God Will Set You On High

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
Psalm 91:14 (NLT)

Welcome to my series on Psalm 91. In the previous article, we have learned that God wants us to go for the offensive. We are not supposed to just sit around to wait for Satan to attack us. We should take the initiative to attack him back when we want. God has promised that we will trample on Satan and his demons. In other words, Satan and his demons are called to be our doormats. We are free to trample on them as we pleased.

This statement must have offended Satan that he sent a messenger who introduced me to a crackpot preacher. I have checked out this guy. He went around telling Christians that they are not really saved. Just because you ask Jesus to come into your life it does not mean that he will do it. You have to go through some procedures (which no doubt requires this crackpot’s approval) in order to be truly saved.

I see this as the greatest proof so far that theology has been degenerating. What we are seeing now is theologians do not even bother to pretend to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ at all. Some of them have denied that God is even a person. They think God is just a system of goodness. Now, they have even dare to say that our salvation is false. Believing in Jesus and asking him to come into our lives does not guarantee your salvation. You have to go through some procedures, which only this crackpot can approve in order to go to heaven. In short, the only thing constant about theology is the change for the worst. Living under the bondage of theology must be full of misery.

On the positive note, the presence of this messenger must show that my last article is making a deep impact. Satan must be scared. I am following up in this article. Here we go.

Psalm 91:14 begins with a condition. The condition is we have to set our love on God. How shall we do that? When we set our love on God, we are basically entrusting him with all our hopes and things that we hold dear. We are telling God that no matter how bad the situation may look like or what evils that the theologians are saying, we remain committed to trust in him alone. This is called setting our love on God. We do not allow external events to disrupt our relationship with God.

Once we do that, God promised he will deliver us. What is he going to deliver us from? In order to understand this, we need to make up our mind that our God is not a pervert. He is not a sadist despite what the theologians say about him. God will never do perverted things on you like making you poor, sick and suffer. When God says he will deliver us, it always means he will deliver us from bad things.

The bad news here is bad things can happen to us. There are many sincere believers around the world who are suffering in every area we can think of. Many Christians are poor, sick, lost hope and live in failures. You may be one of them. Welcome to the real world. We have real problems in this real world. However, just because the trouble is here now, it does not mean it has to stay with you for the rest of your life. God promised he will deliver you if you set your love on him.

This means if you want God to deliver you from your present troubles, you have to start trusting him. You must not allow that bad situation to get into your soul. Outwardly you may be sick, poor and in distress but inwardly you are filled with joy, prosperity and health. When you do that, you are effectively in position to receive the deliverance from God. This is not all.

In the second part of the verse, God promised to set us on high because we have known his name. When God sets us on high, we are on high ground. All our problems are below us. When we look at our problems we look down. We are already in a superior position. This is the way God wants us to see our problems. Whenever troubles come into our lives, we treat them as our inferiors. God has given us everything we need to get rid of them. Once you believe in this, you will no longer be troubled by troubles. There is a condition for this. We have to know his name. What is his name?

In fact God has many names. I have written about the names of God in the past. The following is a copy of it.

JEHOVAH-JIREH: “The Lord will Provide.”
God is our provider. He is able and willing to provide everything we desires. 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 all.

Once you have set your love on God and know his name, he will deliver you and set you on high.

You Shall Tread Upon The Lion And The Cobra

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
Psalm 91:13 (NKJV)

Welcome to my series in Psalm 91. We have come to the offensive verse. The earlier verses are on defensive mode. I used the overall context to add in some offensive moves. Verse 13 is the one that is directly offensive. In this verse, we are no longer defending ourselves from the attacks from the enemies. We are doing the attacking. God expects us to start moving forward and attack Satan.

A Christian life is not limited to just defending our faith from the attacks of the devils. It is about moving forward right into the devils’ territory and take it over. Let me give you some examples.

You were infected with a deadly disease. The doctors told you that you only had a few months to live. You refused to submit to the natural limitations and turned to God. You used your faith to fight against this disease. You have determined that you were going to fight this disease until your last breath. At last the disease had to give way and you have recovered from this incurable disease. You have won.

What is next? God wants you to teach others how to do the same. The devil did not just attack you with disease. He had done that on many others. Many who are currently struggling with disease have lost hope. Who else but you are in the right position to lead them out from their despair? Who else but you are in the right position to show them that there is always hope? Who else but you are in the right position to show them that our God is capable of doing the impossible?

You may have faced a serious financial setback. Some time ago, you had no money and burdened with a mountain of debt. You activated your faith and trusted God for your breakthrough. At last you made it. All your debts are settled and you have a few million dollars left. You have successfully overcome the attack on your finances. What is next?

God wants you to teach others how to do the same.

In short, whatever challenge you have overcome, God wants you to teach others how to do it. Once you do that, the devil will not only have to flee from you, he has to flee from those who learned from you too. Your victory will no longer be confined to you alone. You are on the offensive.

Let me tell you the greatest secret of Satan. The attacks that he launched on us are not new. The same tactics were used from Adam’s time and they will be used again in the future. Satan has no creativity and he cannot come out with new tactics. All his strategies are recycled. What does this mean to us? If you can overcome one of Satan’s strategies once, you can do it again. Not only that, you can show others how to do the same.

This is why we Christians should gang up on the devil. Don’t keep quiet when you have successfully overcome an attack. Share it freely. You will be helping the rest of us to overcome similar situation. You will also putting additional pressure on Satan when he attacks you. Let us look at this on Satan’s perspective. This is how Satan will think:

“If I attack this guy, I can either win or lose. If I win I have one victory. If I lose, I will lose but I know this guy. He has a big mouth. He will tell others how to beat me. I will end up with millions of losses. This is bad news. If I win, I have one victory. If I lose I will have millions of losses. I better stay away from him and look for easier prey.”

