After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

Acts 13:22

When God searched for the next king of Isreal to take Saul’s place, He looked for one thing. David didn’t come from a royal family, in fact he came from a family that tended sheep. David was not the biggest, smartest or most charismatic person out there. In the eyes of the world, David was probably the last person that would be picked to become King. What attracted David to God was that he was a man after God’s heart.

In our lives, we think that in order to advance or move forward, we need more strength, wisdom, etc. If we truly want to step forth and experience a life of power and of worth, we need one thing and one thing only, a heart after God’s heart. If we pursue after God with all of our soul, mind and strength we will see His hand of blessing over our lives. Excitment and passion will come and allow us to excel in the things we are doing now. New doors and opportunities will start to open. Healing and closure will take place from the things of our past. Most importantly, you will find yourself in the center of God’s will, where you are making a kingdom impact to the people that are around you.

Today, instead of going after comfort, recognition, or personal gains, go after the heart of God. Have an attitude where you are willing to do EVERYTHING that He wants you to do.

Prayer:
Father, I thank you that you choose the weak to shame the strong. As I live going after your heart, would you guide me into your glory.

Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity so that by
his death he might destroy him who holds
the power of death - that is, the devil -
and free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2: 14-15

Christ shared in our humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who has the power of death.
Jesus Christ, the son of God, the one who was with God in the beginning, took the lowliest place so that he can taste death for you and me. It is through his death and resurrection that not only do we have salvation, but victory over the evil one.

In 1 John 3:8 it says that the reason the son of man came was to destroy the devils work.
Christ came so that he can have victory. He came so that we can experience this victory in our daily lives.

Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, we no longer need to live a life that is dictated by fear.
Fear of failure, fear of man, fear of rejection… fear no longer has to be the motivation factor that drives our lives.

Be dictated by the freedom that comes with Christ’s victory for your life.

Prayer:
Father, thank you that there is victory and freedom in you.
Would you reveal those areas of fear in my life that hold me back, and bring breakthrough in these areas.

^{God’s ways are Higher than my ways}

^{For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.}

^{Isaiah 55: 8-9}

What is the source of your fear, aniety and your stress? If you are thinking of specific situations, circumstances or people, you are in serious need of a perspective change.

Today’s word tells us that my thoughts are not God’s thoughts, neither are my ways God’s ways. I believe that most of our fear, anxiety, and stress comes when we try to take control. Where we live with our own understanding, with our own emotions and our own desires. 

To give complete control to God is something that is not easy. To let go of control, and to surrender when we’re holding on so tight is the hardest thing that we can do. But it is when we let go of our grip and allow Christ to take hold of our lives, that we can finally be set free and walk in victory.

I encourage all of you today to trust God with whatever you are going through. Surrender the areas that give you fear, anxiety or stress and see what He can do with a fully surrendered heart!

Prayer:

Father, today I fully surrender my life at your feet. Would you bring freedom and victory in my life.

Dear friends,  

Do you feel like things are falling apart in your life or around you?  Do you feel uncertain about your future?  You may be facing some kind of sickness now.  You may be facing uncertainties in your finances now. 

You may hear the rumour about lay-off in your company. You may sense that some people are plotting to bring you down because they are envious of your position in the company. Some people may want to gossip about you to hurt you. You may be facing temptation of lust or greed.  

There is no question that the enemy, the devil and his followers, will always try to attack us, the beloved of the Lord God, because they do not like the fact that we have received grace, which include blessings, favour, peace and joy, from our loving Father in Heaven. However, do not be afarid because the Word of God has promised us protection from such attacks.  Take a look at the two verses below:  

Isaiah 54: 17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, 
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment 
You shall condemn. 
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, 
And their righteousness is from Me,” 
Says the LORD.  

Isaiah 54: 14 In righteousness you shall be established; 
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; 
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.  

The Word of God did not say that there will be no weapon formed against us.  In fact, whether you are a believer or not, the enemy will charge such weapons.The difference is that we, believers in Jesus Christ, have received the promise of protection from our God.  You may ask, “How come I see so many believers suffer from the attacks from the enemy?”  God has also given us the key for us to get the supernatural protection.   

