The Power of Your Name

Surely children weren’t made for the streets
And fathers were not made to leave
Surely this isn’t how it should be
Let Your Kingdom come

Surely nations were not made for war
Or the broken meant to be ignored
Surely this just can’t be what You saw
Let Your Kingdom come
Here in my heart

I will live To carry Your compassion
To love a world that’s broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give
With the life that I’ve been given
And go beyond religion 
To see the world be changed
By the power of Your name

Surely life wasn’t made to regret
And the lost were not made to forget
Surely faith without action is dead
Let Your Kingdom come
Lord break this heart

Your name
Is a shelter for the hurting
Jesus Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need

A healthy Church

My Church has 3 Passions, 

1. Passion for God
2. Passion for People
3. Passion for the Great Commission

 I have been thinking if this is what makes a healthy Church? And somehow, I came out with the following which are pretty similar. 

1. God is Glorified
2. People are Satisfied (Spiritually, Physically, Mentally & Emotionally)
3. The Church is Multiplied

 And this is based on the two Greatest Commandments and the Great Commission,

Matthew 22:36-40 ”Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Breaking Binds

Many who desire to walk with the Lord will begin to discover that there are many things in their lives they will need to change. For certain things, changes come easily and naturally but still for others, making that change is hard and difficult. A lot of times it is not that the person do not want to change but they were simply trap in the cycle of binds. No matter how many times one might try to break the cycle, they will find that there is simply no way out – unable to find that victory of God.

The Word of God says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. I am a strong believer that Christ had come to set us free from our past, to live in the present and mould for the future. This is His promise but why are there so many Christ follower still trap in the cycle – lacking freedom? I try to identify the reasons, and i came out with the following. Please read it with care and think for yourself if what i said is right and whether it is applicable.

 The first being FEAR. Often we are afraid of what others might think of us when they know that we are trapped. The condemnation that will come when others find out. This is the most powerful weapon the enemy will use against us, playing like a broken record player in our mind over and over again. How i see it is that if we are able to speak about our weaknesses publicly and not be afraid of how others might look at us, this is the first step to freedom and change as we put down our pride and humble ourselves before others.

We might be able to voice out our cycle of binds but it doesn’t just go away. Yes, the second issue is being ADDICTED. Most blame the problem of addiction on the things that they are addicted to. But the biggest problem with addiction is ourselves. The lack of Self-Control forces us back to the same old pattern. Therefore we need to learn self-control over our emotions, our thoughts and our actions. In so doing, we are beginning to break the cycle. There might still be times when we fall back into the binds, but the cycle is now broken. What we need to do now is to work on the binds.

The binds can now be removed totally by changing our PERSPECTIVE. How we view certain things affect the way we live our lives. For example, if we believe that once we came to know God, whatever we do doesn’t affect our relationship with God, then removing the binds will be harder as we are not pressed to make any changes to our lives. On the other hand, if we believe that we need to live a life that is pleasing to God, we will be more desperate to make the changes.

I believe that the most amazing thing about God is His ever-lasting grace. He never forces His ways upon us, just waiting patiently for us to respond to Him. What God hates is the evil within us but His love for us, His precious children is long-suffering. He never gives up on us responding to Him.

As we respond to Him, trying our very best to please Him, we will break the cycle of binds, having that victory that God spoke about. The freedom which can be found in Christ.

Faith

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

One of God’s awesome gift to man is faith. When faith is exercise, the impossible became possible; 10’s became 100’s – 100’s became 1000’s. So much so that with faith, man will be an overcomer in any given circumstances, strong enough to believe what God is doing in man’s life. And definately through faith, man will be able to please God.

Faith is build on the fundamental of trust, followed with obedience and displayed by actions.

Trust can be developed over time, through understanding character and ways of doing things. In the same way, trust in God is develop through understanding God’s character and His ways. As we are sure of God, we will be sure of His providence. For it is in Him we place our hope.

This hope in God, will help us choose to  follow His ways even to the point when we do not understand. This is the faith to look beyond the current and into the future, believing that God will bring whatever to pass. This is the obedience of our hearts and action through our hands.

Trust in God by obeying Him with your heart and live out that faith through your deeds.