Don’t you wish that Satan thinks of you this way? I like to think that Satan has sent a mass email to all his demons with a picture of my face and a warning message, “Beware of this guy. Never mess with him. He knows how to hit back and he hits hard. You will be biting more than you can chew. Look for easier prey.”

The bottom line is let us gang up. Whatever area you are being attacked right now, there are others who have been through it and overcome it. If they can do it, so can you. God is no respecter of person. It will be great if you can learn from them. After you have won, don’t forget to show us your solutions.

How are we going to do that? Thank God for internet. Start your own blog and write down your experience and the lessons you have learned. As long as we combine our faith and be united, there is nothing we cannot achieve. We shall tread upon the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpent we shall trample underfoot.

Satan and demonic spirits may sound scary to others but for us Christians, they are nothing more than doormats.

He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over You

11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Psalm 91:11-12 (NKJV)

Welcome to my series in Psalm 91. We have come to the part where Satan quoted to Jesus when he asked Jesus to jump over the cliff. Jesus replied that you shall not tempt God. This means the above verses will not stop people from committing suicide. God loves you and wants to provide the best for you. At the same time, he has great respect for you as an individual. He will never force his will on you no matter how good it is. If you choose to commit suicide, he will try his best to persuade you but he will never send his angels to physically stop you.

In Verse 11, God has assigned angels for us. Their purpose is to keep us in our ways. Please note that it does not mean the angels are working like secret police, spying on us and make sure we toe the line. The phase “keep you in all your ways” refers to protection from harm. God does not use secret police like the dictators. He respects our individual freedom. We can choose to disobey him if we want without fearing being arrested by the angels and tortured.

How are the angels going to keep us in all our ways? Verse 12 tells us the answer. They bear us up with their hands. They must be very strong. The result is, we will not even dash our feet against a stone.

The bottom line is, we are not on our own. Even if you are all alone right now, you are not on your own. God has send angels to protect you. They are on your side. They are your friends. You can never be truly lonely again. They are the equivalent of Secret Service agents to the President of the United States. I would like to remind you again that these folks are not Gestapo (or any form of secret police). They are not here to spy on you and report all your wrongdoings or sins to God so that on Judgement Day God will have all the evidence to fry you. The angels are on your side. By the way, have you heard of a Secret Service agent testifying against any president?

Now that we have learned of the angels, let us go to the application. As I have mentioned many times before, this is not a Bible appreciation blog. There are many reasons why people read the Bible. Some read it because it is a religious requirement and some may read it like a literature. As for me, I read it for application. The Bible is an engineering book. It is to be used. Let us use what we have learned.

Now that we know we have angels guarding our ways, how should we live our lives from now on? The answer is boldly. We should always look forward and reach for the sky. Have you heard of a saying: The higher you climb, the harder you fall? If you adopt that, you will never climb very high. Why? You are afraid of falling. The fear of falling will paralyze you and prevent you from rising. You will never get anywhere.

Thank God for sending angels to charge over us. If we are to fall, we have angels to hold us up. Our feet will not dash against the stone. So, whatever desires God has placed in your heart, go and do it. Do not allow the fear of failing to stop you from fulfilling your hearts desire.

How about those who tried and failed? Stand up, brush off the dust and move on. Just because you have failed before, it does not mean you must fail again. God has never made this law. In fact the opposite is true. Many people who are rich and successful today had failed many times before they achieve success.

Have you heard of the story of KFC? A retired army officer started a restaurant beside a highway. One day, the government diverted the traffic and the restaurant had to close down. The owner had lost everything except his determination to excel. He went from restaurant to restaurant offering them his secret recipe for fried chicken in return for a percentage of their income from the chicken. He was turned down more than 1,000 times. Finally, one restaurant owner said yes and the result is today’s KFC.

What is the message here? Do not allow obstacles to stop you from realizing your dreams. Obstacles can be in the form of present problems or imaginary ones like the one on “The higher you climb, the harder you fall.” Whatever they are, God has sent angels to guard over you. Be determined to live boldly from now on and you will see the will of God manifesting in your life.

No Plague Will Come Near Your Home

9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.
Psalm 91:9-10 (NKJV)

Welcome to my series in Psalm 91. Verse 9 above is the repetition of Verse 1. Why is there a need for repetition on a verse that is just 8 verses away? Obviously, God must have think of this as very important. All the promises in this psalm will only work when all the conditions in this verse are fulfilled. We have to make the Lord our refuge and shelter. This means we need to trust in him. No matter how bad the external situation looks like, we got to believe that our God is able to deliver us out of them and bring us to victory.

Verse 10 gives us 2 promises if we abide by the conditions in Verse1, which are repeated in Verse 9.
 No evil will conquer you
 No plague will come near your home.

Let us start with the first one. What is evil? If you ask the theologians, they tell you that anyone who does not obey their theology is evil. This means God is also evil. Let us find out what the dictionary says.

Evil

E”vil\ ([=e]”v’l) n.

1. Anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; injury; mischief; harm; — opposed to good.

Evils which our own misdeeds have wrought. –Milton.

The evil that men do lives after them. –Shak.

2. Moral badness, or the deviation of a moral being from the principles of virtue imposed by conscience, or by the will of the Supreme Being, or by the principles of a lawful human authority; disposition to do wrong; moral offence; wickedness; depravity.

The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. –Eccl. ix. 3.

3. malady or disease; especially in the phrase king’s evil, the scrofula. [R.] –Shak.

