Category: Articles

Holidays are in. Summer is approaching. What does this entail? New clothes, new shoes, and just some other necessary (maybe?) things. But are these really all needs? 

The world plays the game of consumerism, taunting us to buy more, better, newer. It’s like we can never seem to keep up with the trends and so our wishlist grows longer and longer. Soon the thin line between a want and a need blurs, until they blend together and we’re suddenly tapping our card again justifying it as a necessary purchase. 

The problem is that we’ve been swayed enough to believe that buying the latest trendy item is an essential means of survival in our current society. We’re so caught up in this flurry of wants that we forget what we have already been provided. We’re so distracted that we leave God in pursuit of fulfillment through worldly possessions. 

We fail to realise that these things are merely temporary, and that they can never provide us with true contentment. 

History Repeats Itself

You know what they say about history repeating itself. Generations past generations experience similar situations but never seem to learn from previous mistakes. 

Centuries ago, when God led the Israelites out of Egypt, he provided them with surplus amounts of manna (bread-like food) for forty days, yet Israel  mourned the loss of the foods they ate in Egypt instead of being grateful for what God had provided for them (Numbers 11:5-6). 

We too often forget all God has provided for us and rather, act ungrateful towards the innumerable amount of blessings He has and continues to provide for us. 

Never Fully Satisfied

There’s a reason why we can never seem to stop ourselves from buying and buying and buying. It’s the game the world plays. A game of taunting and trickery designed to make you feel as though what you have is not enough. 

Have you bought the latest phone yet? Have you seen our newest car model? 

With the world upgrading every few moments, it won’t be long before we suffer with our outdated items, left behind by the trends once again. 

The game works so well because society collectively plays along. Everyone seems to be intrigued by the same thing, then dissatisfied once a newer version is offered, reaching to buy the upgraded product instead. Society is stuck in this repeat; always complaining yet never fully satisfied. 

Eternal Satisfaction 

We cannot be fully satisfied by God’s creations whether it be other people, money, or success. True satisfaction can only be found through our creator and provide -, God.

To seek out contentment we need to develop a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus proclaims that “whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). 

A promise is offered to us that we can accept by learning and experiencing God through His Word and our prayers to Him.

Note: This is a follow up on the previous article ‘A Ticket To Heaven’

Previously, I talked about what it meant to be saved and how we know if we are saved. Well, in the last two months, I’ve been thinking about the question I left for the readers to think about: 

Do you truly love Jesus at all?

Looking back, I feel that I didn’t even know the answer to this question myself when I challenged people to think about it.I thought it would be helpful to unpack what love is so we can all understand what it means to truly love Jesus. 

First, it would help knowing what love is, right? So today, let’s find out what love actually is. C.S. Lewis, in his book ‘The Four Loves’ talks about the four types of loves:

1. Romantic love (eros) – a different, deeper love than friendship.

2. Friendship love (philia) – the love we feel towards our friends.

3. Affectionate love (storge) – this can range from our mother’s care or admiring cute animals. It’s a certain place, visual, smell or sound that reminds us of happy moments or a loved one.

4. Charity love (agape) – this is God’s unconditional love to us, so much that he gave His only Son to save us from our sins. Agape love stays through thick and thin and doesn’t fade in any circumstance.

God’s love towards us is agape love – sacrificial love that will never let us go. God’s love for us is incomprehensible. It’s unconditional and is something no human could ever achieve to fulfil for anyone, let alone for God.

Many people might stop here and ask: why does God love us? Does he lack something? Perhaps we think that God is lonely and created humans and the earth to satisfy Himself.

No! We are the ones lacking and, in God’s love, God is the one giving us His love so we can find ultimate satisfaction in Him. Our hearts are like a bottomless, infinite pit. How could we expect to fill it with finite things? Only something infinite could fill the void.

The ultimate goal of God’s love is that we can have ultimate satisfaction in Him so that the world is filled with people who treasure, enjoy and love Him.

The ultimate fulfilment of God’s love is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins; a sacrifice made out of His love for us, unworthy sinners.

So, what does this mean for us? What is our love to God like? How do we know if we truly love God? Here are some telltale signs:

Love is willing

When we love someone, we don’t need to be asked to spend time with them. We don’t feel forced to be with them and we even forget about time and what we were doing beforehand. When he or she asks us to do something, we don’t think twice – we’ll do it with all our heart’s desire. Our sole purpose, focus and desire is on that person at that moment!

This is the same when we love God. Our sole purpose, focus and desire in life is to do His will, to spend time in His Word and to talk with Him in prayer.

