The Law Of Sowing And Reaping II

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

This is a revision on one of the basic Bible principles. I am sure the above verse is quite familiar even among those who attend religious churches. This is where the phase “you reap what you sow” comes from.

However, most people use it in a negative way. All you have to do is to approach a Christian who attend any religious church and ask on the meaning of this verse. You will get a very negative answer. In case some may wonder how to classify any church as religious, I have a very simple way. Find out whether that church will ever be accused of preaching prosperity gospel. If the answer is “no” then it is definitely religious.

In this article, I am going to look into the Law Of Sowing And Reaping again as shown in the above verse. The writer began with warning his audience on not to be deceived. This implies that the recipients were deceived. There must be theologians in the church who spread the heresy that the Law Of Sowing And Reaping doesn’t work. The writer wrote in to expose such lie.

He went on to say that God cannot be mocked. This means the denial of the Law Of Sowing And Reaping is a mockery to God. So, if there are any well-intentioned Christians who tell you this law will never work, they are in reality mocking God.

Next, the writer affirmed on the law itself: A man reaps what he sows.

This is what I call the Law Of Sowing And Reaping. I am going to show you more details on this law and how to use it to get anything you want.

It must be put to work.
It is essential to believe that this law exists and always works. It is a natural law like the law of gravity. The Law Of Sowing And Reaping has the power to give us anything we want. It can give us abundant riches, good health, long life, successful career and any other good things God wants us to have. Believing in it is the first step we need to do.

However, believing along cannot make us rich. We need to put it to work by sowing something. If you do not sow, you will never reap the harvest. This is where works meet faith. This is what “faith without works is dead” really means. Start sowing.

Ask yourself what type of harvest do you want to reap. The sow the same type of seed.

The seeds must grow in the right environment.
Any farmer who knows his trade can tell us that we must create the right environment for the seed to grow in order to reap a huge harvest. In this regard, there are 2 issues that we must keep in mind in order for our seeds to grow until they can produce harvest – faith and tithe.

Apart from sowing, we need to water the seeds sown with faith. We need to think and talk positive.

1. Think and talk riches, not poverty.
2. Think and talk health, not sickness.
3. Think and talk success, not failure.

In other words, we need to exercise full control over our thoughts and speech. There may be many things out there that we cannot directly control. However that does not include what we choose to think and speak. God has given the complete control over our minds and tongues for a reason. The reason is our thoughts and confessions can create the world we want.

If you think and talk negative, you will live in a negative world. However, if you think and talk positive, you will live in a positive world. This is the system God has created. Our role is to take advantage of it to make our seeds grown into a huge harvest.

The other way to create the right environment is through tithing.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.
12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3:10-12 (NIV)

I have written a separate article on this topic at
(http://cheee.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/open-the-floodgates-of-heaven/)

We can sow ourselves out of every trouble.
The Bible has examples of people sowing their way out of their troubles. In 1 Kings 17, God sent Elijah to help a poor widow in famine. (http://cheee.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/a-rich-widow-in-a-poor-country/)

Elijah only did one thing. He told the widow to make some bread for him with her last handful of flour and a little oil at the bottom of the jar. He got her to sow her last food and she obeyed. As a result, she received an endless supply of flour and olive oil until the end of famine. She did not have to starve anymore. She had an abundance of food in the midst of famine.

Do you understand why this woman only received flour and oil? She only sowed these 2 items. Why did she not receive any gold? She did not sow any gold. Does this mean she did not get rich? This woman had a unlimited supply of flour and oil during famine. In a famine, any food like flour and oil can fetch very high prices. She could easily use her flour and oil to buy over all her neighbours’ land and become a real estate or a farming tycoon.

The message of this story is we can sow our way out of every trouble. If you have a money problem, sow the little money you have. If you don’t have a single cent, you can sow you prayer time or offer services to the people around you. You will receive a harvest of a lot of money coming your way. If you are sick, you can sow health. Help others to get healthy and you will receive a harvest of health.

Conclusion.
The Law Of Sowing And Reaping was created by God to help us to get anything we want. Our role is to put it to work.

Thanksgiving In The Midst Of Troubles

17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people—
19 in the house of the Lord in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Psalm 116:17-19 (NLT)

We have come to the final verses of Psalm 116. In Verse 17, the writer promised to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord. If you have read the earlier verses, you may have noticed that this guy must have faced with some serious trouble or he would not have said things like death and calling all men as liars. Throughout the psalm we have seen how he had managed to change his mood from negative to positive just by focusing on the goodness of God. At the same time, there is no indication in the psalm that his physical conditions have changed.

Yet, the writer wanted to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. Why would he want to do that when his troubles were still around? Obviously he must be acting in faith. He believed his God would deliver him from all his troubles even when he could not see the manifestation himself. So, he gave thanks in advance.

Heretics like theologians and doctrine worshippers will twist this verse into their heresy that we should give thanks to God for our troubles. That is equivalent of accusing God to be the pervert who started those troubles in the first place. I find that to be sickening. No wonder, Satan himself is a theologian.