He [Edward the Confessor] was the first that touched for the evil. –Addison.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary

In short, evil is the absence or opposite of good. It covers both moral and physical. I like the first definition:

“Anything which impairs the happiness of a being or deprives a being of any good; anything which causes suffering of any kind to sentient beings; injury; mischief; harm; — opposed to good.”

Anything that deprives you from good, causes you to suffer in any way (both physical and spiritual) is evil. Is theology evil? All you have to do is to look at the comments from the theologians in this blog. One of them even dared to write a prayer that asks God to give him sickness and poverty. Is that not enough proof that these people are depraved?

In case somebody is wondering why do I allow free access to anyone including theologians to write abusive and condemning words on me, the reason is simple. I want them to prove me right. Through their words, you can see for yourself how sickening theology can be. In the minds of the theologians, God is a sadist who loves to make you suffer for his glory. In other words, God loves to impose evil on you.

Yet, the above verse tells us otherwise. God promised that evil will not conquer us. There is good news and a bad news here. The bad news is, evil does exist and it can come to us. The good news, even if it comes, God has guaranteed that it will not conquer us.

We are living in the real world. We face all types of evil everyday. We face the risk of lack, sickness, harm and types of disappointments. Even as you read this blog now, there are many Christians struggling against poverty, sickness and other forms of trials. Challenges are inevitable but that does not mean we must give in. As believers, we are in the world but not of the world. We may face all types of evils but we do not have to give in to them and allow them to conquer us. Why? He who is in us is greater than he who is in this world. God has guaranteed us that no evil will conquer us and he is a person of integrity.

The second promise in Verse 10 is no plague will come near your home. Let us read what the dictionary is telling us about it.

Main Entry: plague
Pronunciation: ‘plAg
Function: noun
1 : an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality : PESTILENCE plague of cholera>
2 : a virulent contagious febrile disease that is caused by abacterium of the genus Yersinia (Y. pestis syn. Pasteurella pestis), that occurs in bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic forms, and that is usually transmitted from rats to humans bythe bite of infected fleas (as in bubonic plague) or directly from person to person (as in pneumonic plague) called also black death

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary

When a plague happens, many people will get infected easily and will die. It is a disaster. Despite our progress in medical science, plagues still happen. The human race is not the only one who knows how to progress. The bacteria and virus can do the same. In other words, plagues can still happen but God promised that it will not come near our house.

In case some people are asking on Christians who died of plagues, please read my previous article. I have addressed this issue and do not wish to repeat it in this blog. In Singapore we have a recent plague called SARS. There is an interesting story behind this.

The first person in Singapore identified to be infected by SARS is a Christian lady. She was hospitalized. Her pastor went to visit her and prayed for her. The pastor got infected and died. So, the common Christians’ carnal belief was, since a pastor can die of SARS, surely being a Christian does not spare you from this plague. It is clear that they have never read or refused to believe in Psalm 91:10. They think God is a liar.

This is the problem of being carnal minded. If you are carnal minded, you can only see the negative. In the above story, there is a positive outcome. The lady whom the pastor prayed for had recovered. So, the pastor’s prayers actually worked. Let us look at this logically. If the death of the pastor means Christians are not immune to SARS, then the recovery of the person this pastor prayed for must mean a Christian’s prayers can overcome the effect of SARS!

Some may ask, “Didn’t the pastor pray for himself?” The answer is I don’t know. All I know is the person he prayed for got well. His prayer worked. This is my message here. You can pray your way out of every evil and plague if you pray in faith.

God is a person of integrity. He will fulfill his promises.

A Thousand May Fall At Your Side

5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
Psalm 91:5-8 (NKJV)

Welcome to my series in Psalm 91. This time, I am doing 4 verses in a row because I want a good ending in all my articles.

In the previous verse, we learn that God’s truth will protect us. Have you ever wonder would God give us such assurance? Obviously, he thinks it is necessary. The only reason why he thinks it is necessary is because we are living in a dangerous world. We will face troubles from day to day. This is the real world. We may not be of the world but we are definitely in the world. This world has a lot of problems.

In Verse 5, God wants us not to be afraid when we face troubles in our lives. He has even categorized the troubles that Satan can throw at us. Please note that God is only telling us about the troubles. He is not promising that he will give us those problems. The most profound nature of God, which no theologian can ever comprehend is this: God is not a pervert. Telling about future problems is not promising to create them.

Let us look into the type of problems we might face.

Terror by night.
In those days, they did not have electricity. They did not have nightlife. Night was the time to sleep. Terrors that happen at night must be very shocking. You wake up suddenly in the middle of the night into total chaos. You do not know what to do or where to run to. Most people will respond in panic. How should we respond? You will find out soon.

Arrow that flies by day.
Today’s equivalent are bullets and bombs. If night was the time to sleep, day must be the time to work. You have been minding your own business and work for a living. Suddenly, your workplace turns into a war zone. All the things that bring you security are now gone. Your company is gone, you lost contact with your family members and you may even see some of your friends died. What are you going to do? Read on.

Pestilence that walks in darkness
This is a plague, a wide spread disease. The term “darkness” here means we cannot see the virus that causes it. The air may be filled with these viruses. All you can see is people getting sick around you. Sounds like a Hollywood thriller? It can be real. Read on.

Destruction that lays waste at noonday.
This must be the mother of all calamities. Not only will there be people getting sick and die, all physical structures like buildings, farms, roads and bridges are destroyed. This could be due to natural disaster or a deliberate act of war. What are you going to do?

I have given you a brief introduction of the bad things that can happen. I have made it very brief because God’s intention is not to intimidate us. He wants to prepare us should the worst case scenario happens. He wants us not to be afraid when bad things happen around us. Why not? Verse 7 tells us the answer.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
Psalm 91:7 (NKJV)

When disasters happen, we can see a thousand falling at our side and even ten thousand at our right hand but (this is a very important “but”) this disaster shall not come near us. God said this with his integrity at stake. God is not a theologian. So he has integrity.