The key to receive such protection is “righteousness”. Unlike the Israelites under the old covenant of the law of Moses, our righteousness does not depend on our performance to meet the requirement of the law.  Under the law of Moses, you are blessed when you keep the law, and you are cursed when you keep the law. We all know that it is impossible to keep the requirement of the law, thus, it is impossible to be righteous at all time.  The Good News is that Jesus has done all the work at the cross for us.  If we believe by (His, not our) faith, His righteousness is imparted to us.  We will be established in His righteousness. Only His righteousness is satisfactory to Him.  

If so, why are still trying to establish our own righteousness with our own effort.  As soon as we believe that we must do our part in becoming righteous, we are nullifying the establishment of His righteousness in us, and we put ourselves outside His grace, His blessing and His protection. Why are so many believers insisting that they must contribute something to “righteousness”? Perhaps, it is because of your lack of knowledge, or of the wrong teaching you received in the past? Perhaps, it is your pride that insists that you must contribute something to your righteousness so that you can claim some of the credit? Whatever it is, you must rely on His righteousness that you just simply have to receive in faith, and believe that you are protected from any curses, diseases, attacks and temptations from the devil, the enemy of God and His children.  

I pray that you receive this truth as a revelation in your life and you will have a blessed, safe, joyful and peaceful life. This is the abundance life that Jesus comes to the world for. Note that the right “believing” leads you to the right “living”. What do you believe? I pray that you will use the wisdom that God has imparted you to make the right decision.  

God bless you.  

Dedo Suwanda    

Dear friends,

Are you struggling to live the Christian life today?  Your rest is found at the cross of Jesus.  If you want to find an effortless success, then, realize that it is no longer about you doing this or that right.  It is about depending on what Jesus has done for you.  Look at what man’s own doing has produced.  Has any good come from his own effort to keep the law of Moses?  When man boasted in the law, the next thing we saw was a golden calf.

God’s goodness Leads Us To Repentance

Some people argue that we have to preach God’s law and His judgment, or there will be no repentance from the people.  My friend, God’s heart is never to condemn.  Most people want judgment, but God wants mercy. The Bible says that “the goodness of God leads to repentance” (Romans 2: 4). Do you know how Jesus transformed a foul-mouthed fisherman like Peter? Being a fisherman, Peter was probably a very rough guy.  So how did Jesus bring him to his knees?  Was it by preaching a hard sermon on the law of Moses?  No! Jesus blessed Peter with a boat-sinking, net-breaking load of fish, and when Peter saw God’s goodness, he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5: 8)  Now, pay a close attention here.  Which came first – Peter’s repentance or the goodness of God? Clearly, the goodness of God came first.  It is truly the goodness of God that leads us to repentance!

Nevertheless, there are still people who insist that we have to preach on repentance.  Well, I disagree! I think we should do it God’s way – preach the goodness of God and allow the goodness of God lead people to repentance.  Such repentance will be true repentance.  It will not be a repentance that is motivated by the fear of judgment and indignation.  It will be a genuine repentance that is motivated by His grace, unconditional love, and compassion. After all, our ability to love God stems from our first tasting His love for us. It is when we experience His love for us that we can respond with our love for Him.  The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4: 19)

Do you know how the Word of God defines love? Apostle John said in 1 John 4: 10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” This is the Bible’s definition of love.  It is not about our love for Him, but rather His perfect love for us.  As opposed to conventional belief, true repentance from the heart results from a revelation of God’s immense and unyielding love.  When Peter saw Jesus’ goodness and love, he fell to his knees in total surrender to Jesus.  We must let people come to church to enjoy God’s goodness because when they are impacted by His grace, then repentance, holiness and godliness will surely follow.  You cannot separate grace from holiness.  In the same way you cannot be under the sun without getting a tan, you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.

 Time To Change Your Mind

Do you know what the word “repent” means in the first place?  The word repent is the Greek word “metanoeo”, which means “to change one’s mind”.  However, due to the influence of our religious upbringing, many of us have the impression that repentance is something that involves mourning and sorrow.  The Word of God simply says that “repentance means changing your mind.  When John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” he was essentially saying, “Change your mind, for the kingdom of God is at hand!”  Every time we sit under the anointed preaching of God’s Word, repentance is still occurring – because our minds are being changed (transformed) through the preaching of the gospel.  As we hear the gospel of Jesus being preached, we are changing our minds about our old beliefs that held us in bondage and receiving the truth that liberates us.  Even as you are reading this devotional, repentance is going on because you are renewing your mind with the good news of Jesus.  You are becoming more and more conscious of His finished work and your righteousness in Christ.  You begin to receive the revelation that you are no longer under the old covenant, but are now under the new covenant of grace.  He Bible calls that repentance!

