Good day!
I just came across this news about this teenage in the southern province of Hunan sold one of his kidneys in order to raise funds to buy Apple iphone. Yes, this is what I said:"What?" "What is this boy thinking?" "Why would he want to exchange his organ for something that probably will be obsoleted few years down the road?"
Kind of remind me of Esau in the Bible. He sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.(Gen 25:29-34) Wait a minute, did I just mention "What is the boy thinking?" Ahhh.. Let's take a step back and look at this case from the perspective of the spiritual realm. What is that boy thinking? Remember, we said this before, what we think will eventually transform to what action we take.
Why would this boy want to own the iphone to the extend of giving up his kidney? Why would he want to give-up his God-given kidney for a worldly-made gadget? If he only knew how much God love him, he would not have traded-in his precious organ to the lust of this world.
Yes, the power of lust of this world. Today, we say:"No, I won't give in my kidney for the iphone." Well, to the extend we expose ourselves to this world, to the extend we are exposed to the lust of this world. But, the Bible say:" He (Jesus) who is in us is greater than he (Satan) who is in this world." Amen!
In the Bible 1John 2:15-17,
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Here, it clearly stated that the reason why we are drawn into this world is because we do not realize the love of God for us. Notice, the love of God and not love for God. By now, you probably understand "Love of God" speaks of His love for us, whereas "Love for God" speaks of our love for Him or simply self-focused again.
When we understand the gospel of Grace, we will understand that God do not want us to depend on ourselves but to be totally dependent on Him. The Law was given to man in the Old Testament but only to reveal that man cannot keep the Law. Instead of blessing, man were under the curse of the Law most of the time. That is why Jesus came to this earth to be our sacrificial Lamb. Once and for all, He removed all the sins in our life. So that, today, we don't look to our action to determine if we deserve the blessing from God, we look to Christ Jesus. Amen! This is a gift from God and is called the gift of righteousness. It is free! Yet it is not cheap (in fact it is very very expensive if you understand the value of this One Man) , it cost God His Son, His one and only Son. Amen!
And now, when we look at how God reveal His name, it become clearer. He said "I AM". Very much a blank cheque. If we need healing, He said:" I AM your healer." If we are worried, He said:"I AM your peace." All we need in our lives, He said:" I AM". So, as you can see, He want us to depend on Him, not on ourselves. Amen!
Last week, we mentioned about this great man of God, George Muller. Written in his article, he identified the very first thing he need to do at the start of the day is to make sure his soul is happy in the Lord. We are seeing a man of God who had prayed numerous powerful, miracle prayers for his orphanage ministry and this is what he said. Make sure our souls are happy in the Lord.
Question: How do we make sure our souls are happy in the Lord??? I thought this week we should discuss further on this topic and draw as much as we can from this man of God. If he can single-out one thing needful and has blessed his ministry throughout his lifetime, we want to learn from him, so that we as Christians can also pray powerful, miracle prayers for ourselves and for anyone whom God appoint in our lives, Amen!
Below is an article about George Muller written by John Piper.
http://www.desiringgod.org/biographies/george-muellers-strategy-for-showing-god
I would encourage you to read the entire article from this website. Here, I've extracted from this article the essence of George Muller's view on how to keep our souls happy in the Lord.
How Do We Get and Keep Our Happiness in God?
If happiness in God is “of supreme and paramount importance” because it is the spring of sacrificial love that honors God, then the crucial question becomes how do we get it and keep it?
But in what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer, This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ.
Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures. “In them . . . we become acquainted with the character of God. Our eyes are divinely opened to see what a lovely Being God is! And this good, gracious, loving, heavenly Father is ours, our portion for time and for eternity.”
Knowing God is the key to being happy in God.
The more we know of God, the happier we are. . . . When we became a little acquainted with God . . . our true happiness . . . commenced; and the more we become acquainted with him, the more truly happy we become. What will make us so exceedingly happy in heaven? It will be the fuller knowledge of God.
Therefore the most crucial means of fighting for joy in God is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures where we see God in Christ most clearly. When he was 71 years old, Mueller spoke to younger believers:
Now in brotherly love and affection I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful in order that happiness in the Lord may continue, that the Scriptures be regularly read. These are God's appointed means for the nourishment of the inner man. . . .Consider it, and ponder over it. . . .
Hallelujah! Praise our Lord for this revelation! Simple, yet powerful, isn't it? George Muller said "
Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures. "
So whenever we read the Bible, it is NOT about trying to finish the chapters to make sure we are in the schedule to finish the entire Bible in one year. It is about knowing God, knowing who He is, what are His thoughts for us, it is about seeing Jesus in the Bible. The Bible say when we see Jesus, we see the Father. And when we see the Father, we are happy. Because when we see Him, we will see His love for us, we will be touched by His love. Amen!
So, when we read the Bible, do not rush to finish the chapter. George Muller put it this way "consider it and ponder over it". Take a verse or a passage and meditate on it. "Chew" on it slowly and let the nourishment of the verse or passage be released. Amen!
With this, we will discuss more on the topic of meditation and on how to see Jesus in the Bible in the coming weeks.
Grace and peace be with you.
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