What must we do to enjoy such a privilege? The answer lies in the first 2 verses.

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)

We need to have a lifestyle of putting our trust in God and confess his goodness. Once we are able to that, we will not only be able to withstand but even triumph over the worst case scenarios. No matter how bad the situation looks like, we are destined to win. God said it shall not come near you.

 The terror by night shall not come near you.
 The arrow that flies by day shall not come near you.
 The pestilence that walks in darkness shall not come near you.
 The destruction that lays waste at noonday shall not come near you.

Please note that God did not say they will not happen. These disasters can happen but God has given his guarantee that they will not come near you. The only conditions you need to fulfill are to obey the first 2 verses in this psalm.

Since I have been under the teachings of theologians in my previous religious church, I know what the theologians and other carnal minded Christians are thinking. “What about other godly, good, kind and well-intentioned Christians who are suffering in the world right now?”

My answer is I don’t know. I do not have all the facts to make any good judgement. All I know is my God is faithful. As long as I put my trust and hope in him, he will help me to overcome every trouble that comes my way and prosper me beyond my wildest dreams. However, if I am to focus on the plight of those godly, good, kind and well-intentioned Christians who are suffering, I will never be able to overcome my troubles, let alone prospering beyond my wildest dreams. Anyway, I will not be able to help them if I do not have the means to do so.

Verse 8 tells us the opposite will happen to the wicked. We can even look to see their reward. So, do not allow yourself to be affected by the wicked. In this blog I allow free access for anyone to comment even if there are people who abuse it. Satan has sent his drones to hurl abuses to be. I am accused of many things. One drone even told that I should not be a Christian as though I have to ask for his permission.

You know what? It does not bother me at all. These abuses are the clearest proof that Satan must be shaking in his boots (assuming he wears one) when he sees the result of this blog. As for those wicked drones who had written those abuses, they will have their just rewards. God has guaranteed that I can see them receiving their just rewards.

The lesson for us here is do not be faint hearted when people persecute you, insult and mock you for your faith. We must always remember that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. When you face troubles, it is your faith that can help you. Those wicked people will not even lift a finger to help. So, why would you want to please them at all? Our focus must be on God, in particular fulfilling the conditions in Verse 1 and 2 in Psalm 91.

Once we have done that, God will help us to triumph over every trouble.

His Truth Shall Be Your Shield And Buckler

4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
Psalm 91:4 (NKJV)

Welcome to my series in Psalm 91. You may have noticed that I have changed the Bible Version to New King James (NKJV). The reason is I find NKJV brings out the flavor in Psalm 91. Somehow, Psalm 91 tastes better in this version. Conventionally I prefer to use NLT because it is simple and direct. It is good for application.

With regards to various versions of the Bible, I have heard of Christians talking about which version is more accurate. Personally, I don’t think these folks know what they are talking about. What is accuracy of the Bible anyway? What are the implications for those who read inaccurate Bible? Do they sin more? Will they go to hell? Will I find myself in hell because I was convicted of reading a not-so-accurate Bible?

What will happen to my prayers if I read the not-so-accurate Bible? Suppose I read a version of the Bible that is only 90% accurate, will I only get 90% of my prayers answered? If I ask God for $1 billion, will God only give me $900 million because my Bible is 90% accurate?

The point I going to present here is understanding is more important than the so called “accuracy”. When we are able to understand the Bible, we will be able to put it to use and produce results. So the main criteria in choosing the right Bible version is your ability to understand them and not whether it is “accurate”. Which will you prefer? A not-so-accurate Bible, which you understand and apply its principles or a very accurate Bible that you don’t have a clue what it is talking about? The former will give you some result but the latter will produce nothing at all.

Let us move back to the psalm. In the first part of the verse, the writer compared God to a mother bird, which I suspect to be an eagle. An eagle protects its young with the feathers under its wings. Birds’ feathers are waterproof. A young bird under its mother’s feathers will be dry even when it rains. Not only that, it is safe from predators because mummy is around. This little bird does not have to wonder where is mummy. Mummy is above it, protecting it from every harm.

God wants us to see him the same way. He wants us to feel safe and assured when we are under his protection.

The second part of the verse says his truth shall be our shield and buckler. I know what is a shield but I don’t know what is a buckler. So I look up to Dictionary.com. This is what I get.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Buc”kler\, n. [OE. bocler, OF. bocler, F. bouclier, a shield with a boss, from OF. bocle, boucle, boss. See Buckle, n.]

1. A kind of shield, of various shapes and sizes, worn on one of the arms (usually the left) for protecting the front of the body.

Note: In the sword and buckler play of the Middle Ages in England, the buckler was a small shield, used, not to cover the body, but to stop or parry blows.

2. (Zo[“o]l.) (a) One of the large, bony, external plates found on many ganoid fishes. (b) The anterior segment of the shell of trilobites.

3. (Naut.) A block of wood or plate of iron made to fit a hawse hole, or the circular opening in a half-port, to prevent water from entering when the vessel pitches.

So buckler is basically a small shield worn at the arm to protect the warrior from a direct blow from his opponent. It is used in a direct sword-fight. Shield is to protect its user against arrows. They are basically bigger because no one can accurately predict where the arrows might hit. When the verse says his truth is our shield and buckler, it is saying that God’s truth can protect us from every form of attacks our enemies can launch at us.