The truth is, we do not thank God for our troubles because he is not the pervert who started them. We thank God because we believe he will deliver us from all of them. We thank him in advance because we believe beyond any shadow of doubt that he is working behind the scenes to deliver us from all our troubles and prosper us beyond our wildest dreams.

In Verse 18 and 19, the writer promised to fulfill his vow to the Lord in the presence of all his people. As I have written in the earlier article, the vow here is not religious vow. You can never find anywhere in the Bible that says God wants his people to make perverse vows like vow of poverty and vow of sickness. The vow of God is the vow of prosperity in every area of our lives.

So, the writer had not only promised to live in God’s prosperity, he wanted to live in it openly for all to see. He wanted the whole world to see how good his God is. As I have also written in my earlier article, this is what true evangelism is all about.

All religions are the same. They can only promise things that cannot be proven. This is why religions can never be proven false. Our God is the opposite. He dares to promise us things that can be proven like health and wealth. When we live in abundant prosperity like good health and great wealth, we are effectively sending a loud signal to the world that our God is able and willing to deliver his promises. He must be the true God.

This is why we praise him. He is worthy of our praise.

When You Are In Great Affliction

10 I believed; therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.”
11 And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
Psalm 116:10-14 (NIV)

This is a continuation of my series in Psalm 116. In Verse 10 and 11, the writer expressed negative thoughts and confessions. This tells us that the writer is a human being. Sometimes we may face afflictions that are so oppressive that we start to think and talk negative. If you have done that, God does not want you to feel sorry or guilty about it. He wants you to repent. To repent is to turn around and in this case means stop thinking and talking negative. Replace those negative thoughts and confessions with positive thoughts and confession. This is what true repentance is all about.

In fact, this is what the writer did in Verse 12. He suddenly changed his focus on the goodness of God. The Lord has been so good to him that he wanted to find ways to repay the Lord. Do you notice that his mood has changed since this verse? He was no longer negative.

This is how we can change our moods, from bad to good moods. Just think of the good things the Lord has done for you. All of a sudden that great affliction does not seem that great anymore. You will begin to believe God is on your side and he is currently working behind the scenes to deliver you out of all your troubles.

He is going to turn your poverty into prosperity. Not only will all your debts be clear, you will have so much money that you can start to bless others with it. He is going to heal your supposedly “incurable” disease and make you even healthier than before you were infected. You will be fit enough to climb the highest mountain. This is how God delivers us from all our troubles and he is doing it while we are still in the land of the living.

In Verse 13, the writer wanted to lift his cup of salvation and called on the name of the Lord. What does that mean? We lift cups to drink what is inside it. The writer lifted his cup of salvation. This means he wanted to drink the stuff in it, which is salvation. Salvation will get inside him and be a part of him. Salvation is just another term for deliverance. The writer wanted to be deliverance-minded.

If you are deliverance-minded, you will think of the deliverance of God each time you face trouble. You will not be depressed, disappointed, get drunk, think negative, talk negative nor will you do any idiotic things no matter how big that trouble is. Why? You are convinced beyond doubt that your God is always on your side and he who is in you is always greater than he who is in the world. There is no problem that your God cannot solve. He is able and his greatest desire is to deliver you from all your troubles and prosper you beyond your wildest dreams. As I have mentioned before, he is going to do all these while you are still in the land of the living.

All we need to do is to trust in him. Verse 12 ends with the writer calling on the name of the Lord. What is the name of the Lord? I have written on this topic before. So, I will just paste the relevant part here.

JEHOVAH-JIREH: “The Lord will Provide.”
God is our provider. He is able and willing to provide everything we desire. Once we understand this, we will never be in lack. Through him we have all the prosperity that we can ever dream of. If you are facing a financial crisis right now, trust in JEHOVAH-JIREH to provide for you, with all the money you need to overcome your situation. As long as you believe and don’t give up, you will see the provision of God in your life.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE: “The Lord Who Heals”
He is our healer. You may be very sick right now. You can feel the sickness. Your doctors may have told you that your disease has reached the terminal stage where there is no cure. According to their professional opinion, you are going to die very soon. You have to understand that the reason why the doctors said what they have said is because they do not know who JEHOVAH-ROPHE is. At the Cross, Jesus took all our sickness and disease. He is more than willing to heal us if we allow him to. All we need to do is to believe in him. In the mind of God, no disease is incurable.

JEHOVAH-NISSI: “The Lord Our Banner.”
Banners were used in ancient warfare to rally and organize the troops for battles. If you are with your banner, you know for sure that you are not alone. You are fighting along with many others who are on your team. You will not feel discouraged but you will have the courage to charge forward and crush the enemy. Therefore, whenever you feel discouraged, turn to JEHOVAH-NISSI. He will give you the strength to fight on because he who is in you is greater than he who is in this world.

JEHOVAH-SHALOM: “The Lord Our Peace”
The situation around you can be very chaotic but you can still have peace inside you. Through JEHOVAH-SHALOM, we can have great peace that enables us to analyze the situation calmly and find the solution to our problems. We will not be agitated, stressed or panic. No matter how bad and impossible the negative situation appears to be, we have the peace and confidence that our God is greater than them.

