Proverbs 13:9-10

⁹ The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. ¹⁰ Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Car

         Have you dreamed of buying a car that you wish to keep all your lifetime?

Someone helped an immigrant to come to Canada. He suggested which car to buy when the time came for the immigrant to buy his car. The immigrant had other preferences which car he wanted to buy, but out of debt of gratitude, he purchased the car suggested by the one who helped him came to Canada.

         Consequently, maintenance issues cause him a lot of headaches. Hoping to pay his debt of gratitude, the immigrant endured the problem of owning a car he did not prefer. As gesture of gratitude, is it sensible to endure and sacrifice?

         Interestingly, Christ Jesus our Lord did not have any debt of gratitude from mankind but because of his love for us he endured and sacrificially died for us to have eternal life. Let’s reflect on Romans 6:8-10.  ⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

         After you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, have you ever sensed a debt of gratitude toward the Lord? The Lord does not require us to pay for his sacrifice on the cross. No human ability is able to pay back the sacrifices of Christ. We do not need to sacrifice our life for Christ, do we?

         But why did Christ give us instructions to follow? He wants us to maximize the fullness of life as we practice faith in Christ. But of course, only by faith that we are able to internalize that following the Lord and obedience to him is the most wonderful experience we can ever have as Christians. Let’s reflect on what Apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, ⁴My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

         Apostle Paul emphasized that Christians in the church of Corinth believed the gospel of Christ by the power of God and not because of any logical and persuasive word of humanity. Expertise in explaining the gospel of Christ is useful but it is the regenerative power of the Lord at work that compelled us to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, and so, we repented from our wickedness.

1.  Wicked

⁹The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out.

         We need light in this dark world. We need Christ, the light of the world.

         Without Christ in our life, we instinctively prefer to wallow in wickedness. What’s your idea of wickedness? Commonly, wickedness is viewed as violation or breaking of the Ten Commandments of the Lord. Yet, anything that we do independently from the Lord is wickedness to him no matter how we may view it.

         Personally, how do you practically apply what it says in Romans 14:23?

²³But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

         Does this declaration pertain exclusively to eating only? Can we properly interpret that the term everything includes everything we do? If we rely upon the Holy Spirit in every activity we do, we practice faith; we don’t sin.  So, how can we relate this passage to what it declares in Hebrews 11:6? ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

         For believers who constantly practice faith in him, have you discovered already that the reward of God is gloriously satisfying? Whether we are blessed with material abundance or we just have enough supply to live by, we can’t help but to praise and thank God when we have joy and peace from his Holy Spirit.

Dream Job

         What is your dream job? What kind of career you wish to spend your life without minding about compensation? If you dreamt to run a restaurant one day, can you imagine what would you be doing as owner of a restaurant? It requires intelligible preparation for whatever career you may dream to have, right?

         It declares in Revelation 20:6,  Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

         How strong is your hope to reign with Jesus Christ in the millennium? The Scripture had declared it numerous times that God rewards us according to what we have done. If you hope to be given better position when we reign with Christ, be mindful to prioritize the Lord in everything you do. Someone said, “The Lord regards the love to perform and not the greatness of the work.”

         High paying jobs are what matter to mankind. In comparison, what matters to God is how we perform by faith in him. It is our dependence on his Holy Spirit that matters to God, why? In contrast to anxiety included in high paying job, God wants us to sense joyful peace while serving him that results to praise of him. As his Holy Spirit reveals his will, he also gives us wisdom how we should perform.

2.  Wisdom

¹⁰ Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

         Proud people do not want to ask for advice. Their competitiveness nature prompts them to perform better than anybody. For Christians, it won’t matter if we perform better than others or not, the Lord rewards obedience to his instruction. Anywhere, everyone strives for the best and competes for better performance.

         When there’s job opening, applicants compete to be employed. Employers hire what they think as best. It is employee’s dream to be promoted at work, but not everyone is promoted, why? If you were the boss, you promote employees who are qualified for the job. If you were the boss, you choose someone whom you may assume as helpful for the improvement of the company. Right?

         Now, Christians are called children of God. But we’re also part of the body of Christ, the church. God chooses anyone appropriate for his mission purpose and not just because we are his children. Do you think that God has mission purpose where he situates us? If so, we need wisdom to understand his ways.

Moses

         Moses tried to save the Israelites in his own way but they rejected him. So, he escaped to Midian and then, chose to live a lowly shepherd life. But, when the right time came, God called him to lead the Israelites out of the Egyptian slavery. Moses had argued that God was mistaken in choosing him as leader. He already tried his best to save the Israelites but they ignored him, so, he was confused.

         Whatever God plans it will happen. Moses obeyed the Lord and led Israel out of Egypt. Leading Israel was problematic so Moses prayed in Exodus 33:13.

¹³If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.

         Seeking guidance from the Lord is practical expression of our faith that the Lord has given us responsibilities whatever situation we have. Parents need wisdom for parenting, students need wisdom for their studies, employees need wisdom to perform well at work; we need wisdom in ministry involvement.

         At present, international students are joining us, and we are not expert at how we minister to them. We pray that God gives us wisdom to help international students learn about God’s love and grace for them. God rewards dependence on his Holy Spirit in whatever ministry we are involved in or just simply personal matter. It is wise if we pray similar to what King David prayed in Psalm 119:33,

³³Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

         The decrees of God are instructions that we should follow so that when we perform, the Lord rewards us. Instead of competition, we should strive to edify and learn from each other as we grow spiritually mature together.

The more we realize that our performance is acceptable to God, the more we want to know the ways of the Lord. The more we want to follow his ways.

Have you discovered that there’s so much glorious sense of contentment in Christian life when you grow more intimate in your relationship with Christ?

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