In other words, God’s truth protects. What type of truth is that? Let us begin with exploring on what this truth cannot be. This truth cannot be the following:

1. Sometimes God wants to bankrupt you and make you poor to help you to learn humility.

2. Sometimes God infects you with a talking disease known as “The Thorn In The Flesh” to teach you his sufficient grace.

3. Sometimes God sends a car to knock you down and break your legs so that you can have time to rest and read the Bible.

4. Sometimes God will make you so poor that you starve to death so that you can go to heaven.

The above is not exhaustive but I hope you get the point. God is not a pervert. His truth protects and never harms. Let us move on to the real examples of his truth.

1. God’s truth keeps us safe even when we are in a dangerous environment.

2. God’s truth keeps us healthy even when we are in the middle of a plague.

3. God’s truth keeps us in peace even when the external situation is very chaotic.

4. God’s truth makes us rich even if we are in the middle of the worst recession.

This is what God’s truth is all about.

I would like to look deeper into the shield and buckler. They are protective gears for soldiers in the pre-gunpowder era. Their role was to protect the soldier from harm. However, no one can win wars with only shields and bucklers alone. You need to get offensive.

Think about this. You enemy is swinging his sword at you. You raise your buckler and block his sword. He withdraws his sword and makes his swing again. You block again. You are not hurt but you not getting anywhere. You are wearing your buckler in one hand. You need a sword in the other hand. When the enemy’s sword clashes with your buckler, he will need time to withdraw his sword to make another swing. This time gap is your opportunity to strike back. Once you kill the guy, you don’t have to keep blocking anymore. You have won.

The shield works the same way. When the enemy shoot arrow at you, you can hide behind you shield and be safe. However, you cannot spend the rest of life behind a shield. You have to fight back. You can either shoot back or hold your shield and move forward. When you get close enough to the enemy archers, you can slaughter them with your sword. So, you still need a sword.

The Romans have perfected this skill. They have this formation called The Tortoise. Roman soldiers carry huge shields. When the do the Tortoise, they arrange themselves into a rectangle, interlock their shields around and above them. From the outside you can only see a block of shields. As long as there is no gap in the shields, the soldiers inside the Tortoise are safe. They do not stand still. They move toward their enemy’s archers. Once they get close enough, the archers are history.

The lesson for us here is, the protection that we have from God is not the end. God does not want us to spend the rest of our lives blocking the enemies’ blow with our bucklers and hiding behind our shields. Bucklers and shields can keep us safe but we have to get offensive. We have to strike back in order to win. We have to keep improving.

A Christian life is not a defensive life. It is offensive. If the enemy (Satan) strikes us, we strike back. If Satan tries to give us sickness, we get better health. If Satan tries to make us poor, we get even richer. We create the opposite on what the devil is attacking. This is not the time to be passive, roll over and play dead.

This is war. We are called to battle and we are destined to win. Are you ready for it?

God Will Rescue And Protect you

3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.
Psalm 91:3 (NLT)

Welcome to my series on Psalm 91. The above verse is quite clear. God will rescue us from every trap and protect us from deadly disease. Theologians tell us that sometimes God will allow us to get sick for some strange reasons. Yet the above verse says otherwise. This tells us that theologians can only produce theology, which is nothing more than lies. It is never the will of God for us to fall into traps nor be infected by deadly disease. In fact, the KJV has stronger emphasis.

3Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
Psalm 91:3 (KJV)

In KJV, the same verse begins with “Surely”. What does that mean? God wants us to know that he will always rescue us from every trap and protect us from deadly disease. “Surely” is not “maybe”. God will never say, “Sometimes I will rescue you and sometimes I won’t.” or “Sometimes I will protect you and sometimes I won’t”.

The God in the Bible is a “surely” God. He is not a “sometimes” God as propagated by the theologians. As long as we fulfill the conditions in the earlier 2 verses in living in his shelter, confessing him to be our refuge and putting our trust in him, he will make sure that he will always rescue us from every trap and protect us from deadly disease. God is a person on integrity. He will keep his promises.

Let us go deeper into the meaning of trap and deadly disease. A trap implies something that is intentionally planed to harm us. There is someone behind it. This someone could be the devil or another human being. We can understand why the devil wants to trap us. Why would any human being want to do the same? It could be due to rivalry, competition or no reason at all. This is the real world where people can hate you and cause you harm for no reason at all.

You can see some examples in this blog. In this blog, I explained the Bible in the way where we can use it for our prosperity and at the same time exposed the lies of theology. Satan is apparently not pleased with this and sent his theologians to spread their lies. One of them had even said that I am not a Christian and decided for me that I do not believe in the Bible. Since when have I allowed the theologians to decide on whether I believe or not believe in the Bible? If I choose not to believe in the Bible, would I have written all the articles in this blog? Of course, theologians do not care what the Bible says. Their only interest is to protect their beloved theology, which is nothing more than a lie from the pit of hell.

This means the moment you have decided to believe in Jesus and live a life pleasing to God, you have become the enemies of the theologians. What is your choice? Will you give up your faith because you are afraid of them or will you keep believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of what the theologians think? If you happen to choose to fall into the bondage of theology, I can tell you for sure that your problems will not go away. If you have been sick, you will continue to be sick. If you have been poor, you will continue to be poor. Theology will only keep you in bondage.

The only way for us to overcome all our trials and challenges in life is to put our trust in God. We can never know for sure who is planning to trap us. We can do all the due diligence like reading the contract before signing it but we can never guard against every scheme against us. The good news here is, God can do what we cannot do in the natural.

No matter who is trying to harm us, or how hard they are trying, our God is greater than them all. He will surely rescue us from their traps. This means that even if you find yourself being trapped right now, God has promised that he will rescue you. The situation may look impossible to you now but the truth is God has prepared the way out for you. You need to seek him to find the way. You have to keep believing and never give up hope.