So, as you can read, God did not choose his names at random. All the names have deep meanings and they are meant for our good.

In Verse 12, the writer was wondering how he should repay the Lord for his goodness. Verse 13 is his answer. We repay the God’s goodness by living lives of faith. Living a life of faith is the only way we can say “thank you” to the Lord. This is what the Lord expects from us.

That is not all. In Verse 14, the writer wanted to fulfill his vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. What vows did he make to the Lord? The psalm does not say but we can expect those to be true believer’s vows and not theological ones. Based on what we have read of the psalm we can be sure that the writer is a believer and not a theologian because not once did he call God a pervert.

In fact, this is how we can separate a true Christian from a theologian. A true Christian will never accuse God to be a pervert. We will never ask idiotic questions like “Why does God allow this disaster to take place?” because we know our God is not a pervert.

Since we know that the writer is not a theologian, we can then be sure that all his vows must be the vows of prosperity. This means the writer was determined to live in prosperity in every area of his life. He wanted to live in great peace, joy, good health, has a lot of money, a lot of life stocks like goats, sheep and cattle, has a big house and everything that he desires. Not only that, he wanted to enjoy his prosperity publicly. Why? He wanted to show everyone around him the goodness of his God.

This tells us that the best way to get people to be Christians is for us, the existing Christians to live in the prosperity God wants us to have. Christians who live in perfect prosperity is the greatest proof that the God of the Bible is the real God who produces real results. Do you want to the God’s living proof? I do. Count me in Lord. Let me be the living proof to show that you are the real God who produces real results.

The Lord Works In The Land Of The Living

8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 116:8-9 (NIV)

Welcome to this installment of my series is Psalm 116. In this article, we shall look into the Lord’s policy of deliverance. How does God deliver us? The verses above tell us the full story.

In Verse 8, the writer shared on what the Lord had delivered him from. There are 3 things that he was delivered from. They are:
1. Soul from death
2. Eyes from tears
3. Feet from stumbling.

Let us examine them one by one. Our souls are our minds. There are situations where our bodies can outlast our souls. In such situations, the bodies will eventually die within a short time. Our bodies cannot live without our souls. How can souls die? It always happens when a person faces something bad and lost the will to live. This is how the soul dies. When the soul dies the body will not last long no matter how healthy it was at the moment. In short, we do not want our souls to die.

It is clear that the Lord is both able and willing to save our souls from death. How is he going to do it? He saves our souls by giving us hope no matter how impossible the situation appears to be. This tells us that the Lord is always on our side to deliver us and gives us hope. God will never allow us to live in hopelessness. As believers, it is our duty to consistently remind ourselves that there is always hope no matter how bad the situation appears to be.

Next, the Lord also delivers our eyes from tears. There are various reasons for tears to form in our eyes but in this context, it refers to our sorrows. There are times where bad things happen and they make us sad. We may face with a huge financial problem, infected with a deadly disease, death of our loved ones or any other events that make us want to cry. God does not want those things to happen either. He wants us to be happy, not sad. He will do everything he can to make us happy. The question is, are we willing to trust in him.

This is another way of saying that God is not a sadist. He will not do things with the intention to make us sad. Such is the nature of perverts. God is not one of them. So, if you are to hear messages saying that sometimes God can make us poor, sick, kill our loved ones or any other perversions, you can be sure that that preacher was preaching theology, which is a lie from the pit of hell.

The third point raised by the writer tells us that God can keep our feet from stumbling. It refers to physical, mental and spiritual stumbling. As human beings, we are still imperfect but God wants us to know that he can still bless us despite our imperfections by keeping our feet from stumbling. So, do not waste time in focusing on how imperfect you are. Focus instead on God’s goodness and his willingness in blessing and delivering you despite your imperfection.

In the next verse, we find out the reason for God’s blessings in our lives, “that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” I like the part on “the land of the living”. This means we do not have to die and go to heaven before we can see our deliverance and blessings. The deliverance and the blessings of God are meant to happen while we are still alive on earth.

In other words, God dares to stick his neck out by promising things that can be proven on earth. Whatever troubles you may be facing right now, you do not have to wait to die and go to heaven for your deliverance to take place. Suicide is not the solution. God has put his integrity at stake when he promised to deliver us from all our troubles while we still walk with him in the land of the living.

Be At Rest Once More

7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
Psalm 116:7 (NLT)

In this installment of Psalm 116, I am going to focus on just one verse and one issue – rest. It may sound simple but the truth is, rest is among the most spiritual discipline for us Christians. The above verse begins with the writer telling his soul to rest once more. This means his soul was not at rest when he said that.

What does this mean? The term “soul” is another word for “mind”. It is basically our software or operating system. Our souls define who we are. Whether we are good or bad, generous or stingy, brave or cowardly are in our souls. Our souls are “us” inside our bodies. Souls need to be at rest.

