9. Living under His Lordship

They say when you accepted Jesus Christ as your LORD, living under His Lordship will be by obeying Him in the daily affairs of life. In John 13:13, Jesus declared that He is the teacher and the Lord. This name, Jesus Christ, is a name given by God, that at this name, every knee shallbow, in heaven and on earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to God's glory (Phillippians 2:9-11).

Everyone, good or evil, angelic or devilish, can call Jesus as Lord. What significantly tells if Christ is truly Lord of your life is by DOING WHAT CHRIST SAYS TO YOU (Luke 6:46 - ''Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?'').

The three basic requirements when we decided to follow Christ:

1. Deny ourselves; to put God as the top priority through Jesus Christ. We must put behind all things on earth, which does not limit to our parents, family and loved possesions.
2. Take up the CROSS daily; well, for a moment, i thought. When I read this myself, thoughts of Jesus, His crucifixion, and persecutions are in mind. Firstly, he cross gave us significant pictures of Jesus's sufferings and death, from this view, I know that calling Jesus as my Lord, I have to suffer for His sake and be persecuted on earth. Secondly, the cross also reminds me of the cleansing of my sin and the death of my past and renewal of my spirit after receiving Jesus on the cross. So 'taking up the cross daily' also tells me that I need to confess daily, and repent of all new sins and be purified in His blood daily.
3. Follow Jesus Christ. Very subjective and strict. Which standards and what to follow? The Word of God and His Holy Spirit is guiding us on this.
   

I've been telling myself and people around me that I am living under His Lordship for 4 years now. And reviewing about His Lordship gave me doubts on myself, again, as usual. Every single time I asked myself, did I put the Lord first today? Are my actions according to His ways today? And yes, the answer will be no, and I'm ashamed. =/

Putting God as the top priority seems affordable from the beginning. But as I lived and breathed, I learnt that God requires so much discipline out of me. Acknowledging the Lordship of Christ in my life from these areas based on two BIG questions.

1. Am I willing to do whatever Christ desires in this area?
2. Will I be able to thank God sincerely for whatever may happen in this area?

Areas:

• Self-fulfilment
• Financial Management
• Family Relationships
• Use of leisure time
• Friendships
• Possessions and Addictions
• Work Habits
• Helping other people
• Life Goals and Motivations
• Physical Health and Wellness
  

I have uncountable flaws, and I really need the Potter daily. I need to be beautiful before Him when He comes to pick me up.

8. Cognitive Dissonance

Romans 7:15-20 ''I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. ''

As much as I wanted to be saint and holy, I fall and trip quite often too. Growing up like everybody else, I do struggle a lot with things I want to do, and what I did. In short, the body is fighting the mind, the flesh is in a war with the spirit.

Habits like procrastinations, attitudes of impatience and insensitivity, and routines resulting from laziness are really what I am ashamed of myself. The weaknesses of this soul, sometimes, draw me apart from the crowd or people I love. At times, I chose to run away and hide, I chose to keep it in dark than to fix it. It is bad and I am getting old, I foresee that it'll get worse if I do not do anything about it. At my age, I can differentiate what is good and what is bad, as to what my surroundings perceived to be, and what God told us in the Bible. However, it is not that I can snap my finger and be person without sin at once. Situations where I did what I know is not right happens. The body will try its best to go against the spirit. Plus, there is so much more I've never experienced. Sometimes, sin is just right in front of us, preparing to swallow us in because of what we do not know.

From Romans, Paul, the author, offers himself as an example of the struggle involved when an imperfect person commits himself to a perfect God. He admits his own anguish and despair at failing even when he has good intentions.

''How can I ever get rid of my nagging sins?''

Romans 7:21- 25 ''²¹So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²²For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ²³but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. ²⁴What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.''

Romans 8:9-11 ⁹You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

By faith, I know He came to make me a better person and to fix me right. "For I take no pleasure in death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and Live!'' (Eze 18:32). But for every part that he fixed, if I were to condemn it repeatedly, then I will be punished. ''Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.'' (Romans 3:22) I need Him more than the next heartbeat.

