“With Jesus Christ in your life, your eternal victory is secure…”

I watch the Olympic games when I have the chance to. Again it’s interesting to me how the Olympics or any sport can be a picture of life. In our lives, as in sport, we will encounter both victory and defeat. But, we don’t need to dwell on defeat. You see, if you have Jesus in your life, your eternal victory is secure. When Christ died on the cross, He forever defeated the power of sin and death to give us new life. As Christians, we can rejoice in ultimate victory: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:571 Cor. 15:57
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  

WP-Bible plugin).

Scripture teaches that in this world, we have a choice: to experience defeat by allowing the world to overcome us or to be overcomers through faith in Christ. Thankfully, we have this promise: “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:41 John 5:4
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.  

WP-Bible plugin). Jesus told His disciples, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33John 16:33
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.  

WP-Bible plugin). Are you an overcomer or have you allowed yourself to be overcome?

If you’re feeling victorious in your life today, rejoice in God’s goodness. However, if you’re feeling discouraged, look to Christ. As the writer of Hebrews said: “Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Heb. 12:3Heb. 12:3
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.  

WP-Bible plugin). Turn to Christ when you feel defeated, knowing that He has won the battle for your soul. The setbacks are only temporary but our ultimate victory is eternal and assured!

Be fishers of men wherever you are...

“Be fishers of men wherever you are…”

Someone once said, “You tell me the depth of a Christian’s compassion, and I will tell you the measure of his usefulness.” How deep does your compassion go? God is looking for such people. How does it affect you, knowing there are many people who do not know Christ, knowing they are basically on their way to a certain judgment? Does it move you? Until you are moved in the depths of your soul, you will not be moved to take any action.

Nehemiah was a man in a position of great influence and power as he served under the king. He was not a preacher or priest or scribe. He was what we might call a layman today. But Nehemiah loved God. One day, someone told him about the plight of the Jews and how the city of Jerusalem was now lying in ruins. Nehemiah began to weep and pray and say, “Lord, what can I do about this problem?” After his weeping came working. After his despair came determination. The devastation of Jerusalem touched him, and he wanted to do something about it. So he prayed and he devised a plan. Then that plan began to unfold. These are two essential ingredients for effectively sharing our faith. It must start with a God-given burden, leading us to prayer. And then we need to go out and do something.

Now, what kind of people does God want to use? We find the same pattern throughout Scripture: the people God used were faithful in what He had placed before them. The people that God used for big things were people who were faithful in the little things. Perhaps you have considered dedicating your life to Christian service one day, maybe even in another country. That is a good and noble aspiration. But how about just serving the Lord where you are right now? How about seizing the opportunities around you today? When God used David to defeat Goliath, he was on an errand for his father, taking food to his brothers on the front lines. But as he was faithful in a little way, God gave him more. We know that when God called Gideon to lead Israel, he was threshing wheat. When Elijah called Elisha into the Lord’s service, he was plowing a field. When Jesus called Peter and John to become fishers of men, they were mending their nets. Not one of them was sitting around thinking, “I wonder if God will ever do anything in my life?” They were busy with the work at hand.

While we’re looking for distant opportunities, we might miss the ones that are right in front of us. Are you serving the Lord right now with what He has called you to do? Be faithful in that. Do it well. Do it as unto the Lord. It may seem like your efforts go unnoticed, but there is someone who sees. And He will one day reward you openly. And all this, for His glory!

Exercising your faith...

Exercising our faith to build up the church…

08-08-08 – The Beijing Olympics just took off last Friday. And as a Christian who happens to be a sports fan, like Paul, there are so many great illustrations about the Christian life we can glean from the world of sports. Just in participating in the games reminded me of what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “…Train yourselves to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (2 Tim.4:7-8).”

I thought of that: “Physical training has “some value” as compared to “Godliness has value for ALL things.” Which is which we should give more priority to? Today we are bombarded with many ways to exercise – various programs to lose weight and to be physically fit. Practically thousands of people are spending a lot of money to acquire the latest and the easiest way to be fit. Some spend a lot of hours in the gym, others few hours in the home. Others just do it in the park or any quadrangle in the good old traditional way – jogging or walking! To serve its purpose all agree that it takes direction, discipline and determination to achieve what we want to achieve. And to those who stick to the plan get results.