Repentance From Dead Works

Believers are often exhorted to repent from sin.  However in the New Testament, we are actually exhorted to repent from dead works.  You see, sin is simply the fruit, but dead works are the root.  It says in the book of Hebrews that the foundation stone of our faith is “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God” (Hebrews 6: 1)  Now, “dead works” are not sins.  They are the religious things that people do, thinking that by doing these things, they are gaining righteousness with God.  If you pray or fast because you think that praying or fasting make you right with God, that’s a dead work.  But if you pray or fast because you are right with God and you know that He loves you, there is power there.  Can you see the difference?  It is the same activity – prayer or fasting – but the basis and motivation for doing it are completely different.  One is dead work while the other is living work by grace.

My friend, have you repented from dead works?  Jesus said in Matthew 3: 2, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  In other words, He was saying to the Jews of His time, “Change your mind and believe the good news – I will shed My blood, and through my suffering and passion, all your sins will be forgiven!”  If you are still living under the law and depending on your own efforts to qualify yourself and please God, it is time to repent (change your mind) from dead works and believe the gospel (good news)!

One Thing You Lack

I want to show you two stories in the Bible that effectively contrast law and grace.  These stories are found in Luke 18 and Luke 19.  In Luke 18: 18-23, we have the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Now think about this for a moment.  What should the right evangelical answer be?  The right evangelical answer should be, “Believe in Me and you will inherit eternal life.” But that was not what Jesus said to him.  Instead, Jesus gave him the law of Moses, saying, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery’, ‘Do not murder’, ‘Do not steal’, ‘Do not bear false witness’, ‘Honor your father and your mother’” Jesus gave him the Ten Commandments. Why? Because the young ruler came with pride, believing that he could do something to earn and deserve eternal life. Whenever you come boasting in your efforts, Jesus will give you the law of Moses.

Now, listen what the young man said in response to Jesus: “All these things I have kept from my youth.” Amazing! This man actually claimed that he had kept all the Ten Commandments from his youth! Like the Pharisees, some people really think that they are able to keep all the laws of Moses, not knowing that they have lowered God’s law to a place where they think they can keep it.  Jesus came to bring the law back to its pristine standard – not only must there be an outward adherence to the law, there must also be an inward adherence.  Jesus showed that God’s law is beyond man’s own efforts.  The young man was probably expecting Jesus to compliment him on his law-keeping and was feeling really confident on himself.  But notice what Jesus said to him, “One thing you still lack.” 

You see, every time you boast in your law-keeping. Jesus will find something that you lack.  In this case, He told the young man to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him.  The young man boasted that he had kept all the commandments, but now Jesus was giving him the very first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (not even money), and look what happened.  The young ruler walked away, sorrowful.  He was not even able to give one dollar to the Lord!

Think about the amazing privilege to follow Jesus.  Jesus gave the man an opportunity to follow Him, but the man could not because he could not bear to part with his wealth.  In all his boasting, he could not even keep the first commandment. My friend, if you go to the Lord full of self-righteousness, boasting in your ability to keep the law, He will show you that, according to the Law, there is “one thing you lack.” 

Grace Opens Your Heart

Now, let us go over to Luke 19: 1-10.  Jesus walked into Jericho and a crowd gathered to see Him.  Then, as He passed by a sycamore tree, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus – short, little Zacchaeus who had climbed the tree hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He walked by.  He was a corrupt tax collector, a sinner.  But, instead of giving him the Ten Commandments, Jesus showed him grace (undeserved favor) and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house.  Of course, the people in the crowd were displeased and they said, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Now, observe what happened at Zacchaeus’ house.  Before the dinner was over, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Jesus smiled at Zacchaeus and said, “Today, salvation has come to this house.” 

I believe it was the Holy Spirit who put these two stories side by side.  I don’t believe that they happened chronologically.  I believe that the Holy Spirit placed them in this divine order to show us the contrasting effects of being under the covenant of law, and being under the covenant of grace.  When the rich young ruler came boasting in his law-keeping, Jesus answered with the law.  And the young man could hardly give a dollar to Jesus and walked away sorrowful.  But, in the very next chapter, when Jesus gave no law but showed his grace, it not only opened Zacchaeus’ heart, it also opened up his wallet.  Can you imagine this?  It opened up the wallet of a corrupt tax collector.  That’s truly the power of grace! It leads only to true repentance.  When you experience His grace, you can’t help but be generous.

