often want to be in control of our own lives. We depend on our strength to achieve. We want to do something big for God, or to accomplish something good for God. Often, we do these out of guilt, or fear, or duty. Only when we have experienced the unconditional love of God and understood the depth and width and immensity of it, can we respond in love to Him. Our worldly culture is based on performance and merits. Yet God sees your heart. God knows what is in your mind. God still loves you and wants you to love Him. Is there any other proper way to respond to this God except by loving Him and obeying Him with our whole being?

You Want to be Famous?

Just one month ago, the international TIME Magazine featured its much-awaited, annual list of the world’s most influential people – the TIME 100. The list includes leaders and revolutionaries such as the Dalai Lama, Russian, Chinese and American presidents. It also includes people they label as heroes and pioneers such as the double-leg amputee sprinter Oscar Pritorius and the last lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University Randy Pausch. Scientists and thinkers include Facebook developer Mark Zuckerberg, NASA Chief Michael Griffin. Taipans include Apple’s Steve Jobs, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezoz and Pepsico’s Indra Nooyi among many others.


After their 1 week of fame, (admittedly, some will have longer fame than others) where are the 100 people now? Do the TIME readers still remember them today?

There is nothing wrong with doing good things, thinking and trying many ways to change the world and make it a better place for everybody to live in. In fact, it is good to discover new medicines and new technology to give the sick and needy people cure and hope for a better future. It is good that the magazine acknowledges the achievements of these movers and thinkers; and make more people aware of the needs of the world.

BUT, (and there’s a big BUT here,) as Christians, we should have a higher purpose than what the world has (to do good works or to have momentary fame?) Our purpose is as unchanging as the rock on which our faith stands – that is to glorify God in our life.

To glorify God in the big things we do, whether we discovered a cure for a disease or landed a big account. To glorify God in the small things we do, like opening a car door and assisting an elderly up the stairs. To glorify God in the things we say, to uplift a depressed friend, to encourage a co-worker, a classmate. To glorify God in the way we live. Our lives should be shining testaments to God’s glory – that is our purpose. After all, our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Our hearts should be there as well.

The Model Father

God Almighty is your Heavenly Father, and He is the perfect example of what it means to be a dad. Looking at each of the letters that make up the word “father,” consider some of the characteristics that set Him apart and provide a model for our human dads.

F —Forgiveness is a huge part of your relationship with your Father. He is willing and able to forgive you of any sin you commit if you will only ask Him. It’s comforting to know that nothing you do is ever so bad that God won’t forgive you (Romans 8:38-39; 1 John 1:9).

A —He is active in your life all the time. God is always at work around you. Ask God to show you what He is doing. You will be amazed at all that is going on. More important, the invitation is open for you to get involved with Him. (John 5:17).

T —Time for you. While humans get too busy to do this or that, God always has time for you. Whenever you feel lonely, struggle with a problem, want to share a thought, or need to deal with a concern, He is there for you. (Jeremiah 33:3).

H —God knows your heart, and He loves you anyway. Proverbs tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things. Many people don’t like to be around you if you aren’t in a good mood or if you make mistakes. God wants to hang out with you anytime, and He alone is able to change your heart to be all you were created to be (1 John 4:9-10,19).

E —Everywhere sums up God’s place in your life. If you’re a Christian, there is nowhere you can go where He isn’t with you. Whether other people are there or not, God is by your side. (Romans 8:35-39).

R —Rest and Read. These are two areas where most people could use a little work. Rest is important to you because it’s easy to become so busy that you don’t take time with the Lord. He wants you to set aside daily time to rest in Him and to read His Word. The Bible is His letter to His children. The best way to get to know your Father is to spend quality time resting and reading all about Him in the Word (John 14:21; Psalm 46:10).

All these attributes of God’s character make Him who He is. If you have been blessed with an earthly dad who has a lot in common with our Heavenly Father, be grateful. If you have missed out on a relationship with an earthly dad, be thankful that God is there for you and wants to meet the needs in your life. Let God know how much He means to you. Happy Father’s Day!


Excerpted from: A New Twist on an Old Day. Rachel Lovegood. www.lifeway.com