Now, come to think of it? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Christians put as much determination into their spiritual life as they do in their exercise? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we put as much zeal and discipline into our Christian walk as we do in our hobbies and pleasures? A simple test: How many of you would come to a party, with your friends there and with lots of food? I’m sure many. But how many would come to commune with the Lord, seek God’s face with brothers and sisters interceding for others in prayer? How many can read books and novels for one sitting but could not read the Bible for half an hour everyday? How many could talk to others about politics, current events, movies and business with much enthusiasm but are always dumbfounded when we are asked about the Lord and His love?

The list can go on and on but the point is this: Live for that which has eternal value! It’s not wrong to exercise, in fact we should – for our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But there’s an exercise that has value not only for this life but for the life to come – the exercise of our faith – the exercise of what we have learned from the Bible; the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit – to build up the church! It’s not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit we can! Go for God, not for the gold!

Youth Camp 2008

COME, FOLLOW ME

“Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:61 John 2:6
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.  

WP-Bible plugin

VISION:

Jesus came and walked on this earth leaving us a shining example of absolute obedience to God the Father. Our desire is that the youth would understand the crucial truth that those who profess to be His followers and to abide with Him must walk with Him, following His pattern and example. Jesus lived a victorious life on earth and promised that if we accept His invitation to follow Him in obedience, we too will live victoriously!

PRAISE:

After more than 7 years of opening our youth camps to other Calvary Chapel churches, the Lord impressed on our hearts that this year needed to be different. Our youth group was going through a rebuilding stage and we felt strongly that the Lord was moving us to focus on the young people in our own church. We were excited to have a smaller group that would allow for the opportunity to break down barriers and build unity among our youth. That was our hearts desire and the Lord granted us that and so much more.

We learned to follow the footsteps of Jesus through 6 powerful sessions entitled:

• The Invitation
• Carry Your Cross
• Press On
• Saved to Serve
• Forgiveness, and
• Called to Love

We also enjoyed an exciting two-day Sports Fest and Relay Obstacle Course, sweet worship, interactive workshops and Purity sessions, bonfire fellowships, and so much more.

On the last day of camp, we were blessed and moved by the heartfelt testimonies of the youth who stood up to praise God for what He had showed them and to encourage each other to keep following Jesus no matter what! Every camp is an awesome experience with Lord and the youth go home on fire and excited.

But, after a few weeks or months the ‘experience’ can be pushed into the past by problems, pressures, friends, etc. That is why our camps are planned out to be more than just an experience with God but to be a life-changing encounter that would be a turning point in their lives.

We praise the Lord for the awesome work He did through this camp and we give Him all the glory and honor!

RUN WELL, FINISH WELL! As the Beijing Olympics is just around the corner I could imagine the competitors psyching up, gearing up, and training up for the day of competition. Think of the track and field runner. In first-century track competitions, each runner would be assigned to a lane on the track. Each was expected to stay in his assigned lane. Don’t you know that as Christians we are in a race (1 Cor.9:24-27; Heb.12:1)? But it’s a different kind of a race, in that as you and I run the race of life, our competition is not with other believers. Rather, our competition is with our enemies, who are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The goal is not to outrun someone else. The goal is to outrun those wicked influences that could bring us down. You might justify your slow pace by pointing to other people still running behind you. True. But there are probably some people ahead of you too. You are not to concern yourself with who is behind you or who is ahead of you. You are to run the race before you. God has not called you to run someone else’s race. We are each called to run our own race.

Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 41st birthday. I know I’m still young (hehe), but I know too that I’m not getting any younger. But you know what? Getting older is not a depressing thought, because from the day I gave my life to Jesus Christ, it has been an adventure. I don’t regret a single day of my life that I have spent following and serving the Lord. Sure, my life has had some surprises. One of them has been seeing people who I never thought would make it in the Christian life make it, and seeing people who I never thought would fall, fall. Some people have a powerful start and then crash and burn. Others have a rather weak start, but somehow pull it together in the end. Best of all, there are some who start and finish the race with flying colors. I want to be one of those people. Don’t you?

“As we make our decisions, our decisions will make us.”

Here is what we need to remember. We do have a say so as to how the race we run will turn out. Let me put it another way. If you want to be a winner in the race of life, then you can be. If you want to be a loser, then you can be. It really comes down to the choices you make on a daily basis. You see, people fall away from the Lord because, for all practical purposes, they choose to. They neglect certain things, and at the same time, allow other things into their lives. As we make our decisions, our decisions will make us. What practical steps can you take today to ensure that you will be running well in the Christian race 5-25 years from now? Think about it…and do something about it…through Christ who strengthens us!

Shhh..STOP and LISTEN! – We are living in a one of the most confusing and distracting generation in the history of the world.