Dear Cell, last Friday, we shared about how to build up faith. This appears to be a straightforward subject. We all know that faith comes by hearing God’s words, internalizing and applying it. The Bible says faith without works is dead. Of course a lot of other virtues without works are equally dead. Try professing that you love someone without acting on those saccharine-coated words. Try confessing that you trust someone without entrusting him something that is precious to you like your money or your child. Well, all good promises without works are as good as empty, vacuous promises. So, faith without works displeases God just like love without action displeases your spouse. A workless faith dissipates off just like an action-less love dies off. An effective Christian knows that words alone cannot stand. In the end, we are all counted and recognized by our deeds and not by what we say we will do and not do.
Mark further added that faith increases through trial. James 1:2-4 is a good scripture in support. Trials are strange challengers to our faith like exercising. I realized that contrary to common conception, exercises do not increase or strengthen your muscles. Without proper rest and relaxation, exercises will hurt your muscles. We all know that it is painful to exercise when we huff and puff for that extra breath or when we feel the physical strain in our lungs and the tightening stretch in our limbs. But the reward of growth in our muscles only come when we rest and relax. This is the only time when our tore muscles and sinews get to repair itself. This repairing process is how your muscles get build up. So, without resting, you will literally exercise yourself to death. I know this is common sense but sometimes we need to remind ourselves that what is common can often be commonly overlooked. So it is with trials to our faith. None of us, as sincere Christians, can ever go on and on mired in our own trials. We cannot have a trial-fire mentality, always expecting or relishing any circumstances that challenge or stretch our faith muscles. This head-on clash with dire situation is a surefire way of extinguishing the flickering flame of our faith. We will never grow in faith if we do not stop and meditate on the meaning each of the trial in our life brings. Each trial either brings us closer to God or further away from Him.
Two kinds of faith determine whether we will grow in God or wither away. There is the memorizing faith and the internalizing faith. One is clearly a head assimilation of the word of God and the other is a heart-transformation. The mistake most Christians make about Bible reading and studying is that they treat it as a form of rote learning. We memorize scores of scriptures as if we were going to take an examination at the end of each semester. Of course, we cannot learn without doing some memorizing. But earnest Bible studying is more than just regurgitating scriptures like an assembly line churning out shoes. Bible study goes beyond educating ourselves in God’s words.
Eugene Peterson once wrote that we should eat the Bible. By this, he elaborated as such, “Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scriptures; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son.” Result-producing faith or fruits-bearing faith are visible actions that impact the world around us, influence the people we live with and change lives one soul at a time for His glory. This is where internalizing faith comes in. We need to be transformed completely in our minds and hearts by the word of God; or else, Bible reading will be no different from a public reading of the Harry Potter series. Do not come to the Bible demanding or expecting something from it. Although God’s words can meet our needs, and we can grow from it, there is in fact a greater need to be satisfied when we read the Bible. Let me explain.
We can approach the Bible as an encyclopedia or an information book. Basically we study the Bible to compress as much information or data as possible into our brain to broaden our intellectual base. This satisfies our intellectual urges. It does not however fulfill the fundamental need of nurturing our spiritual being. Another way we can approach the Bible is to study it to seek out truths to meet our most pressing need of the moment. We all have different needs. Some are looking for a perfect mate. Some are praying for their prodigal husband to return. Some wants to be blessed in their career. Some are hoping to end the pain that cancer inflicts on their loved one. These are legitimate needs and there are truths embedded in the Bible that can help us in meeting those needs. Or at least, impart strength and hope in our lives to brave through those trying times.
In some ways, meeting those urgent needs cause us to grow spiritually in the Lord. But there is a higher calling for us Christians when it comes to seeking the word of God. It starts with our motive and it goes beyond memorizing the scriptures to become more intellectual or seeking out truths to meet our needs. You will note that these are all about how we can profit from the Bible. Or how we can control the Bible and take charge of what we read.
To really get the most of the Bible is to come to it expecting nothing in return. It is to relinquish all control, all expectation and all desires of self-profit. Remember the Bible is not just a life map to get you from point A to point B; it is also a manual for transforming your life. Instead of taking charge of what we read, coming to the Bible with preconceived need to be satisfied, we surrender to the Scriptures and allow it to minister to us. We read the Bible asking ourselves, “What can God teach me today?” We make it an interactive, two-way dialogue; instead of a unilateral monologue – listing our needs, desires and wishes and expecting instant or eventual gratification. We must stop taking charge and start opening our hearts to the mentoring process of God’s spirit. Our attitude counts for everything. We must read with the earnest desire to change our life for God, to be more like Christ. I believe that God has many things to say to us. His teachings or instructions for change can come from a decisive scripture, from an affirming voice in our spirit or from an incisive parable we read. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 counsels, “Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have know the sacred writing that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good works.”