When we do physical work or exercise, our physical bodies will get tired. It is easy to understand that our bodies need to rest. What if we keep working and exercising without allowing our bodies to rest? Our bodies will reach the stress limit and we will collapse. It is a form of breakdown. We will be forced to rest.

In the realm of the soul, being at rest means we are free from anxiousness, worries and fears. A soul that is not at rest is in stress caused by anxiousness, worries and fears. If it continues in this state, it will reach its stress limit, which will course it to breakdown. The person will go crazy.

This is how mental illness happens to people. It begins in their thoughts. People worry or scare themselves into mental breakdown. If you are to conduct a research on how people have mental illness, I suspect you will find that it always begins with negative thoughts. I do not think you can find people who go crazy because they are positive.

It is obvious that it is the will of God for us to be mentally healthy. Being mentally healthy is a part of God’s will for us to prosper and be in health as our souls prosper. The question is, how are we going to maintain our mental health? The answer is in the second part of the verse: “for the LORD has been good to you.”

We need to believe beyond doubt that our God is good to us. God has been good to us, he is presently good to us and he will continue to be good to us for eternity. What is good? Let the dictionary tells us. (If you want to skip the definitions, just scroll down until after the italics.)

good  /gʊd/ Show Spelled [good] Show IPA adjective, bet⋅ter, best, noun, interjection, adverb
Use good in a Sentence
See web results for good
See images of good
–adjective
1.morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; pious: a good man.
2.satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree: a good teacher; good health.
3.of high quality; excellent.
4.right; proper; fit: It is good that you are here. His credentials are good.
5.well-behaved: a good child.
6.kind, beneficent, or friendly: to do a good deed.
7.honorable or worthy; in good standing: a good name.
8.educated and refined: She has a good background.
9.financially sound or safe: His credit is good.
10.genuine; not counterfeit: a good quarter.
11.sound or valid: good judgment; good reasons.
12.reliable; dependable; responsible: good advice.
13.healthful; beneficial: Fresh fruit is good for you.
14.in excellent condition; healthy: good teeth.
15.not spoiled or tainted; edible; palatable: The meat was still good after three months in the freezer.
16.favorable; propitious: good news.
17.cheerful; optimistic; amiable: in good spirits.
18.free of distress or pain; comfortable: to feel good after surgery.
19.agreeable; pleasant: Have a good time.
20.attractive; handsome: She has a good figure.
21.(of the complexion) smooth; free from blemish.
22.close or intimate; warm: She’s a good friend of mine.
23.sufficient or ample: a good supply.
24.advantageous; satisfactory for the purpose: a good day for fishing.
25.competent or skillful; clever: a good manager; good at arithmetic.
26.skillfully or expertly done: a really good job; a good play.
27.conforming to rules of grammar, usage, etc.; correct: good English.
28.socially proper: good manners.
29.remaining available to one: Don’t throw good money after bad.
30.comparatively new or of relatively fine quality: Don’t play in the mud in your good clothes.
31.best or most dressy: He wore his good suit to the office today.
32.full: a good day’s journey away.
33.fairly large or great: a good amount.
34.free from precipitation or cloudiness: good weather.
35.Medicine/Medical. (of a patient’s condition) having stable and normal vital signs, being conscious and comfortable, and having excellent appetite, mobility, etc.
36.fertile; rich: good soil.
37.loyal: a good Democrat.
38.(of a return or service in tennis, squash, handball, etc.) landing within the limits of a court or section of a court.
39.Horse Racing. (of the surface of a track) drying after a rain so as to be still slightly sticky: This horse runs best on a good track.
40.(of meat, esp. beef) noting or pertaining to the specific grade below “choice,” containing more lean muscle and less edible fat than “prime” or “choice.”
41.favorably regarded (used as an epithet for a ship, town, etc.): the good ship Syrena.
–noun
42.profit or advantage; worth; benefit: What good will that do? We shall work for the common good.
43.excellence or merit; kindness: to do good.
44.moral righteousness; virtue: to be a power for good.
45.(esp. in the grading of U.S. beef) an official grade below that of “choice.”
46.goods,
a.possessions, esp. movable effects or personal property.
b.articles of trade; wares; merchandise: canned goods.
c.Informal. what has been promised or is expected: to deliver the goods.
d.Informal. the genuine article.
e.Informal. evidence of guilt, as stolen articles: to catch someone with the goods.
f.cloth or textile material: top-quality linen goods.
g.Chiefly British. merchandise sent by land, rather than by water or air.
47.the good,
a.the ideal of goodness or morality.
b.good things or persons collectively.
–interjection
48.(used as an expression of approval or satisfaction): Good! Now we can all go home.
–adverb
49.Informal. well.
—Idioms
50.as good as. as 1 (def. 22).
51.come to no good, to end in failure or as a failure: Her jealous relatives said that she would come to no good.
52.for good, finally and permanently; forever: to leave the country for good. Also, for good and all.
53.good and, Informal. very; completely; exceedingly: This soup is good and hot.
54.good for,
a.certain to repay (money owed) because of integrity, financial stability, etc.
b.the equivalent in value of: Two thousand stamps are good for one coffeepot.
c.able to survive or continue functioning for (the length of time or the distance indicated): These tires are good for another 10,000 miles.
d.valid or in effect for (the length of time indicated): a license good for one year.
e.(used as an expression of approval): Good for you!
55.good full, Nautical. (of a sail or sails) well filled, esp. when sailing close to the wind; clean full; rap full.
56.make good,
a.to make recompense for; repay.
b.to implement an agreement; fulfill.
c.to be successful.
d.to substantiate; verify.
e.to carry out; accomplish; execute: The convicts made good their getaway.
57.no good, without value or merit; worthless; contemptible: The check was no good.
58.to the good,
a.generally advantageous: That’s all to the good, but what do I get out of it?
b.richer in profit or gain: When he withdrew from the partnership, he was several thousand dollars to the good.

