Heads, Hearts And Hands
Philippians 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His
good pleasure.
Wherever we are, we must shine brightly for Christ! We need to
keep on working with fear and trembling to complete our salvation in
Christ. The results of our salvation must be evident by our
obedience and reverence for God, and also our genuine love and
concern for others! God is always working in us, giving us the
desire and the power to do what pleases Him.
The journey from salvation through sanctification unto glorification
is a journey of faith from the heads to the hearts, and then to the
hands. More than just having head knowledge of what our Christian
faith is, we need to authenticate and actualize what we believe in
our daily life. It may take a whole lifetime, travelling along some
of the most difficult roads through dangerous mountains and dark
valleys!
All of us are pilgrims on this journey of faith. We may sometimes face
considerable frustrations and fears, exhausting our human, emotional and
spiritual energies. And some of us may have become weary and tired,
while a few of us may have become spiritual burnouts.
True theology is central and important in a Christian life. After
receiving Christ as our Saviour, we need to grow and nurture in the
Lord. To be safe, strong and steady in Christ, we need:
- Daily bread
- Daily drink
- Daily walk
Our daily bread is His Word! The only way to be grow healthy in
the Lord is to know Him, and abide in Him.
A lot of Christians today are not interested in reading their
Bibles, and knowing more about God and His holy commandments! As
they have itching ears, they won’t listen to the truth but will go
around looking for preachers and teachers who will tell them just
what they want to hear. They won’t listen to what the Bible says but
will blindly follow their own misguided hearts and minds.
2 Timothy 4:2-4
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince,
rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own desires, because they have
itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned
aside to fables.
Therefore we must preach the Word of God at all times, whenever
we have a chance, in season and out of season, whether it is
convenient or not, whether people like to hear or not! We are
exhorted to correct, confront and rebuke whenever it is necessary.
We are also to encourage others to do what is right in the sight of
God, while feeding them continually and patiently with the Word!
Now is the time to return unto the Lord and His Word! How can we
truly know God if we do not know what He has spoken to us through
the Old Testament and the New Testament! To abide firmly in Christ,
we have to agree with He says in His Word, and acknowledge that His
ways are higher than ours! It’s time to embrace His ways, statutes,
laws and precepts – in which we will find life, we will wise up, and
we will fear the Lord!
Our daily drink will be worship! True worship is when deep calls
unto deep; when mortality comes into contact with immortality; when
time meets eternity; when darkness fades into light; when death
surrenders to life and when fear turns into courage! And true
worship occurs when we are still and know that He is God!
Worship is more than just singing some songs. God desires our hearts
more than our voices! Our lives must be offered as living sacrifices
to God, fully dedicated and pleasing to Him. This is the true
worship that God desires. We should offer to God what really pleases
Him. Not copying the patterns and customs of the world, we should
let God transform us inwardly by a complete change of our minds and
hearts. Then we will be able to know the will of God. Yes, what is
good, what is pleasing to Him, and what is perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.
We need to align our praise and worship to the purposes of God!
Prophetic praise and worship offered by holy lives and pure hearts
are acceptable in the sight of the Lord! We are called to be His
royal priesthood – first to minister unto the Lord knowing His
heart, before doing what He desires as we minister to others!
Our daily walk will be the work God has called us to do! Our
Christian life must be both spiritual and practical. The
commandments of the Lord are not only about loving God, they are
also about loving others! God does not desire us to be too heavenly
minded that we have no earthly use!
The Bible has many accounts of godly men and women whose lives and
hearts were changed by God, and they were also able to minister and
serve others wherever they were!
Joseph was sold as a slave to Egypt by his own brothers! But through
his sufferings and pains, he encountered God. And as a result, he
was able to keep his own people alive, and also to feed the people in Egypt and many other nations in times of a great
famine.
Daniel was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He
served the wicked and pagan king, and also his successors with great
loyalty and ability until the time of the Persian conqueror Cyrus.
But throughout his life and service in the foreign palaces, Daniel remained true
and faithful to the God of Israel!
Matthew 5:14-16
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
We must shine for Jesus. Many people are living in darkness and
fear. They need to see the light of Christ! We cannot hide our light
anymore! We have to let it shine for others to see. Let our good
deeds be evident to others so that they will praise our
heavenly Father.
As we live, we need to be careful of what is going on inside our hearts as our
life is shaped by our thoughts and desires.
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence,
or out of it spring the issues of life.
Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
We need to guard our hearts as they can be very deceitful and
desperately wicked. Nobody can really know how bad they are! Only
the Lord knows! He searches all hearts, and examines the deepest
motives and darkest thoughts! And He will judge each person
according to his or her deeds.
Jeremiah 5:26-28
26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28 They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
In the midst of the people of God, there are many evildoers, and
wicked men and women. They lie in wait like those who lay nets to
catch birds, but they have set their traps to catch people. Just as
a hunter fills a cage with birds, they have filled their houses with
loot. That is why they are powerful and rich. That is why they are
fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. In fact,
they are sometimes more wicked than the pagans! They do not give
orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.
Today our world is crying out for help! We must do what God has
called us to do even many others are not doing them. Can what we know in our
heads move our hearts, and cause our hands to do something good for
others? Are we
abiding in Christ? Are we bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Can
others see Christ in us? Does our faith encourage others to become
Christians too? Do our life examples and testimonies attract others to follow Christ? Does
what we believe motivate us to help others in times of their needs, problems and
troubles?
May our heads, hearts and hands be in synchronization, in full
agreement and not
contradicting each other!
Written on 7 November 2021