Love encompasses our whole life

Again, when we love something or someone, we spend most of our life with that thing or person. Even when that person or thing isn’t in our physical presence, they’re always on our mind. It influences how we think, feel and interact towards others. There is an aching and desire to be back with said thing and we feel satisfied when we are reunited. When we love someone who, for example, doesn’t like chewing gum (wild example, just so you get my point) we would make an effort to not chew gum in front of them.

When we love God, it shapes our thoughts and actions. We know that God is holy and cannot be around sin – thus, we would make every effort to keep away from sin and be more like God in His holiness.

Love is joyful

This one is pretty straight forward – when you love you feel joyful! There is really no such thing as love which isn’t joyous! 

When we truly love God, we would feel true joy. Joy is different from happiness. It is deeper than just a superficial emotion. True joy can only be found in knowing God and being in a relationship with Him. Sound familiar? This is what being in a relationship, whether romantic or friendship, feels like. We are joyful when we spend time with that person. We feel joyous when we get to know the person better and find out more about them through spending time with them. This same concept can be ‘transferred’ into our relationship with God. Spend more time with Him, get to know Him better through His Word and you’ll find the true joy there is in a relationship with your Creator.

Love gives all

The final main thing is that love gives it all. You wouldn’t hesitate or think twice about giving up time, money or effort to fulfil the wishes of your loved one! Even when you do this, you feel satisfied – you don’t feel you have lost anything. When we love God, we find ultimate satisfaction in God! Whether that be reading the Bible, going to church or serving in ministries – if we are truly on the hunt for ultimate satisfaction, there really shouldn’t be anything temperamental holding us back!

Conclusion

Obviously, love is much, much easier to envision and feel when we can see the person we love. But this is where faith comes into play. 1 Peter 1:8-9 writes that:

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

– 1 Peter 1:8-9 (ESV) –

Though we don’t see Christ, we have both faith in Him and love for Him. In fact, we love Him because of our faith in Him!

Here’s a direct quote from a Desiring God article written by Jon Bloom that honestly sums it up better than I can:

How do we know if we love Jesus? By what we consistently (not perfectly) do and don’t do. All lovers of Jesus keenly know we don’t love him perfectly. “We all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2), and “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But “if we say we have fellowship with [Jesus] while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6).

– (https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-do-i-know-if-i-really-love-jesus#by-this-we-know-love)

Our thoughts and actions tell out our love. Knowing whether we actually love God relies on our actions and obedience. This, of course, is a whole ‘nother article, so stay tuned. 🙂

I know this article has been focused on our love for God. But, in conclusion, let me leave you with some lyrics from a hymn that talks of God’s love for us that I think really shows God’s agape love towards us.

It was Love, E.C. Heidelberg

Why did Jesus give up heaven’s glory

For this world of sin and misery?

Why did Jesus suffer in the garden,

Drain the bitter cup of agony?

Why did Jesus stand in Pilate’s judgement hall,

Wear that cruel crown of thorns so patiently?

Why did Jesus give His life to save me?

It was love, God’s wondrous love for me!

Why does Jesus lift me when I stumble

Take my hand whene’er I go astray?

Give me strength I need for each tomorrow,

Grace to face the trials of the day?

Why does Jesus share the load I cannot bear,

Fill my soul with peace and joy beyond degree?

And why does He watch o’er me and keep me?

It was love, God’s wondrous love for me!

Sources:

https://regenerationz.org/the-ticket-to-heaven/ (my previous article)

https://www.cslewis.com/four-types-of-love/ (C.S. Lewis on the Four Types of Love)

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/what-is-love (Part of John Piper’s series ‘Ask Pastor John’)

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-do-i-know-if-i-really-love-jesus (Article by Jon Bloom that I quoted in my article)

Now we all make plans regarding the future right? But not every one of our plans turns out exactly like we hoped. People, situations, and opportunities have an impact on us. Every decision we make, good or poor, has an impact on whether or not our plans are successful. However, I must point out that our plans are based on how frequently they do not align with the gospel, how often we have our own interests in mind, and the different circumstances we’re in.

What we think is best might not be what God thinks is. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He also knows us better than we know ourselves, yet we still continue to follow what other people are doing, or what we think is good for ourselves. So, what does God say about his plans for us? 

Let us turn to Jeremiah 29:11-14,

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”’ (Jeremiah 29:11-14, NIV).

God’s plans for you are final; they are great and never change. 