—Synonyms
pure, moral, conscientious, meritorious, worthy, exemplary, upright. 2. commendable, admirable. 5. obedient, heedful. 6. kindly, benevolent, humane, gracious, obliging. 23. full, adequate. 24. profitable, useful, serviceable, beneficial. 25. efficient, proficient, capable, able, ready, suited, suitable, dexterous, expert, adroit, apt. 46. See property.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/good

Some people may wonder why would I bother to refer to the dictionary for such a simple word. The answer is many churches today are infected with a heresy called theology. Theologians tell us that God can be so “good” that he can do perverted things to us like making us poor, infecting us with disease, killing our loved ones to give us sorrow, creating disasters to kill people or any other perversions. In fact, if you want to learn theology, let me show you a shortcut. All theological doctrines can be summed up in one sentence: God is a pervert. “God is good” means God can do perverted things to you.

Yet if you are to read the above definitions on the word “good”, you can never find such perversion. When the Bible says God is good, it refers to the “good” in the dictionary not theology. The moment you believe that God is good to you based on the “good” in the dictionary, your soul will be automatically at rest.

It is only when our souls are at rest, our faith can work at its optimum efficiency. We will receive everything we ask for in prayer. Our financial problems will turn into financial abundance. Our sickness will turn into health. Our failures will turn into success. We will be delivered from all our troubles. Our future will only consist of success and prosperity.

This is the will of God for us. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

When You Are Overcome By Trouble And Sorrow

3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD : “O LORD, save me!”
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:3-6 (NIV)

This is the second installment of my series in Psalm 116. Here, the writer shared his experience on a setback he faced. He must had been in a very serious problem for him to say such words in Psalm 116:3. The cords of death entangled him and the anguish of the grave came upon him. He was basically drowning under trouble and sorrow. In short, he was in a very bad shape.

Do you find yourself in a similar situation? Welcome to this world. The truth is every one of us, regardless of whether we are Christians face troubles and sorrows in this world. There are times that our troubles and sorrows were so big that we feel like we are drowning inside them. We may find Psalm 116:3 to be an accurate description on how we feel.

The above passage tells us that troubles and sorrows are inevitable as long as we are in this world but it does not stop there. Throughout the Bible, God speaks of the problems we may face but he has never stopped there and left us on our own. He provides us with the right solution. So, do not stop reading after Psalm 116:3. After Psalm 116:3, God provide us with Psalm 116:4-6 to help us to overcome the problems we face. Let us go for it.

When the writer faced the problems in Psalm 116:3, he immediately responded with calling on the name of the Lord.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD : “O LORD, save me!”
Psalm 116:4 (NIV)

He prayed a very simple prayer: “O LORD, save me!” If you can remember, Peter prayed that when he was drowning in the sea. He was rescued. If anyone wants to learn how to pray, here is a quick lesson. Just say “O LORD, save me!” whenever you face any troubles in your life. Real prayer is really simple. There is neither theology nor doctrines involved. This is why I have asserted that the Bible is an engineering book. Its contents are very simple and yet able to help us to get the results we want.

What will happen after we ask God to save us? In the subsequent verse, the writer seemed to want us to first understand the characteristic of God.

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
Psalm 116:5 (NIV)

In short, God is good. In today’s context, God is not a pervert. It is impossible for God to be gracious, righteous, full of compassion and at the same time do perverted things to his people in the name of his sufficient grace, his love, some lessons, some sort of discipline or any other nonsense the theologians can come up with. It is imperative for us to always remind ourselves that God is always on our side against our problems. Even if you have committed sins, God is with you against your sins. God is never against you for your sins.

 If you are drowning in the sea, God is not the one who pushed you. He is the one who arranged for the rescue boat to reach you.

 If your light bulb is burnt, God is not the one who caused it to burn. He is the one who has provided you with everything you need to replace it with a new one.

 If you are sick, God is not the one who had infected you with the disease. He is your healer, not your disease giver.

 If you are poor and have financial problems, God is not the one who caused it. He wants you to be rich, not poor. God wants to bless you with abundant riches. He does not believe in the Vow of Poverty. He will never create financial problems to force you to take up that vow.

