Conviction

What does conviction mean to you? What is conviction? Conviction means "the act or process of convincing", "the state of being convinced" or "a fixed or strong belief about something". It can also refer to "the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience." Biblical Conviction means conviction or belief derived from and based on a commitment to Scripture, the Bible and the conviction affect him or her spiritually .

We need to be careful when differentiating generic conviction to biblical conviction. As a conviction is a convinced conscience, not all our conscience is flawless. Conscience is not a perfect indicator of right and wrong as our human conscience can be weak and defiled. Our convictions will not always agree because they are personal. However, if our convictions are grounded on the Scripture which is God breathed, our biblical convictions can guide us through many pitfalls in our life.

Conviction is nasty. Why is it so? Conviction can bring inconvenience at the time when convenience is most desirable. It can be troublesome as we are kind of being held back and unable to perform something. One's conviction can turn out to be a laughing stock of another person. Our conviction may not necessary be appreciated and valued by others. One's conviction can even cause misunderstanding between two parties.

Above all, conviction convinces us of our sin. It tells us the right and wrong. Everyone should have a set of personal biblical convictions in our journey with God. One who has no conviction is easily moved. When our conviction is challenged, our character is tested. Keeping and upholding a conviction isn't easy but as long as God is honoured, the soul is satisfied.

Our conviction should not be people-driven or environment-driven, but God-driven.

Along my journey so far, these are some of the convictions that I have carried and by God's grace, I will carry on... (Not in sequence)

1. I resolved not to speak any profanity.

2. I resolved that I will not skip/miss any Sabbath service as a result of my own agenda, God the priority.

3. I resolved to keep my virginity till marriage.

Some convictions I have adopted along the way through observation from others and as I am convinced by the teaching of the Scripture:

1. I resolved not to attempt illegal downloading.

2. I resolved not to purchase pirated goods.

3. I resolved not to jaywalk even though to my most inconvenience (when there is not even a car spotted). I rather wait.

I am convinced that little tiny things in my life that are not rightly upheld or practiced are the roots to bigger sins. I am still discovering many more convictions to uphold in my life.

So, how can we bring glory to God in every move that we make?

Do you have a conviction?

Interesting Thought:

1. Is there a testimony when we ran against the traffic or jaywalked as we rushed our way to arrive at certain destination for the purpose of serving God?

2. I download worship songs. I think God is pleased because I am a musician in church. I download for the glory of God.

So you think? :)

Contentment

"Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.

"When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must become to me more than vile lust had been; that His sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.

When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day."

Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett

Contentment is one of the greatest states of life if one can ever achieve. That is the state when the soul is deeply satisfied, rooted in the acknowledgement and the recognition from God alone and not from the world. It is a journey of counting the blessings, what we have instead of what we are lacking. The world is never contented with everyone trying to out-rule another mankind. If we drink from the world, we will be thirsty again. Those who drink from the living water, shall not thirst again.

Only If We have Listened

When God says, what shall we do?

How often have we not followed God's instructions? How often have we missed the marks due to our own negligence and followed the heart rather than taking God's way?

How often do we realize that Only If I Have Listened, things will not turn out to be this way! Many outcomes can be totally different only if we have listened, to God, spiritual mentors and those who are wiser than us. Life is all about decision making. From what we gonna eat for breakfast to what time should I rest... It can be minor or major decision but all we want to see is a wise move! We will never understand how immense the difference can be, only if we have paid more attention and listened to the wiser and God!

Naturally when we are young, we always like to go on adventure. When our parents say no to this and that, we question for reasons but most of the time, we tend to taste the forbidden fruits. At the end of the day, we get punished for our wrong doings. Hopefully we regret and learn from our mistakes. It is similar in our walk with God. When God gives a direction, do we follow straightforward or we try to wrestle with God? When God says do not give in to temptation and flee from youthful desires and sins, do we try to light up the sparks or extinguish?

Think of a few scenarios below.

1. Only if Eve had listened to God's instruction, the birth of Sin into the world had to be different.

2. Only if Jonah had listened to God rather than running away, he would not have to be swallowed by a big fish. What did he gain? Didn't he obey God's instruction at the end?