Can you recall the number of times our plans or thoughts for the future change? We realised that our most recent plan did not fit our liking, so we created a new plan that we probably will change again. We modify and forget about the plans we recently had. Sometimes our plans change because of certain circumstances. If a certain thing didn’t happen, our old plan would still be on track. But God’s plans never change, regardless of our decisions, thoughts, or any flame of evil running into us. His plan is going to be successful no matter what. Nothing can stop him. He’s going to finish what he started. 

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

He works in ways that we will never be able to guess or understand. If we trust God with all our hearts, we won’t lean on our own understanding. When we don’t lean on our own understanding, we will acknowledge God. If we acknowledge God, He will direct our paths. If he directs our paths, we can rest in the knowledge that he will give us a hope and future.

The destiny of Israel was in the hands of the Lord. No matter what they had in mind or the decisions they took, God’s plan for them remained the same. His plan of action was firm. God caused the Israelites to experience a situation through Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, which caused the Israelites to once more cry out to God. In order for the Israelites to once again call out to God and turn back to God, God made use of their time in Babylon, he made them go through persecution to make them realise sin and rebellion have negative impacts. But he was never done with them, he never thought of disappearing.

God’s love and promise of a future and hope for those who are faithful and call out to the Lord are made clear in both the Old and New Testaments. Although, in God’s sovereignty, he allows us to make poor choices and disobey Him. This is a way for us to learn and grow from our mistakes.  Even if we have turned our backs on Him, He does not abandon us permanently.

His desire for you is to give you hope and a future, not to harm you. All who look for God and call upon the name of the Lord have that hope and future. The future is unknown to all. We all make plans even though we don’t know what the future holds. But, that doesn’t mean we should abandon making plans. Instead, our plan must be solely dependent on God’s, and God’s plan is not influenced at all by us

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:18).

It is important that we understand that this verse does not imply that you will not suffer from physical harm, illness, failed relationships, loss of employment, or any other disappointments that may befall you in this life. As compared to physical blessings and futures on earth, this word refers to spiritual blessings and plans of God that are greater. It is a word that reflects a future and a hope for God’s people (Christians) God just works in ways that we humans can never guess or understand. 

God’s plan is worth the wait; be patient.

Avoid attempting to force your plans or rush God’s timing and plan. All throughout the Bible, God expresses a longing for the redemption of all people. His purpose is for all the  people of God to have an eternal life and connection with Him. The same is true of God’s goal for you: to advance and mature in your relationship with Christ. He has always had a plan to give you hope and a future. This hope and future can only be found in Jesus, as He  is the source of hope for the entire universe.

You won’t always be in this situation. Look to the Lord, for that is where your hope and help come from. Your future is in the hands of Christ, not with the things of this world, therefore look to Him.

Regardless of your mistakes, things that you can’t control, or troubles you come across, God is in control and will redirect you to the great plan he has for your life.

I know some people who believe that if they pray for something, they will get it. ‘Name it and claim it’, they say— but as long as you have faith. If you don’t get it? It’s because you don’t have enough faith. Above that being a toxic sentiment, it also reveals a weakness in their hearts— a lingering fixation on worldly gains. Temptation. To focus so single-mindedly upon securing wealth on earth is a fault— if one were to stare so harshly at the coins scattered on the floor, they would never notice the glittering jewels of Heaven. This is not to say that we will obtain all the material things we desire in heaven by following The Lord, of course, but instead, we will obtain something greater.

Beyond what you can Bear

The greatest treasure of all is to be in the presence of the Lord our God, who provides us with all that we require, and nothing more. This can be seen in 1 Corinthians 10:13—

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

—where Paul addresses the matter of temptation. He tells the Corinthians that ‘God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear’, revealing to us that God, in his everlasting mercy, protects us from temptation ‘beyond what you can bear’, and if we are tempted, he will pave us a way out. 

‘But how does this relate to me?’ you may be asking. 

‘What am I being tempted by?’ 

And to that, I say… a lot of things. Gluttony. Slothfulness. Envy. And, of course, what I started this article with— greed. All these factors are byproducts of being human— it’s in our nature to want to go back to sleep on a Sunday morning or to spite a fellow brother or sister in Christ over them having something you want. But this does not mean that you should simply relent. Temptation may be a part of being human, but it isn’t a part that should be allowed to control you. That’s because temptation leads people away from God, convincing them to indulge in their carnal desires and to forget about Him. So, how can we combat this?