I use the above some illustrations to emphasize on the true characteristics of God. If you hear theologians or doctrine worshippers telling you that God can do perverted things to people, refer to Psalm 116:5.

Now that we have determined on the true nature of God, we can safely predict how he will respond to our plea of help.

6 The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:6 (NIV)

The Lord protects and saves us. Let us look deeper into this verse. The first part says The LORD protects the simplehearted. We need to be simple hearted to receive the Lord’s protection. What does that mean? We need to focus on simplicity. This is another proof that the Bible is about engineering because engineering is about simplicity too.

Simplicity means believing God based on what he says in the Bible, NOT on what the theologians or doctrine worshippers say what he says. We do not need middle men to help us to interpret God’s words for us. Let me give you some examples in this.

 When the Bible says God is good, it means what is says. Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that the “good” here can mean God can do perverted things to you like giving you some thorns in the flesh to show you his sufficient grace.

 When the Bible says God wants to make you rich in gold and silver, it means what it says. . Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that this promise is not longer literal because Jesus said he has no place to lay his head, Peter said he did not have gold or silver or many Christians who are still poor. God says it and that settles it.

 When the Bible says God wants heal you, it means what it says. . Do not be fooled by the theologians or doctrine worshippers who tell you that this promise is not longer literal because there are Christians who are sick.

In short, God says it and that settles it. If only all Christians are committed to believe in what the Bible says the way it says it, we will all be living in victorious lives. We will live in abundant prosperity, divine health, long lives and be successful in every area of our lives. When we face troubles, we can call on the name of the Lord and live with expectation that he will protect and save us.

Finally, the last part of the verse says, when I was in great need he saved me. The magnitude of our needs, no matter how big or small, is nothing to God. He is willing and able to save us from all our troubles. Whatever problems you are facing right now, never focus on how big they are. The solution lies in focusing on the God’s characteristics in Psalm 116:5. God is capable of overcoming it for us.

Whether you have a million dollars problem or a billion dollars problem, God can still solve it your you. He has the money. Our role is to believe. As Jesus said, “Fear not. Just believe.”

Tripped Seven Times

16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.
Proverbs 24:16 (NLT)

This is among the most powerful verse in the Bible. It begins by telling us that the godly may trip seven times. The truth is being Christians do not cause us to be immune to troubles and failures. We Christians can be poor, sick, fail in our work or even die before our time. We are still subjected to the natural law. This is the part that carnal Christians like the theologians and doctrine worshippers can never understand or pretend not to understand.

First, they accuse us, (the true spiritual Christians) of saying that Christians are not supposed to have any troubles. Then they tried to convince us that the Bible says Christians can have troubles. This is why I do not believe in any honest dialog between the true spiritual Christians and Christians who are under the bondage of theology. Those who are under the bondage of theology can never think straight.

The truth is there are many parts in the Bible that says the godly can get into not just troubles but many troubles. However, those verses do not stop there. There is always a full context for those verses. The above verse is an example. We, the godly people can get into troubles, make mistakes and trip seven times. (The phase “seven times” refers to many times.) This is only half a sentence. The other half tells us that we will get up again. God has promised us that no matter how many times we have tripped in our lives we will always be able to get up.

Let put this in another way. God has promised that our ability to overcome our troubles is as certain as the existence of troubles in our lives. As long as there are problems, there is always solution.

Whatever problems you are facing right now, God has promised deliverance from it.

If you are poor and have financial problems, God has promised you the ability to overcome them and become rich. It does not matter how bad the economy is or how incapable you are in the natural to make money because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. God will certainly fulfil all his promises. Instead of having the problem of not enough money, you will have more than enough money.

If you happen to be sick, God promised you the ability to overcome your sickness and be healthy. It does not matter how “incurable” that sickness is because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. God will certainly fulfil all his promises. Instead of suffering in sickness, you will be able to enjoy health you never had before.

The same principle applies to all the troubles we face in this world.

The second part of the above verse tells us why it never pays to be evil. Their future is the exact opposite from ours. We can face many mistakes and failures in our lives but we can always stand up each time we fall. No matter what the devil throws at us, we always have the power to overcome them. We may fall many times but as long as we do not give up, we will eventually win.

The scenario of the wicked is the opposite. They may seem successful now. They may even be enjoying themselves in prosperity, good health and other success that we wish we have. However, that is not the end. They have no resilient to the challenges in life. All it takes is one disaster and all their “success” and “prosperity” will be gone. So, it is better to be godly than wicked.

Here is another illustration. There is a saying. Statistically, only one out of ten new business will succeed. In other words, nine out of ten new startup businesses are doomed to failure. Does this mean the society is better off if no one bothers to start new businesses? The answer is no. Do you know why? On average, the one successful business can make more money, create more jobs and pay more taxes than the other nine that failed.