3. Abraham listened to God. He took the step of faith and willingly offered Isaac as God commanded him. God saw his heart. Not only God spared Isaac's life, Abraham was then called Father of All Nation.

Today, as God speaks, as His commandments are made known, as sins are made clear, right and wrongs are distinguished, how should we respond?

We Against the World

I went to watch X Men First Class with my lifegroup mates earlier today. The story line was quite ok but I took home some points to ponder.

Firstly, Christians should stand in the same line battling against the world. Our citizenship is in heaven as we hold a temporary residency (TR) here on earth. We all have a mission to accomplish before Jesus returns - to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Besides, we ought to help one another to live a life that is pleasing unto God. We ought to present our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. Not every body is acceptable, we get polluted easily. Throughout the journey, we gotta learn how to stand still in our faith. Faith is the most crucial weapon to assure our victory. Something we need to retain. Each one of us is the watchman for another fellow. Don't live a selfish life! Keep an eye on each other. The devils are preying so diligently to swallow those with shaky faith. Being alone offers vulnerability.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, there is strength when many come together as one. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up! But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Christians can bring a great impact to the world when every comes together. Why should we allow dissension to break us apart? Why is there hatred even among the believers? Why should there be jealousy and provocation among different denominations? Aren't we receiving the One Baptism and serving the One God who shows no favouritism?

Lastly, God creates everyone of us in the unique way. We are born that way. We should be proud and appreciate God's creativity. Like the mutants, we do not need to hide. The more we try to hide, the more frustrated we will get. We don't need the acknowledgement from the world. Place our security in God. At the end of the day, we are not going to be judged by the world or how the world sees us, but God the chief judge. Confessing our weaknesses reflects one's humility. Remember, Kingdom Shakers are different. When we are different, then we can change the world.

Learn from the mutants in the story.

Come together, stand as one. We unite, against the world!

Why It Hurts

I was talking to a guy earlier on today. Someone who had a bad past and basically mucked up his teenage years. But he found God and I believe God is working within him. He questioned about the pain, hurt and barrier which intensified as he decided to walk closer with God. Guilt has been resurfacing from time to time especially in times of weakness.

Let me put the situation in this simple analogy. Imagine there are two boxes, A and B which is 20m from one another. Box A carries the loads of life that we carry with us in this world, including our beings, wealth, worldly desires, etc. Box B represents God. When we become a Christian and embark on the journey to know God, we realize that there are whole lots of stuff that need to be trimmed and cleared. Consciously or unconsciously, we are in the process of realigning ourselves and walking closer to God. Hence the distance between the two boxes gradually decreases. However, the indulgence in the sinful pattern or the temporary excitement one been through will not let the person goes free that easily. As the devils are powerful, they will try all sort of ways to fool and overpower our will and desire. Recall the story of Adam and Eve, we should be informed of how smart the Satan can be in luring us.

Meanwhile, God is pulling our the other hand. We are kind of stuck in between, struggling to break free from either side. One side leads to death, the other leads to freedom. God never let go his hand. We are the one who break lose and fall into the pit. The process of getting closer to God is painful, is not easy. We have to allow God to change so much within us and as we receive new revelations, so much training and it seems like a daunting journey ahead. Many only manage to pull through half way. We have to learn how to set apart ourselves and apply the Truth and the Word of God in our life. It is a long restructuring process which requires perseverance and the fruits of the Holy Spirit. There will be a great wall blocking us. We might find way too much "rules and regulations" that "contradict" to what our old selves possessed.

It hurts because something is bursting out in the deepest part of our soul. There is a new birth of conviction. The Spirit is convicting and correcting us. If there's no struggle as we face the rising walls, it might simply mean the Spirit is not in us and we have never welcomed Jesus into our life.

To change is never easy. The key to victory is the full reliant on our God and through the works of the Spirit. It is not our own strength and might. It requires a partnership. It involves sacrifice. It is painful yet the endurance will lead to eternal freedom and glory. It is worth it!

Is all the we walk through comparable to the endurance of Jesus on his road to Calvary?

In God, we are more than conquerors. Grab hold of the hand and never let it go. Call upon the name of Jesus and be saved.

Hebrew 12:2 says "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

After treatment comes healing and wholeness. No treatment is painless and easy. Hold on!