God has also promised that he will protect us from deadly disease. At this point I believe theologians and carnal minded Christians will start thinking of other Christians who died of deadly disease. They will start to doubt the reliability of this verse and ended up inventing a new meaning for it. I know this because I was one of them before.

When I was in a religious church, I had never believed in the goodness of God. When I saw a verse promising prosperity to believers, I would think of believers who are poor. When I saw a verse promising health to believers, I would think of believers who are sick. So, like a theologian, I invented new meanings to those verses. Thank God, that is the past.

Today, I believe God is truth despite the negative examples in this world. Here is an example of what I mean. Usually, when I press the light switch in m house, the light turns on. One day, if the light does not turn on, I will not doubt the existence on electricity. I will not say electricity does not exist because my light is not on. I will still believe electricity exist despite the fact that my light is not on. What I will need to do is to find out what is wrong with it and fix it.

This should be our response to the negative examples in this world. In Psalm 91:3, God promised to protect us from deadly disease. If you happen to be infected by any deadly disease, you have to believe in this truth. This truth will give you the faith and the strength to fight against it. God wants you to get well. He will protect you from this deadly disease. Are you going to believe in him? What is your choice? God or theology?

As for me and my household, we reject the lies of theology and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In God I Trust

2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
Psalm 91:2 (NLT)

Welcome to the second installment of my study of Psalm 91. In this verse, we have come to the part on confession. The writer did not just write. He declared. “This I declare about the Lord”. This means he spoke with his mouth. Other versions like The Amplified and King James used the word “say” instead of “declare”. The idea is the same. It is a confession. So, Psalm 91:2 is a record of the writer’s confession.

Confession is a vital key to a successful Christian life. You can read a lot about it in the Bible.

 When David was facing Goliath, he confessed the he would chop off the giant’s head even though it looked totally impossible in the natural. In the end he managed to do that.

 When Peter was walking to the Temple, he was approach by a lame man. Peter did not have money at that time to give to him. All he had was his confession. Peter confessed healing to that man and the man got healed.

 During the ministry of Jesus, he made a lot of confession. Jesus’ confession had resulted in a lot of healings and even calmed a storm.

There are many more examples that I have not mentioned. The bottom line is, God expects us to confess good things in life. God did not give us mouth to talk negative. He wants us to use our mouth to confess good things.

When I was in my first church, the only form of confession I know of is the confession of sins. This church knows nothing other than sin. Christian life was such a misery. Instead of living a successful Christian life, the only thing I knew then was a life of trying not to sin. Thank God, he has revealed his truth to me.

A true Christian life that is pleasing to God is not one that is struggling in trying not to sin. The Christian life that God desires is the life that is constantly improving and prospering in every area. We are to do that through our confession. What should we confess? Let Psalm 91:2 tells us:

“He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.”

Let us start with the first part. The writer confessed God as his refuge, which is his place of safety. Do you need a safe place in the world today? If you are to look at the world today, nothing seems to be reliable. It is not safe. Where are we going to find safety? The answer is God. God is our place of safety. Safe in what? In every area that we are being threatened.

 If your life is being threatened, God will keep you safe.
 If your health is being threatened, God will make you whole.
 If your wealth is being threatened, God will provide for you and prosper you.

How are we to reach such place? The subsequent part of the confession tells us. “he is my God, and I trust him.” Let us go to “he is my God”. What does it mean when we tell God, “You are my God”?

When I was in my first church, it meant he is my oppressor. “You are my God” means you are the boss. You can do anything you like no matter how evil or perverted. You can do perverted things to any one of us if you want. When you do perverted things on us, we will have no other choice but praise you in the name of giving us the “grace and mercy in sharing in the suffering of Jesus.” This is basically the type of bondage I was in. Now I know that this is nothing more than theology which is a lie from the pit of hell and I am free from this lie.

What then does “he is my God” supposed to mean? I have written a separate article in describing who God is to us based on his various names. I am copying the contents here:

JEHOVAH-JIREH: “The Lord will Provide.”
God is our provider. He is able and willing to provide everything we desires. 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 all.

There is no safer place to go than the Lord. Through him, we can triumph over every attack Satan launched at us. We are destined to win. So, when we tell God that he is our God, it means he will do the above things for us.

The last part of the confession in Psalm 91:1 says “I trust him.” As far as God is concern, he has given us everything we need to prosper in every area in our lives and the solution to every problem we ever face. As Christians, we have everything it takes to live successful, victorious, healthy and prosperous lives. However, we will not be able to achieve all those if we refuse to trust God. Without this trust, we will not be able to access to the blessings of God in our lives.

How are we going to trust God? It is impossible to trust a stranger. You can never trust God if he is a stranger to you or if you believe in the lies of theology that says God is a pervert. You need to read the Bible and learn more about him. You can start to read other articles in this blog. Once you realize what type of person God is, you will have no problem in trusting him.

When you put your trust in God, your days of sickness, lack, oppressions and failures will be over.

Shadow Of The Almighty

1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1-2(NLT)

I am starting a new series on Psalm 91. This psalm is used for protection. Whenever you are in need of protection, read this psalm. It offers you the assurance that God is always on your side. However, you must never read it like the theologians. Theologians love nothing more than to pervert the Word of God. Whatever God had promised, they will inevitable point out some negative examples to show God to be a liar. Are they right?

The truth is, there are Christians out there who have failed to live happy, prosperous, healthy and successful lives. There can be many reasons for this to happen. As far as I am concern, I am not going to follow their examples. I look to God, not men, especially not theologians for my future. Therefore, as you read this psalm, do not allow negative thoughts or doubts like: How about so-and-so who believed and died? I don’t know about the so-and-so. All I know is my God is not a theologian. He does not lie. He will fulfill his promises.