Likewise, in our life journey as believers, we may have failed many times and suffer many losses. However, if we choose not to give up and hold on to our faith on the integrity of God, we will have the ability to stand up to fight on each time we are knocked down. As long as we continue to press on and not to give up, we will eventually overcome all our troubles. At that time, we will seem more and more blessings of God manifesting in our lives. All the things that we receive and give away will be more than the all the losses we suffered in the battles. The society on the whole will be better off if the godly refuses to give up.

On the opposite end, think of crime. A burglar may have the success rate of 90% where he can get away in nine out of ten crimes that he committed. However, the one time that he got caught would have caused him to lose all his loots in the previous nine crimes. All it takes is one arrest and his crime spree in over. Crime and wickedness doesn’t pay.

In conclusion, don’t give up. It does not matter how many times you have fallen or failed. Get up and fight on. As long as you refuse to give up, you will live to see your victory before you.

Blessings That Cannot Be Broken II

10 For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
Isaiah 54:10 (NLT)

In the previous article, I have written on the above verse. I have explained that God’s covenant of blessing is eternal. It can outlast everything we see here on earth. In the article, I pointed out the achievements of the Jews today to as the proof of God’s faithfulness. Despite their extremely small population on earth, the Jews are practically over-represented as achievers in every field. This is the result of God’s unbroken covenant of blessing. If this covenant can be so effective to the Jews, who relied on the blood of animals to cover their sins, how much more for Christians who have Jesus to die for our sins? I don’t think I have to convince anyone that Jesus has a higher status than the animals.

This means God’s covenant of blessing can sustain the passage of time. It does not decay with time. The Second Law of Thermodynamics has no effect of God’s covenant to his people.

In this article, I want to emphasize that the same covenant can also overcome bad events in our world today. This is especially relevant because we are supposed to be in the worst global recession in history. The question here is, does this covenant still work in a recession?

I remember in the earlier days of this blog where I got a lot of responses (or objections) from many doctrine worshippers. One of the tactics they used to support their heresy is to cite situations where it seems impossible for Christians to get rich.

How about Christians who live in poor countries?
How about Christians who are currently serving life sentence in jail?

It seems to the doctrine worshipers that as long as there is one Christian who lives in poor country or under a life sentence, God’s promise to give us prosperity is no longer valid. God is a liar. This tells us that doctrine worship can cause brain damage.

If you have read the Bible, you will remember that God always keep his promises regardless of the physical situation. Isaac faced the worst famine in his time. Yet God made him even richer in the midst of it. Isaac did not starve in the famine. He did not get poorer. He got richer. Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt and later imprisoned for molest. Yet, God’s blessing could still make him rich, powerful and successful. Throughout the Bible, we can see that God always keep his promises regardless on how bad the physical situation was.

So, God can still prosper us even in the worst recession in history. Let me put this in another way. The worst recession in history cannot break the covenant of blessing God had with us. God’s desire for us to be rich, healthy and successful in every area is still valid today. Go ahead and make your millions.

The above verse ends with “says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” Mercy is an important factor here. Why mercy? The answer is we are still imperfect. We still make mistakes. We are still vulnerable in the areas of our weakness. We would have been unqualified to receive God’s blessings based on our own strength. Thank God for his mercy. The mercy of God enables us to continue to receive God’s blessings despite our imperfection. This brings glory to God.

So, we are blessed not because of our own strength but because of God’s mercy on us. All we have to do is to keep obeying and trusting in him. Are you not glad that you have such a wonderful God?

Mountain Talk Again

7 “What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ “
Zechariah 4:7 (NLT)

This is another example of talking to mountains. When Jesus talked about telling the mountain to throw itself to the sea at Mark 11:23, he was not saying something new. The idea of talking to mountains and overcoming them with the words of our mouths is established in the Old Testament. The above verse is the proof of this.

In this article, I shall explore further on this idea, in particular on how to apply it to use it to overcome the mountains of our lives. Let us look at the context of this verse. This verse is preceded by a more famous verse, which is:

6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6 (NLT)

The Lord was telling Zerubbabel that success in life is not dependent to his personal might and power alone. He needs the blessing of God to make it through in life. This is what “but by my Spirit” means.

In the next verse, the Lord mocked the mountain in Zerubbabel’s life. I like the part on “What are you, O mighty mountain?” It seems that the mighty mountain is nothing in the eyes of the Lord. Not only that, because of the blessing of the Lord, the mighty mountain is also nothing to Zerubbabel.

“Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.”

It seems that even Zerubbabel can turn a mighty mountain into level ground. If this can work for Zerubbabel, this can also work for all of us who have the same God. All of us have the power to turn our mountains into level ground.

You may be burdened with debts as high as mountains where there does not seem to any way out. Your mountain could be the lack of jobs and opportunities to advance to a higher pay scale. Or it could be a supposedly incurable disease. In short, the mountain represents a huge obstacle to achieve your desires. Mountains are supposed to be permanent and immovable. Many times, we may feel the same about the problems we face.

However, God is telling us that this mountain that you are facing now and many others to come must become level ground. Your poverty must be turn into prosperity. Your sickness must turn into health and your failures into success. This is the will of God for us as believers. Our role is to align our lives with his will for the transformation to take place.