Our heavenly Father is waiting for us to give up on our own efforts.  The moment you begin to “repent” from all the dead works that you have been doing to try to qualify for and deserve God’s acceptance and blessings, God will lavish on you His abundant grace – His undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor.

God Is After Inward Heart Transformation

You may ask, “If I give up on keeping the law of Moses, what is going to govern my behavior and ensure that it is acceptable to God?”  You do not have to worry about how your behavior will be governed without a consciousness of the law.  The Word of God says that grace will teach you – “For the grace of God … has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts …” (Titus 2: 11-12)  Grace is a teacher and it taught Zacchaeus.  Do you remember his response after he experienced the abundance of grace?  He said, “I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”  It is grace that leads people to true repentance.  Grace does not result in superficial behavior modification, but inward heart transformation.

God bless.

Dedo Suwanda

Taken from “destine To Reign” by Joseph Prince

Dear friends,  

The power of the Gospel is to live each walking moment having the confidence that all your sins have been forgiven.  Contrast this with living with a perpetual sense of guilt and condemnation that comes with thinking that when you sin, fellowship with God is broken, He no longer answers your prayers, He is far away from you, and until you repent and confess all your sins, the Holy Spirit will not return.  There are so many Christians, even mature ones, who are still confused about the teaching of forgiveness.  The best way to understand the Gospel is to go back to what the apostles preached in the early church.Let us examine what Paul, the apostle of New Covenant, preached.  After all, he was the apostle whom God appointed to preach the Gospel of Grace.  

Let us start by examining Acts 14: 8-10: Acts 14: 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. When this crippled man heard Paul speaking, he was filled with faith to be healed.  How did the man come to be filled with faith?  

Look at what the Bible says about faith. Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The man at Lystra was filled with faith because he heard the word of Christ. In many English translation of the Bible, the word of Christ was translated the word of God.  You see, faith does not come simply hy hearing the word of God, which would encompass everything in the Bible, including the Law of Moses. 

There is no impartation of faith when you hear the Ten Commandments preached.  Faith comes only by hearing the word of Christ.  To hear the word of Christ is to hear preaching and teaching that have been filtered through the New Covenant of Grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ.  You can preach from “Genesis” to “Revelation”, but it has to be from the perspective of Jesus and His grace.  Christ is in the Old Testament concealed, and in the New Testament revealed.  

What was preached by the Apostle Paul?  

Let us go back one chapter to Acts 13.  Paul’s sermon in Acts 13 climaxed in verse 38-39: Acts 13: 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man (Jesus) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. The power of the Gospel that Paul preached is found in the forgiveness of all your sins for “everyone who believes”.  There is no other qualification for being forgiveness for your sins.The old covenant was based on justification by works (obedience to the Ten Commandments).  You have to perform to be forgiven.  But the new covenant of grace is based entirely on justification by faith (believing in Jesus Christ).  

There is power in hearing and hearing the Gospel of Jesus.  That’s how faith comes.  The more of Jesus you hear, the more of His grace you receive.  The more revelation you get of His “finished work at the cross”, the more you will receive an impartation of faith for any situation, even the seemingly imposible ones. Are you faced with an impossible situation today?  Are you trusting the Lord for a breakthrough?  If so, I encourage you to get hold of good teachings that are full of the good news of Jesus.  Faith will be imparted to you as you hear more and more of Jesus.  Then, you will stop being pre-occupied with yourself, with your lack, and with your weaknesses, but you will become fully occupied with Jesus, His beauty, His perfection and His grace!  Amen!  

Rightly Dividing the Word  

There is a lot of confusion and wrong believing in the church today because many Christians read their Bibles without rightly dividing the old and the new covenants.  When reading the Old Testament, we need to read with the perspective of Jesus or the new covenant of grace. Take an example of the verses from Psalm 51 below.  David wrote this Psalm after he committed sin with Bathsheba and repented. These verses were used in a worship song that I used to like and sing frequently. It may sound harmless, but it is very misleading. Psalm 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Why is it misleading?  As a believer under a new covenant, the Holy Spirit will never leave us forever.