Death

I had a conversation over the phone with a mate that I met during street evangelism two months ago. He called and we just chatted over life. Soon, our conversation developed into discussing about death and life, control over life and God's will.

To sum up, my mate seems to worry about death. He wonders if he will leave this earth before getting married. Aha! However, the cause of his worry is the aftermath from a tragedy that his dear friend encountered not too long ago, that indeed men are like flowers, here today gone tomorrow. The tragedy has been haunting him to a certain extent.

Life is beyond our control. Our God he gives and he takes. As Christian, we believe everyone has a purpose on earth where God places us in and we are not an accident. We are not meant to consume oxygen and waste our life. Finding the purpose in God motivates us to live our life to the fullness. Death should not capture our focus, fearful of the time we will leave this earth. In fact, every moment is crucial to fulfill God's plan in our life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die..."

We have one life, how are we going to live this life? Our concern should not be swerved to "How and when will I die?"

Find the purpose in God and receive the peace from God. Death has no sting on us, we are meant to be victorious. Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21. It is an overwhelming statement. It is as well, a very dangerous statement as we proclaim it. Are we living fully for Christ, or our own agenda? Are we pursuing what God has intended for us? Consider death, is it just an end to our story or are we pursuing the eternity, knowing that we have fought a good fight and is ready to hand in our log book to God for review? Build up our life, and aim to leave a godly legacy. We are meant to impact!

When everything fades away, God stands still. Death, has no power over us. In fact, it is a glorious moment when our mission on earth is accomplished and as we are called back, returning to our heavenly abode where the glory of God lasts forever.

Counting Thy Faithfulness

Within 2 weeks time, I encountered His marvelous faithfulness and favour. I would like to dedicate this post to my Abba Father who has never failed to impress me.

Remember a few weeks ago, I wrote about receiving my lowest grade ever throughout my university life for one of my favourite subjects. I am here to testify His goodness.

After having a conversation with my mentor, I decided to seek for a review. I had drained much effort into this piece of assignment, I believe the outcome is not what I deserve. Prior to my appointment with my lecturer, a friend of mine told me how sarcastic the review and comment she received from the lecturer. There was no ground of consideration as she actually failed her assignment. However to her astonishment, instead of showing mercy, she received harsh feedback, tearing her heart apart as she shared to us her experience. I was held back, seeing that I will most likely end up hitting a rock, might as well just pull back. However, a voice from nowhere asked me to proceed on with my decision. Review filed.

Later in the afternoon, my lecturer texted me for a meet up. We ran through the assignment and he pointed out some minor mistakes yet couldn't convince me to deserve a low grade. It was to my surprise that he promised to read through my work again in detail and will submit to the unit coordinator for a re-mark. A week later, he sent me an email informing the change of grade! Yes, an upgrade! The good news just came so in time as I was losing my confidence and like an old-battered warship . God is good, I can only sing.

Three days ago, my group mate and I received another major assignment. It was a fairly good piece of work as we obtained high distinction. The lecturer left a comment saying "See me ... etc". Our meet up turned into a funny conversation.

"Excellent job. Very well done guys. Did you guys cheat?"

"Thanks thanks. Er.. No we don't!"

"It's indeed really good. I like everything about it. Incredible. Who helped you?"

"Er... God?"

Upon hearing "God", my lecturer gave me a bewildered look. He should have thought that I am a religious person. But yeah it is my God! I should have yelled specifically - JESUS! Yeah, hope that he will know my God one day.

Today, God surprised me again! I loved it as I didn't expect that. This round was a team based assignment which most of us were dreadful of. Recalling those nights we kind of fumbled through. Recalling those endless moments we yelled at each other how hard it was. Again, God poured his favour upon our team as we pressed in to trust Him. We were so close to be nominated as the winning team for the project we were involved in, but the final decision of selecting the best out of the top two performing teams ousted us. The teaching and projects were issued by one of the biggest construction firms in the world - Bovis Lend Lease. Despite our lost, we were assured a place for interview if we ever apply for a job from the company. Our names will be submitted to the human resource department. Isn't God good?

How great is my God? Great is Thy Faithfulness. How can I not praise Him?

I have resolved to serve Him faithfully and to seal my Trust in Him forever.