How are we supposed to do that? The answer is in the last part of Zechariah 4:7.

“Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!”

In short, the solution is to confess the blessing of God over our problems. Whatever problem you are facing right now, no matter how big, impossible or complex, the blessing of God can overcome it. All you need is to confess the blessing of God over the problem. It always works because God knows his stuff.

This is also what God expects us to do when we face any problems in our lives. We are to confess the blessing of God to overcome them. The blessing of God always works and if you are really serious in overcoming the mountains in your life, start confessing it.

Your Children Will Never Beg For Bread

25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.
Psalm 37:25 (NLT)

This must be the second time I write on the above verse. I am reviewing this verse again because I believe this is relevant to current situation of the world. The world economy is in a mess. Many people have lost their jobs and even face the prospect of losing their houses. Even Christians are affected. If you are one of them, God wants to tell you not to give up hope. He can and he will deliver you. All you need to do is to keep believing and don’t give up hope. Then you will be in position to receive his abundance of wealth despite the recession.

The above verse is God’s words spoken through King David when he became old. In fact, King David was speaking from his life experience. He had a long history with God and he had observed the following:
1. God had never abandoned the godly.
2. Their children of the godly never had to beg for bread.

Let us begin with the first point. If you are godly (which basically a believer), God promised that he will never abandon you. Is that great? It depends which perspective you look at it. If you happen to be a doctrine worshipper living under the bondage of theology, this phrase means nothing to you.

Why? In the minds of theologians, you can still be poor, sick and live like a failure when God does not abandon you because sometimes God likes to do perverted things on you to show you his sufficient grace. Recently I have a doctrine worshipper trying to convert me to his bondage of theology. I entertained him for a while but I have made it clear that I will ex-communicate him in 1 week if he fails to come up with any engineering ideas.

The point he tried to present is, the fact that Jesus had suffered and died means all the promises on health and wealth in the Bible is no longer valid. The good and the bad had interchanged. The good becomes bad and the bad becomes good. Jesus promised us trials and sorrows in this world. This means there were never trials and sorrows in this world before Jesus came. In other words we are better off if Jesus never came. Do you think I am convinced by such stupidity? I consider this as an insult to my intelligence although I am not surprise if the theologians bought them.

I allowed those theological posts to remain in my blog for one week for you to see for yourself how idiotic those doctrine worshippers can be.

The truth is, God is not limited to empty talk. He is an action oriented. When he says he will not abandon us, what he means is he will help us to overcome all our troubles.

The second part of David’s observation gives us an example in how God is not abandoning us. Our children will never beg for bread. Please note that David did not specify any conditions to this promise. This verse will always work regardless of any external circumstances. In other words, our children will never beg for bread no matter how bad the economic, social or political situation has become. They will never go hungry nor will they be ever poor. This is the promise of God backed by his integrity.

At this point, I can predict some carnal Christians like the theologians and doctrine worshippers will point out some examples of Christian children living in poverty and hunger in this world today in their effort to prove that God is a liar.

In reply to such heresy, my answer is these poor Christians need hear and believe in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. If your light does not turn on when you flip the switch, it does not mean electricity does not exist. Likewise, if there are Christians fail to live up to the standard promised by God, it does not mean the Gospel of Jesus Christ is false.

If you lights fail to turn on, there can be many reasons like burnt light bulbs, bad circuits, or you have forgotten to pay your utility bills. Electricity still exists even if your lights fail to turn on.

In the same way, God’s promises in delivering us from all our troubles, blessing us in all things including health and wealth still stands even if there are many Christians living in poverty, sickness and sorrows. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is more than just believe in Jesus and you will go to heaven when you die. Most of the Bible speaks on what to do between the moment we believed until the time we step in heaven.

Being Christians is to live the life God wants us to live, which is prosperity in all areas in our lives like good health, abundant wealth, long life and success. When we live this way, we will become beacons of light shining in the midst of darkness. This is how we become good testimonies for our God.

Satan is afraid that we will fulfil our destiny. This is why he raised up theologians to persecute us with labels like “Prosperity Gospel” to make us feel ashamed of the Gospel. Does it work on you? As for me, he failed. I am not ashamed of the Gospel. I am committed to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of the lies theologians can create.

In the context of the above verse, I am committed to believe that my God will never abandon me no matter how bad the situation appears to be. He will help me and deliver me from all my troubles. He will turn my poverty into prosperity, my sickness into health and failure into success.

Sure, there are many poor, sick and failing Christians in this world today. I want to help them to overcome their problems by showing them what the Bible truly says about their situation and how to use the Bible for their prosperity and success. The best way I can do that is for me to live the life that God wants, prosper in all things and be in health as my soul prosper. This is my commitment to God. I want to be rich, healthy and be successful not only for myself and my family, but also to present the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

Will you do the same? When you adopt such commitment, you will have no time to feel discourage by the problems you are facing now. There is a greater level of prosperity out there and you are on your way to reach it. Do not let the present situation weigh you down. God has promised that he will not abandon you. Your children will never have to beg for bread.