I Need You More

7. The God I Know

''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.''(John 1:1).''The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John1:14)''

''The true light that gives light to every men was coming to the world'' (John 1:9).

The Song I Learnt and Share

When the stage is bare tonight
There’s no one else
Just You and me
When the curtains close behind
There’s no pretense
I’m on my knees

I will lay down my life
For the love sacrifice
You gave to me
It’s all because of You
All because of You

The God I know
Righteous and Holy
The God I know
Faithful and true
The God I know
My tower of refuge
Hearts are healed
Christ revealed

The God I know
Light of the City
The God I know
Strengthens the weak
The God I know
Your heart beats within me
As You are, so are we

6. Malachi

Younger generations, with not much thoughts of the spiritual growth often say things like '' It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'' (3:14)

Malachi speaks about the on-going faith, when we live and go through so much, especially when we are on either extremes of high and low. Success and failure has their dangers. When we reach the top, we might slack and our spiritual life might deteriorate too. When we fall to the very bottom, we questioned about fairness and justice. Whether or not you are believer, the questions revolved around the similar few.

Can the simple minds learn? Are careless attitudes alright? Is it always a blissful ignorance? Are the evildoers and troublemakers good in the eyes of the Lord? Is God please with you? Are you luke-warm?

'' So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against the sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,'' says the Lord Almighty. (3:5)

''Surely the day is coming, it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day is coming will set them on fire,'' says the Lord Almighty. Not a root or branch will be left for them. (4:1)

But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. (3:2-3)

Simply, Malachi urges believers to take obedience seriously and fear God, believing that He is to come soon to judge each and every of our thoughts, actions and decisions. Both the mind and the mouth can be efficient verbal dynamites. Your hands can do wonders, both good and evil. Hence we are reminded to remind ourselves to continuously practice our faith, seriously.

1. Do not offer to God whatever that is unpleasant or impure to you. If you do, ''I will accept no offering from your hands. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,'' says the Lord Almighty. (1:10-11)
2. Do not marry a partner of other religion. ''As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the Lord cut him off from the tents of Jacob, even though he brings offerings to the Lord Almighty. Nowadays, more often with much consistency, people look for common interests and compatibility in their marriage partner. A believer and unbeliever cannot be seen as being compatible. Our spiritual standing before God is the most important aspect of our lives. You may go against this and asked, "If I marry an unbeliever, will not I be in a good position to turn them to God?" But God’s commandments are based on wisdom. God knows that, usually and in fact, the unbelieving spouse causes the believing spouse to drift away from God.
3. Do not commit adultery. ''Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are His. And why one? Because He was seeking for godly offsprings. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.'' (2:15) But if you did commit it, as a punishment for your partner's suffering, the Lord will cut off His relationship with the one who've done wrong. He will come to regret for what he did: "You flood the Lord’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands."(2:13).
4. Do not choose divorce, do not choose to sin, and do not give excuses or compromise with wrong-doings. ''I hate divorce, says the Lord God and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garments.'' (2:16).
   

So yes, even minor decisions are able to shake your faith and cause you to be weary in the presence of God and backslide. Malachi is seriously urging us to practice our faith seriously and continuously. He reminds us to not do things that will cause us to be shaken. Do not put the Lord to test for he says, ''test me in this, 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.'' (3:10)

God tells us that he keeps a scroll of remembrance (3:16), on which he records those who fear him, and that sometime in the future He will come as judge, destroying the wicked, and perservering those who feared Him. The value of serving Him will be obvious someday, even if it is no today.

''A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am the father, where is the honor due me? If I am the master, where is the respect due me? says the Lord Almighty.'' (1:6)

The bitter truth? Or a pleasant righteousness meant to be discovered? I say the latter. Keeping God's commandments is way off our scope and strength. But remember God the Provider is always there, awaiting for us to go Home.