Our Desires, and God’s Desires

‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’ (John 15:7). We must allow God’s words to abide in us, to renew and shape our minds, firstly and most importantly by reading the Bible. This will help our desires to align more closely with God’s desires— therefore assisting us to pray according to His will. The process is hard— temptation will still bombard you from all sides, though lessened through abiding in Him. Yet this hardship will ultimately be used to bear fruit and achieve the chief end of man in our lives— glorifying God. We see this in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, where Paul speaks about a thorn placed in his flesh. He prayed and prayed— three times, to be exact— but God did not remove it. Instead, he gave Paul faith to withstand it. This is how we must push past our temptation to find Him— and just as Christ manifested in Paul’s weakness, He will be with you in yours. 

Pray to The Lord

Jesus taught us how to pray through The Lord’s Prayer. All of us who were raised in the church are probably already familiar with it, but for those who may not be, here it is:

“Our Father, Who art in heaven, 

Hallowed be Thy Name. 

Thy Kingdom come. 

Thy Will be done, 

on earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. 

And forgive us our trespasses, 

as we forgive those who trespass against us. 

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from evil. Amen.”

In the prayer, we ask God that ‘Hallowed be Thy Name’, ‘Thy Kingdom come.’, ‘Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven’. These are all prayer statements that align with God’s will— so if we pray them wholeheartedly, and truly desire that His Name be hallowed, His Kingdom come, and His will be done, we will learn to abide in him, and become even more free from temptation. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”. These ‘desires’ are not worldly things, but rather godly things that align with his desires, and coincide with the plan He has for us all. God will surely answer our prayers, satiate our godly desires, and eventually, when we return to Him, free us from the chains of temptation.

It all started with the English exam. 

I first knew of it when I received yet another text-filled email from Google Classroom. After a moment of panic, I reasoned to myself, “It’s only one exam. I have plenty of time to study.” and went on merrily. 

But then the math test rolled in. This was quickly followed by a history assessment and a science exam; before I knew it, my schedule was stuffed with exams.

It was only then I realised I was in for a rough ride. 

Exams, Assessments and Homework: A Recipe for Stress 

Perhaps my current predicament may be something that you are familiar with. Being realistic, I know that compared to others’ struggles (such as the nightmare of studying that I’m sure the Year 12s are facing now), my own worries pale in perspective. 

But it doesn’t feel that way when I’m actually at my desk, typing away notes. At the moment itself, it feels crazily overwhelming. I’m at my wits end trying to gain control of it all amidst worries and regrets. 

Whether or not exam season is approaching for you, I hope that after reading this article, you and I can keep these God-centred reminders in our hearts. 

1. Thank Him

Seems a bit funny, right? When nothing seems to be going how we want it to, giving thanks seems less of a priority. 

But that’s precisely what we should be careful of. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16 states, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.” The key word here is ‘all’ circumstances. 

Our happiness and gratefulness in God aren’t dependent on the sunshine-filled days only. As long as we’re given the gift of breath, 

In ‘giving thanks in all circumstances’, we are continually reminded of God’s past and present grace, which, in turn, encourages us to trust in this same God for future grace. 

2. Know Him (and His promises)

The God we believe in isn’t some far-off godfather who grants us gifts before leaving us to deal with our struggles alone. 

The God we know is a God that can be known – not from a biography or some third party, but through His own Word. Of course, God’s Word is the Bible. 

And it is in this Word that we can find His promises for us. After all, the God we know is the Lord of His covenant, and unlike us, His promises will never fail. 

So what exactly are His promises?

Here a few that always come to mind whenever I’m bogged down by the shenanigans of life. 

• “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

If we look at the context of this promise, it’s part of Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount’. In the sermon, Jesus addresses those who “worry about life”. Basically – all of us.  

Jesus asks, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” 

The answer’s pretty obvious. 

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

But it’s more than that. Each day will come with enough trouble, but Jesus promises that it will also come with enough strength to face it. Today’s strength is enough for today’s troubles – not needing to be saved up for tomorrow. Every day, God renews His grace for us – so why would we need to worry?

• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The beauty of this promise becomes clearer when we consider what a yoke is. 

It’s less commonly used now, but a yoke refers to a wooden frame, that would be fitted over the necks of ox to enable them to pull a load more easily. 

The key thing here is that yokes weren’t built for only one ox – instead, two oxen would pull a load together. When Jesus promises that the yoke will be light, He promises that we won’t have to be alone in facing the burden or mission that He entrusts us. Rather, He will pull it with us. 

The task He gives is given with strength – He will never give us a load too heavy for us to pull. 