Even when we are reading verses from the New Testament, we must read it with the right context. For example, we don’t realize that even some of the words which Jesus spoke in the four gospels (in the New Testament) are part of the old covenant.  They were spoken before the cross as He had not yet died.  The new covenant begins only after the cross, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of the Pentecost.  It is important to realize that the cross made the difference.  In addition, we also need to examine who Jesus was speaking to.  At times, He was speaking to the Pharisees, who boasted in their perfect law-keeping.  With them, Jesus brough the law to its prinstine standard, such that it was impossible for any man to keep. Take a look at what Jesus said in Matthew 18: 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Do you think that Jesus expects us to do that, or does He want us to rightly divide the Word, and understand who He was speaking to in that passage and what He meant?  He said all that so that man would come to an end of depending on Himself and begin to see that they desperately need a Saviour. So learn to rightly divide the Word of God whenever you read the Bible.  Not everything that Jesus said was spoken to the church or the believers.  

The Main Clause of the New Covenant  

Hebrews 8: 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he (Jesus) finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.  

This is the main and final clause of the new covenant: “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”  God does not remember our sins any longer.  How can you still think that God is punishing you for the sins you committed in the past when something that seems bad happening in your lives, such as lack in finances, sickness or accidents? If you don’t believe in the main and final clause of the new covenant, you are rejecting the new covenant and negating the finished work of Jesus at the cross.  That is disobedience.

I pray that you receive the revelation of grace from God, and you will be liberated from the bondages resulted from the wrong teaching in the past that are not based on the new covenant.   

Dedo Suwanda

PS. The content of the article above was extracted from the book “Destined to Reign” by Joseph Prince.

Dear friends,  

You are destined to reign in life because you are believers in Jesus Christ.  You are called by the Lord to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy life of victory. It is not His desire that you live a life of defeat, poverty and failure. Whatever your vocation is, you are destined to reign in life because Jesus is Lord of your life.  When you reign in life, you reign over sin, over the power of darkness, over depression, over poverty, over every curse, and over every sickness and desease. You reign over the devil and all his devices.  

The power to reign is based entirely on Jesus and Him alone.  Refer to the following verse:  

Romans 5: 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.  

The secret of reigning in life lies with receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross.  The Bible states very clearly that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ just by receiving two things from Him: the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. God’s ways are contrary to man’s ways.  Man thinks that God’s blessings are based on his performance and good works.  His way is not about achieving, but about receiving.  

The world’s system of success is built on the twin pillars: self-effort and dilligence.  There are some “laws” that you have to abide by and some “methods and techniques” that you have to keep on practicing before there can be any results.  We have been taught to focus on achieving, on doing and on relying on our self-efforts.  We are driven to “do, do, do” and forgetting that Christianity is actually “done, done, done”.  Everything that we need to reign in life has been accomplished on the Cross. It is finished.  The world tells us that the more we do, the harder we work, and the more hours we put in, the more success we will achieve. I’m sure that you’ve heard that you need to “pay the price” and “no pain, no gain”.   

We, believers, have taken the system of the world and apply it to their Christian life.  Instead of depending of God’s grace for His favour and blessings to flow, they depend on their self-efforts to try to deserve God’s favour and blessings.  You cannot earn God’s blessings by your performance.  God’s blessings are are based entirely on His grace.  His blessings over your life have to be undeserved, unearned and unmerited.  

The above paragraphs are quoted from the book “Destined to Reign” by Joseph Prince.  That book opened my “eyes” recently.  I have read the Bible, in particular, the Old Testament, without proper context, i.e., without including Jesus and His works in it.  I read so many verses in the Old Testament that specified “conditional” blessings of God.  Some of my favourite verses were from Deuteronomy 28.  They have gone deep in my mind and my heart that I have to obey God and His commandments. Deuteronomy 28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. I thought If I do not obey, I will be cursed. Deuteronomy 28: 15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  

Yes, God wants us to be obedient to His words and His commandments, but it is in regards to receiving Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord, including receiving His abundance of grace and His righteousness.  More importantly, God is interested in more than our obedience and submission, but in an intimate relationship with us.  However, I have mixed up His command for “obedience” with His command to “fulfill the Law of Moses” of the Old Testament.  Grace and Law do not mix. Galatians 5: 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. I have been keeping myself from God’s abundance grace and blessing because I kept trying to mix grace and law, which is impossible.  I acknowledge that Jesus is my Saviour and my Lord, but I was also trying to keep the Law of Moses to get His blessings and favour. Every time I broke the Law or committed a sin, I felt like I had just lost the right for the blessings, and I had to repent to get that right back.   