Let us start. Verse 1 gives us the assurance of rest.

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Let us look deeper into the terms. If we live in the shelter of the Most High, we will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Obviously, living in the shelter of the Most High is the condition that we must fulfill and finding rest in the shadow of the Almighty is the result of fulfilling this condition.

I shall start from the result. I have always believed in deciding in what I want to reap before I start sowing. So, let us find out what is the meaning of finding rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Is it good or bad? If it is good, then we shall proceed to live in the shelter of the Most High. Otherwise, we will not do it. I hope you will understand that God give us brains for us to use. We are to use our brains as we use the Bible.

When God speaks of rest, it means inner rest. It refers to the peace from the inside. You can be very busy on the outside and have peace from within. This peace will keep you from being agitated and do dumb things, which you will regret later. Many people suffered from burnt-out and stress due to the absence of inner peace.

Here is the truth. It is not the external work that causes stress. If external work is the cause, then everyone who do the same work will have the same amount of stress. The truth says otherwise. You can have many people doing the same work. Yet some are stressed and some are not. Why is that so? The answer lies in the varying degrees of inner peace in them.

If you still refuse to believe me, try this experiment. Go to work one day. Do not do anything other than thinking on how bad it is if you fail in doing your job. Focus on the worst case scenario.
1. You company goes bankrupt.
2. You cannot find similar jobs because you have been blacklisted.
3. All your friends and family members left you.
4. You end up begging at the streets.

You will be very stressed without even lifting a finger to do any real work. So, stress is nothing more than negative thoughts. If you want to live a stress-free life, you need inner peace. Inner peace can be found in the shadow of the Almighty.

What is “shadow”? When I was in the primary school in Malaysia, we have morning or evening assembly. Basically it was about all of us students assembled in an open field singing national anthem listening to some speeches. We were exposed to the glaring rays from the sun. Some smarter kids will choose to stand beside the tall ones to get protection in their shadows. They were using the shadows to shield them from the sun. As a result they were not as warm as the rest of us.

God provides us with his shadow where we can find relief from our trials and tribulations. When we rest in his shadow, we have perfect peace. The external world may be in chaos but we will still have peace within us. We will not allow the bad situation of the world to get into us because we believe he who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. Is this relevant today?

Currently, we are in an unprecedented financial crisis. Banks are facing huge financial problems and need to be bailed out by their respective governments. If these banks are from Third World Countries, I am sure all of us can understand. After all, they are not First World like the almighty West. However, these banks are not from there. They are from the great and mighty Western nations like the United States and Europe. How did they get themselves into such mess? The answer is greed. No matter how good the system is or how stable an institution appears to be, greed can destroy it all. Looks like there is not much difference between the people from Third World and the First World. There are the good and the bad.

This incident has resulted in many casualties. Many people have lost their life savings due to somebody else’s greed. In Singapore, we have many retirees who lost their life savings. Many of them do not know English and the only investment they knew of is to put their money in fixed deposits. As their savings grew, the bank’s relationship managers approached them. The managers convinced them to transfer their money to an alternative “safe” structural product that offers higher interest.

The result is a disaster. The collapse of Lehman Brothers had wiped out about 90% of the investments. If they fail to recover their money, many of them may have to work in McDonalds, collect empty cans or wash toilets until they die.

Welcome to the real world. We are living in the world at the time where things that are supposed to work, don’t. Nothing in the world is reliable anymore. How are we going to feel secure and be in peace? Looks like the only source of hope we can have is God. The only true rest is in his shadow.

In order to get into the shade of somebody’s shadow, we have to get close to this person. This is where the first part of Psalm 91:1 comes in.

1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1-2(NLT)

We have to live in God’s shelter. This means we choose willingly to rely on his integrity. When we are in danger, we trust in him to protect us. When we are sick, we trust in him to heal us. When we are facing recession, we trust in him to prosper us. In other words, no matter what sort of trials we are facing right now, we choose to trust in our God to fight for us and deliver us. Once you are able to do this, you will have peace that transcends all understanding in your heart. You will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

There are 2 names of God here: Most High and Almighty. Most High refers to God as the highest authority. This means no matter how big your troubles appear to be, God is greater than them all. He is the Most High. He is also the Almighty. He is capable of solving every problem that we can ever face. In short, God is able to deliver us and help us to overcome all the trials and challenges we face in life. The question here is: Are you willing to put your trust in him?

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.
11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.
12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.
15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (NLT)

Welcome to my engineering Bible study blog. Let me share some background on why I write on this. As this blog develops, I have received some comments along the way. Some of them are from people who have benefited from my writings and they wrote in to thank me for it. I am happy to see them. This means my seeds are working. In other words, my harvests are going to be great. I look forward for my abundant prosperity.

There are also oppositions. I am sure Satan will not sit still and let me destroy his kingdom. He sent theologians to advise me to repent from the heresy on believing in Jesus and return into lies of theology. One of the them called me a liar and said Jesus never die poor for us to live rich. When I showed him the evidence, he changed the meaning of it just like any good theologian. He even asked me to read 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 as though it will change the meaning of the Gospel.

Since I have finished writing on the book of 1 Samuel, so why not? This is another opportunity for us to learn more about the true meaning of the Bible and at the same time expose the lies of theology. I am going to analyze verse by verse in the above passage to discover their meaning and applications. Are you ready? Let us begin.

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.
2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
2 Corinthians 8:1-2 (NLT)

In Verse 1, Paul shared what God has done through the churches in Macedonia in his kindness. Verse 2 tells us what happened to them.