Richard Foster, in his book Life with God, instructs us to experience the scriptures by first listening, then reflecting, and praying and lastly obeying. Listening is the first step. Our reading can only take us so far. Our spirit is only truly ministered when we read a scripture and then keep quiet, remaining still, to listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit. We need to clear the mind of distracting thoughts. We need to refuse the need to rush. We need to spare the time and effort to wait upon the Lord. Only when this is done can we advance to reflecting. This is the same as meditating. This is where we get personal and internalize the scriptures. We make it our own and we apply it to our life uniquely and peculiarly. Richard Foster encourages us to let the word of God sink into our spirit by asking - How are you revealing yourself to me, Lord? What am I to see and understand in this border territory where my life merges with yours? This is what it means to say, “the deep calls out to the deep.” (Ps 42:7) The more we reflect and think of God this way, the more we become like Him. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” So, when we reflect and mediate on God’s word, with determination, focus and purpose, we cannot help it but experience an inner change that will soon manifest in our words and actions. For it is said, What you think, is a product of what you are. And what you are, is a product of what you think. Here are some benefits of meditation as spelt out by Elmer L. Towns in his book Biblical Mediation for Spiritual Breakthrough. Please take your time to digest them with scriptures reference for your soul benefit:-
1) You gain insight and instructions of truth (Ps 119.99)
2) You get a positive outlook on life (Ps 104:34)
3) You deepen your love for the Scriptures and God (Ps 119:97)
4) You become prosperous as you apply the insights gained (Josh 1:8)
5) You grow and become stable in the Christian life (Ps 1:2-3; John 15:4)
6) You develop a strong prayer life (John 15:7)
7) You are motivated to ministry (1 Sam 12:24; 1 Tim 4:15)
8) You are motivated to repent and live better (Ps 39:3; Rev 2:5)
9) You find the peace of God (Phil 4:8-9)
10)You get a clear focus to guide you in making decisions (Matt 6:33; Col 3:2)
11) You focus your life on Christ (Heb 12:3; 1 John 3:1)
12) You worship God in His majestic glory (Deut 4:39)
Next comes prayer. We listen and reflect and then pray about what we have heard and reflected. Praying is a call for help or assistance. This is where we come to the scriptures with humility and a constant attitude of repentance. We pray that the Holy Spirit will help us to change to be more like Christ. We pray for a heart transformation that results in an external manifestation in our words and actions. We pray for strength and faith so that we can overcome any trial that come our way. Praying is all about seeking God’s co-partnership in our spiritual journey. Praying seals the deal by readying us to accept God’s instructions, admonishments and corrections. Praying also signifies our commitment to change for God.
Finally we come to obeying God. After the groundwork has been done, after we listen, reflect and pray about what we have learned from God’s spirit, we are ready to put our calling, our profession and our confession to action. This final stage is called application. But applying is not just about a “to-do” list. We do not go down the list and tick off those things we have done mechanically. It is not a race to the finishing line. It is not about setting a deadline to finish all the tasks set before us. In fact, applying and obedience are all about responding and surrendering. The risk is that in our busyness to apply and obey, we shut our spirit out from God’s immediate and relevant directions for our life along the way. In other words, we lose our sensitivity to God’s inner prompting. We lose sight of His guiding hand and go on our own strength to accomplish the task. Worst, we stop responding and surrendering to God and make all the required change to our spirit and attitude for our self-gain.
It is always possible to repent or change for the wrong reasons. We become more like Christ so as to impress others. We demonstrate false humility. We crave personal recognition by exercising restrain and not true patience, by tolerating one another instead of loving and sacrificing for others, and by paying lip service to charity instead of living in grace and compassion. So, always remember to rely and act on God’s strength, and not on your own. Always allow God to take the lead in your words and actions. Always seek His counsel and respond accordingly. Be humble and wait upon the Lord.
Remember a deeper life in God is worth seeking for. Let your faith grow as you delve deeper into His word. Let your faith be your shelter in times of storm. Let your faith overcome life’s trial that you may grow stronger for it. Pastor David D Ireland, who wrote why drown when you can walk on water? – Applying Faith in Real Life, reminds us that when we are facing times of despair, we must learn to say:-
1) I am here by God’s appointment - so don’t lose sight of God’s divine plan for you. You are hand-marked by God and whether you live or die, you belong to Him. Let Romans 8:28 comfort you to press on.
2) I am here in God’s keeping – so don’t forget who is in control when you face hard times because the spirit in you is greater than the one in this world. With God, there is always a good ending.
3) I am here under God’s training – so don’t despair when you are being disciplined. Remember, it is a blessing to be subjected to His discipline because God wounds, but he also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal. (Job 5:17-18)
4) I am here in God’s timing – so don’t give up because your trial has an expiry date. Just as it has to come, it also has to go. Your trial is for a period and for a purpose. Once you’ve learned from it, you will grow stronger because of it. So, take heart and stand firm, God is faithful to see you through.
Ps: Last Friday we also talked about a Martha’s overload. We all know that Mary sat by the feet of Jesus to listen and receive; while Martha was busy in the kitchen whipping up a storm. Soon enough, her busyness caught up with her and she broke down. Bitten by the bug of jealousy, she then confronted Jesus about Mary apparent idleness and received a rebuke from Jesus instead of a compliment. Jesus’ rebuke is equally applicable to us in the busyness of our daily toil and grind and it’s recorded in Luke, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (10:38-42).
We always thought that doing more pleases God. But in the end, what pleases God is not more but less. We do not serve a fastidious and complicated God. In fact, there is only one thing that Jesus wanted and it is as clear as blue sky. Jesus wanted us to enjoy His presence, that’s all. He is not expecting a grand reception. He is not looking to be entertained. He is not interested in our décor or drapes. He is not a food taster. Neither is he a hygiene inspector. The intimacy Jesus is looking for cost nothing from us. He wants to be invited not just into our house but into our hearts. Martha opened her house to Jesus but Mary opened her heart. The difference is crucial because it distinguish a true follower of God and one who follows religion. One will never go faint or weary while the other gives up when hard times come knocking. In the book, Caring without Wearing, the author Carol Travilla lists five unrealistic expectations that can contribute to servant burnout. See how much you can identify with these false beliefs:-
1) There should not be any limits to what I can do.
2) I have the capacity to help everyone.
3) I am the only person available to help.
4) I must never make a mistake.
5) I have the ability to change another person.
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