The moment you place the Law of Moses between you and God again, you are negating the finished works of Jesus, for if righteousness could come through the Law, then “Christ died in vain”.  Christianity cannot be reduced to an impersonal list of do’s and don’ts. Righteousness, and everything else that comes with it, is a gift, not a reward for perfect obedience of the Law.   

I have been righteous all along, not because of my performance, but because of His works. Jesus has never stopped the pouring out of the blessings for me. Christian life is a life of rest in Jesus Christ and His finished works (at the Cross).  It is time to rest from your own effort and to enjoy Jesus, and you will reign in life.  We need to live by such faith and led by the Spirit. Galatians 5: 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh (law) are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit (grace) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  

I hope you receive the points I am trying to get across to you. Start receiving His abundance grace and His righteousness so that you will reign in life.   

Dedo Suwanda

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise
be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, who has sent his angel and
rescued his servants! They trusted in him
and defied the king’s command and were
willing to give up their lives rather than serve
or worship any god except their own God.

Daniel 3:28

Have you ever wanted to experience more from God?
Where you can experience a life that is fully devoted to Him, where every second of the day has a purpose?

I believe, in order to live out this kind of life, we need to start with Monday.
It’s so much easier to trust God, worship God, serve God with a willing heart on the weekend. But when monday hits, we start to put our trust in the things of this world, we become too busy to serve God, and worship is put on hold until the next weekend.

In today’s passage, we see three young men who refuse to worship anything other than the living God.
They had pressures from every direction to bow down to a gold statue that stood ninety feet high and nine feet wide.
They also faced the fear of being thrown into the fiery furnace.
In the midst of the pressures, the demands and the fears, they remained strong in their faith.

Today, we are called to worship the one and only God. In other words, we are called to put Him first priority in our lives. This monday morning ask yourself what your priorty is? Is it your job, relationship, ministry… maybe the voices of people around you or the fears of your circumstances are taking up all your hearts attention.

Our hearts attention belongs to God.
From there, He will give us His desires and guide our every step.

Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the start of this new week.
I commit to put you first priority in my life. I will give you the attention of my heart

- Mike Kang

Dear friends,

I believe everybody is encountering Jesus personally on daily basis, however, different people may respond to the encounter with Jesus differently.  I can see the contrast of these two groups of people from the stories in the Bible, in particular, the rich young man in Matthew 19 and Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, in Luke 19.  These two men were rich, but this was the only common thing about them. 

The Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19: 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

The rich young ruler was described in another gospel as a lawyer.  He was a Pharisee and he knew the Law of Moses very well.  He has also tried to to live righteously, but on his own strength.  He did have a good intention to be righteous, but he missed the point.  He had an encounter with Jesus, who he referred to as “teacher”.  He really wanted to know what good deeds he had to do to have eternal life.  I believe he must have heard Jesus preaching about how to receive salvation, but he refused to believe.  At that moment, Jesus did not tell this man again about the good news that He has been telling people, but He told the man to “keep the commandments”, and specifically the last six of the Ten Commandments, which are the laws with the context of relationship with other men.  Why would Jesus do that?  Jesus knew who He was speaking to (i.e., Pharisee) and He wanted to make a point.  This man was so self-righteous that he dared to answer that he had kept all these six commandments.  Out of his pride, this man would go further and asked of what other deeds he had to do.  Then, Jesus told him the ultimate commandment (which consisted of the first four of the Ten Commandments) to love God by leaving everything he has and follow Jesus.  The young man was very sad that the price was to high for him to love God and follow Him.  Because of his self-righteousness, this rich young man had never realized the need of salvation because he believed that he could get salvation by his self-efforts.  He was never really desperate enough for Jesus and His grace and mercy.  he was blinded by deception that he could not see that God’s grace is his only solution.

Zacchaeous, on the other hand, understood that he was a sinner.  He had also heard of Jesus’s teaching on how to receive eternal life, and he wanted to have it.  For him as the chief collector, and perhaps, one of the richest men, in Jericho, climbing a tree in order to see Jesus was a humiliating action.  Forgetting his status and pride, he tried the best he could so that he would be able to see Jesus.  Such action would go unnoticed by God.  His desperation attracted Jesus.  Jesus had never demanded him to obey the Law of Moses.  The only thing Jesus did was telling him of His intention to visit him and fellowship (having dinner) with him.  Zacchaeus responded to Jesus invitation an opened his house, and certainly his heart, to receive Jesus.  Did Jesus ever ask him to sell all that he had and to follow Him? No!  Jesus did not have to do that because Zacchaeus had already responded by willingly to follow Jesus.  What did he do?  He offered to give half of his wealth to the poor and paid four-folds to the people he cheated in the past.  Jesus told him that, not only himself, but his whole household were saved that day.  