• “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

What brings me the most comfort in this verse is that for all trials that God will give us, He gives us enough grace to face it. 

For Paul, this trial was the “thorn in his flesh.” God didn’t take the thorn out, but He used it to strengthen and shape Paul to be used even more for God’s mission. 

3. Look at Him

If you ever get the chance to watch one of my favourite films, “Prince of Egypt,” there’s one song in particular that always brings a smile to my face;”Heaven’s Eyes”.

The chorus goes like this. “The answer will come to him who tries/ To look at his life through heaven’s eyes.”

Heaven’s eyes. 

This point is handy when I’m starting to lose sight of my goal in ministry among all the stress-filled details that are involved. If we try to look at all our efforts through our own eyes, all we’ll see is the mistakes and the pain we’ll have to go through. 

But in God’s eyes, all the struggles we battle through are part of His perfect plan for us – that we may be shaped and built to become more like Him. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

There’s a God-given purpose for everything we do and go through – whether that’s last minute typing out this article or studying for an exam. To know that nothing we do or suffer through for Christ will be in vain is something to hope for. 

In the words of 2 Corinthians 4:18, 

“So we fix our eyes … on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

3. Talk to Him 

 This reminder seems a bit overused. Even so, it’s likely not our first inclination. I know personally that my tendency is often to rant and complain to my friends. 

I’m not saying that talking to your friends or family should be avoided – it’s essential that you don’t just bottle up worries or struggles, leaving them to fester into anxiety or grudges. 

What I’m trying to point out is that in our times of need, we shouldn’t forget our Creator – the one who understands us the most. Instead, we should run to Him.

He’s been through the same struggles, pain, and emotions that we go through – after all, He was human, just like us. As our Creator, He’s the one who knows us the best. And as our Father, He doesn’t just comfort us – He shares in our pain with us. When we cry, He grieves with us, and when happiness comes again, He will smile with us.

Remembering and repeating these four points as a success mantra won’t cure all anxiety and stress miraculously. I’m still stressed about my exams, and after writing this article, I know a whole pile of assessments is still waiting for me. 

But I also know I won’t have to go through all this alone.

I only pray that you may come to know this for yourself. 

In Reformed theology, we often hear the word “election”. We believe that God has elected His people before the foundations of this world were laid. But many Christians struggle when it comes to the notion of God’s sovereignty, and how evangelism comes into play. Since God has chosen, what difference would it make to preach the Gospel? Saved or not, there is nothing that we can do to alter what God has predestined – and simply because His will prevails nonetheless. This is where we need to be careful. If we continue, it could wrongly lead us to conclude that God’s sovereignty excludes the activity of evangelism, when this seeming paradox in fact works together hand-in-hand.

The Origins of The Elect

First, let’s dive into the concept of “election”. Let us travel back in time, all the way to before our universe was created. 

Welcome to “Eternity-Past”. 

Here, there is no specific time, but we can be sure that we have travelled far beyond the “olden-days”. In case you didn’t notice, we don’t exist yet. The planet we call ‘earth’ has not yet been created. Before us lies a dark and mysterious void. But in the midst of all this nothingness, we are not alone. There is a supernatural being who has been here for longer than we know: The Triune God. Although the universe and everything in it, including us, is still non-existent, we have in fact been in God’s mind this whole time. God, in accordance with His omniscient attribute, has already planned and knows the who, what, where, when and why’s. From every planet’s position in the solar system to all the human beings that would ever live, God knew it all. And, He knew that we would fall into sin and choose to hurt Him too. But God, in His grace and mercy, proclaims His love for us through His great plan for Salvation.

We read in Ephesians 1:4 that “….He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him….” As a matter of fact, this is where the story of salvation begins – before “people” even existed! This, in Reformed theology, is what we call “election”. From “eternity-past” God had unconditionally elected a group of people that He would save, through His Son, Jesus Christ. His choice was unbiased, not based on any meritorious deed that He knew we would do in the span of our lives. These are the “chosen people”, the “elect”; those who are guaranteed to be with God. 

Why, then, should we bother to preach the Gospel? If God has already chosen His people, why bother talking to those who might not even be a part of the Elect? God is sovereign after all, and there’s nothing in our power that can change what God has already determined. 

Even if we did, those who have not been chosen will reject it anyways, and for those who are, will God not have a way to bring them to Him apart from us?