The churches in Macedonia were going through some setbacks. They were being tested by many troubles and they were very poor. Yet they were also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

I am sure theologians will tell us that God can give us troubles and make us poor in order for us to be filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity just like what he did to the churches in Macedonia. This is nothing more than theology, a lie from the pit of hell. Paul never said that.

The truth is all of us have been through tough times or setbacks in our lives. The churches in Macedonia were no different. They went through troubles like us. These troubles can be in the form of lack, or poverty. There are Christians who are physically poor. You may even be physically in poverty right now but that is not the end.

God can still prosper you even if you are physically poor right now. All you need to do is to continue to believe in his faithfulness and refuse to give up. This was what the churches in Macedonia did. Outwardly, they had many troubles and were poor but they refused to allow their external circumstances to rob them of their joy and their rich generosity. They were rich in the inside. In other words they still believed God wanted them to be rich even if they could not experience it outwardly. They chose to believe in the truth of God and not on the lies of theology.

3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
2 Corinthians 8:3-4 (NLT)

They wanted to sow. They even begged Paul “for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.” They were givers. Why would they be so eager to give when they were outwardly poor themselves? The answer is, they must be very rich in the inside. They must have strong faith and wanted to sow for their prosperity. They were practicing the principle of sowing and reaping. If there were theologians there, I am sure these churches would be labeled as “Prosperity Churches”.

5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.
2 Corinthians 8:5 (NLT)

They did more than what Paul had hoped for. Their priority was to give themselves to the Lord and to the apostles. They obeyed God. Likewise, we need to realize that we need to set our priorities right. If you really want to be rich beyond your wildest dreams, you need to get your priorities right. Once your will is in line with God’s will, there is no limit on how much prosperity you can have.

6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
2 Corinthians 8:6-7 (NLT)

In Verse 6, Paul wanted the Corinthians to learn more about giving. Verse 7 tells us that the Corinthians had excelled in many areas but not in giving. So, Paul wanted them to excel in it as well. Why was that so? In God’s mind, giving is the vital source of prosperity. The Bible is full of passages that tell us the benefits of giving. In God’s system, giving will make us rich. Paul must be serious in wanting the Corinthians to be rich.

8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
2 Corinthians 8:8 (NLT)

This verse sets Paul apart from the theologians. Paul had never manipulated people for money the way religious pastors have done. He was not after their money. He wanted to know the level of the Corinthians love compared to other churches. In other words, Paul wanted to find out what the weak points are in order to fix them. Paul was an engineer.

9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT)

This is the truth that is able to shatter the foundation of theology. Jesus died poor at the Cross, to make us rich. Paul was trying to convince his audience that God is committed to make them rich. He even sent Jesus to die poor for us to live rich. How can Christians ever be poor? A poor Christian is a contradiction in terms. If you are a Christian and you are poor, it is not God’s fault. He had done the extreme to make you rich. He sent Jesus to die poor for you to live rich. The question here is, are you using his way to get rich? Are you giving? Are you sowing seeds for your prosperity?

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.
11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.
2 Corinthians 8:10-11 (NLT)

Looks like the Corinthians were eager to give but along the way their enthusiasm died off. Why? They must have heard theologians telling them that giving does not work. So and so had given a lot of money but is still very poor. This is the common tactic used by religious people. No matter what the Bible says, they will find some examples that show otherwise. What do you think will happen if you listen to them? The answer is nothing. Your situation will not change.

God may have sent Jesus to die poor for us to live rich but we need to activate our riches with our giving. Giving is the solution to poverty. If you do not wish to live poor, start giving.

In Verse 11, Paul advised the Corinthians to start giving. The last part says “Give in proportion to what you have.” By the way, I am doing the same now. There are 2 implications to this principle of giving in proportion.

The first is, we can always afford to give. Assuming that you have fixed the proportion of 10% of you income and you have earned $10, then give $1.

The second implication is, it will result in exponential growth in your wealth. Let us do some projections. Let us assume that you intend to give 10% of your income and receive 100 times of harvest from your giving.

 You have $10.
 You give away 10%, which is $1.
 You get 100 times of what you have given, which is $100.
 You give away 10% of that harvest, which is $10.
 You get 100 times of what you have given, which is $1,000.
 You give away 10% of that harvest, which is $100.
 You get 100 times of what you have given, which is $10,000.
 You give away 10% of that harvest, which is $1,000.
 You get 100 times of what you have given, which is $100,000.
 You give away 10% of that harvest, which is $10,000.
 You get 100 times of what you have given, which is $1,000,000.

You can be a millionaire by starting to give $1! This is what happens when we give in proportion to what we have.

12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.
2 Corinthians 8:12-13 (NLT)

Another condition we need to fulfil in our sowing is we must do it willingly. If you were forced to give, you will not receive any harvest. Give what you have and do it eagerly. Give because you believe in God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises and not because you are threatened by anyone.

Don’t over-give either. Farmers do not sow all their seeds. They keep some for their daily expenses until the next harvest. So, you must not give anything away unless God specifically told you to do so. If God really tells you that, he himself will ensure that your daily needs will be met until you receive your harvest.

14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.
2 Corinthians 8:14 (NLT)

Paul was looking at the churches as a part of a global community. Not all of us experience setbacks at the same time. So, if we have a good network those who are prospering can help those who are facing difficulties. In this way, we can ensure that the body of Christ will never be poor. However, I don’t see such network in place. Maybe should start one.

15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”
2 Corinthians 8:15 (NLT)

Paul was reminding his audience that God’s system of giving is different from the world’s system. In the world’s system, giving makes you poorer. However, in God’s system, giving makes you richer. So, don’t see giving as a burden or a sacrifice to your finances. Giving is an opportunity to be rich. Look forward to it!