Somebody told me this illustration once.  If you have a headache and somebody offer you a Tylenol to relieve the headache, what would you do to the person that give you that medicine?  You would probably thank him and forget about it the next day.  However, if you have a terminal illness, such as a deadly cancer, and you only have one month to live, and somebody give a pill that will cure the cancer, what would you do to the person?  You would probably more than thank him.  You would probably give him half of what you have, or perhaps, work for him as his servant.  If you see your iniquity that would lead to death, you would be more than thankful to Jesus, but you would sell everything and follow Him.  However, if you think that salvation is not a big deal because you think that you have a part to play in your salvation through your self-effort, you would not appreciate what Jesus did for you as much.  That is what grace is all about.  Only by grace you can have your salvation, and nothing you can do to help yourself to be saved.  Why would you still try to do something to help God to get your salvation or maintain your salvation?  Why would you go back to “Law” after you are saved by “Grace”?  Law will probably help you with “behaviour modification”, but only grace will bring you “heart transformation”.  When your heart is transformed, you will be like Zacchaeus.  Without being told, you would make right with people you have offended in the past, give to poor willingly and joyfully, and follow Jesus forever.  That’s the kind of encounter with Jesus that transform people’s life.  What kind of encounter with Jesus do you have?

Let me stretch you further.  Imagine how many potential “Zacchaeus” out there, in the marketplace, in the government and in the academic environment.  They could be people in your office, or people you meet on the street.  Imagine if these people encounter Jesus and His grace that is offered to all unbelievers and sinners.  God wants to use you through your evagelism efforts, your prayer for them and, please do not underestimate this, through your daily life.  For many of them, you could be the only Bible they will ever read.  Is your life reflecting the love and grace of Jesus Christ?  Do people see the products of God’s love and grace in your life?  Do you have something that make them to want what you have (the experience of God’s love and grace)?  Imagine if there are “Zacchaeus” everywhere, giving up half what they own to the poor and pay back four-folds of what they have cheated other people.  The church including all charity organizations) will not have to worry about raising funds for God’s works on earth.  All these people need is an encounter with Jesus and His grace, not religion with all the laws and rules.  Let us all preach and walk the grace, abundant grace, that has been given to us. 

It is time to reflect during the Easter season, or more accurately, the time of rememberance of the victory of Jesus Christ and us, the believers.

Dedo Suwanda

Dear friends,  

Please have a moment to read what I want to share from my heart with you.   Have you ever checked lately if your relationship with God has been at professional level or intimacy level?  Many times, we, ministers to the Lord - in the churches, para-church organizations or marketplace, come to the Lord only for more annointing, more wisdom, more ideas, more help, more favour, etc., so that we can function better in whatever works we are doing.  There is nothing wrong with that.  God is there to help us, empower us, give us ideas, give us ability to preach, teach, evangelize, or do our jobs at work better.  However, if we are at that level, our relationship with Him is only at professional level.  

Have you ever come to the Lord just simply to sit at at His feet, like Mary - the sister of Martha - did, or lean on His bosom, like John - the disciple - did?  Have you ever come to Him just to listen to what He has to say to you, or trying to know His heart?  Don’t you want to know the deepest secrets of His heart that He only shares with His closest friends?  Have you ever had so much desire burning in you just to adore Him, worship Him and praise Him?   I believe that, out of this intimacy with the Lord, we will really understand His heart’s desires, His plans and purposes for His beloved, and His most intimate secrets. 

I also believe that out of this intimacy, the following items will flow into us: authority, annointing, gifting, revelation, wisdom, knowledge of Him, and other divine empowerment for signs and wonders.  Rather than seeking the signs and wonders, we seek for intimacy that will also lead to signs and wonders. Since we live in the “New Covenant”, our promised land is the “rest in Him” (Hebrews 4).  Psalm 37: 4 says, ”Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. “   I believe the delighting in Him and resting in Him will result in intimacy with Him.  Let us now move from the level of “professional relationship with God” to the level of “intimate relationship with God”.  

God bless you.  

Dedo Suwanda