Because He Says So

Remember the story of Jonah? The one who got thrown off a boat and swallowed by a large fish because He decided to run away from God? Well, in short, after running from God’s command at every turn, he eventually goes to the city of Nineveh. Jonah preaches and conveys God’s message that if they do not repent, the city would be overthrown in forty days. The people of Nineveh believed and repented, including the king. Yet, fast forward through the story, we learn that in the end, Nineveh returns to its evil ways and perishes. “What was the use then?”, you may ask. “Why did Jonah travel for three whole days just for his preaching to be ignored later on?”

One of the fundamental principles in the Christian faith is obedience. In John 14:15, Jesus says to His disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” And Matthew 28:19-20 reveals our great commission. It reads: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 

Why should we still evangelise? Because God says so! Or rather, because He says “go”.  If we are truly His followers, we will do what He says. And if God says to “go” and proclaim the Gospel, so be it. Notice that Jesus also says “all nations” and not just “His people”. For one, we do not know who will be saved or not, just like Jonah who didn’t know that the city of Nineveh would perish in the end. But God uses us as a means to call the elect. We are His sowers and the seed is His Word. For there to be fruit, the seeds must be planted first. Therefore, understanding will only grow in the hearts where the Word of God has been sown. At the same time, we must be aware that we are not an essential part of God’s plan for Salvation. God will finish and accomplish His work and He can do it easily without us. Yet He decided to include us, even in our sinful and imperfect state, equipping us to do His work here on earth. Praise God for this wonderful act of grace towards His people!

A Lesson To Learn

Evangelising is indeed not easy. But God has appointed us to be His sowers and spread the Good News. We may struggle, just like Jonah who learned to obey the hard way. But God has called us for a purpose, for there is a lesson to learn. Often God uses different means to teach us a thing or two, and that includes the activity of evangelism. In Jonah’s case, God convicts Jonah of his selfishness and lack of empathy towards the people of Nineveh. 

As teens living in a secular world, God is calling us to evangelise in our respective environments. May we all learn and grow together as a community of Gen-Z teens.

Decisions and Trust

Decisions are a crucial aspect of our lives and though we may not notice it, we make thousands of decisions every day; each with its own varying level of consequence, whether it be positive or negative. But when we struggle in making a decision, big or small, where should we turn to?

What should I wear today? Who will I make friends with? What career path should I take? 

These questions are the ones that are often swirling in the mind of the teen, and as we grow up, the importance of each decision grows, impacting us not only on a short term basis, but affecting our character too. Sometimes we do not realise the magnitude of the effect one decision can make, even one as simple as choosing a friend group, on our lives.

As we grow, we are expected to grow in maturity and make decisions that we are sometimes simply not ready for, because we ourselves cannot  trust that our choice will be the “correct” one, or be the one that will bring success in our life. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and make a decision without thinking, or be swayed to make a certain decision by the people around us. The media is also ever-growing in its popularity and power over our decisions. 

But if not to ourselves, where should we seek help from when making decisions?

Decisions Means Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all [our] heart, and do not lean on [our] own understanding”. 

Making decisions, fundamentally, is all about trust. Trust is integral to all relationships in our lives, our friendships, in our family and especially with God and choosing who we trust makes a significant impact on our lives.So the first crucial decision we must make is, who will we trust?

Deciding to trust God is a big decision in itself. Trusting in Him means we have to continually depend on Him and have faith that His answers to our questions are true. It means trusting Him in all aspects of our lives, from the little questions to the big ones, and in times of struggle to times of joy. 

It is incredibly difficult to let go of the control we have over our lives and our decisions. 

But what we can take comfort in is that “[God’s] understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). He knows what we’ve faced, what we’ll struggle with in the future – even the “very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30) and known by Him.

We, on our own, have a much more limited understanding compared to our vast-knowing God, and when we depend on our own mind, we cannot be 100% sure that our choice is really  true. We can only predict what outcome our decision may lead to. 

God calls us to depend on Him, to trust in His understanding and not our own, because He knows infinitely more what lies ahead for all of us,  you and I. 

Trusting in God

Now that we’ve taken the biggest step in deciding who to trust, how do we carry this out in our lives and our actions? 

To trust in someone, it is critical that we communicate with them. Being close with friends requires being honest and open to one another and this is only achievable by  talking with each other often.

The same principle is what we must carry out with God. God is our friend and our guide, and to grow our trust in Him, we need to communicate with Him through prayer. 

The Bible, His Word is essential for us in developing our understanding of who He is and through it, we can learn and grow to depend on Him.

The one last step we must take is to be open and honest about ourselves to God. Thus, to commit to Him and fully trust Him to lead our decisions.