United Evangelical Church of Malabon

In the aftermath of World War II, there were millions of orphans in Europe. Their government had to build orphanages and provide for these children. They were quite successful. The orphans received the best care available, including the healthiest food and drink.

However, at one orphanage, the administrators noticed that after just a few weeks, the children could not sleep. Even if they received good meals, had adequate beds, the children remained awake all night. The administrators were disturbed that the children were disturbed! They interviewed the children and soon found out the source of the problem and the solution to it.

The attendants began placing a small loaf of bread into the hands of each child at bedtime. In a matter of days, the children were all sleeping through the night, reassured by the bread that there would be food for tomorrow. The children had been anxious because their experience with the war had taught them that having food one day does not translate to having food the next day. The presence of bread dispelled their fears.

Philippians 4:19 is the loaf of bread that God places in your hands each day. “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.” Do not fear like those orphans of the war. Do not be anxious for the future. While you ought to plan wisely and save prudently for the future, you should remember that you are not alone in securing your future. God will meet all your needs.

This assurance from God should also affect the way you give. If God were to ask you to take all your savings right now and invest them in His Kingdom, you should be able to be confidently obey Him, knowing that He will always take care of your needs.

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). That means He looks at our hearts, not at the amount of what we give. We do not share out of our own sense of righteousness, or out of duty, pressure or fear of punishment. We share because we love God and we are happy to obey Him. “He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 2 Cor. 9:6

Resource: Whose Money Is it Anyway? By John MacArthur.
Word Publishing © 2000. pp.81-82

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. More than two thousand American soldiers were killed and it crippled the Pacific Fleet of the U.S. Navy. Why did one of the strongest fighters in the world suffer such a devastating defeat? Because it was a surprise attack. The Americans were not ready.

This is similar to the Devil’s work. Satan wants to catch you by surprise so that he may achieve similar devastating results. Satan will not present something ugly and bad and entice you to do things his way. He will present something seemingly good, seemingly harmless, seemingly beneficial to you. But in reality it may be something that is not good for our spiritual health. It will prevent us from good. It may take away our time with God, or it may hinder our spiritual growth, etc. He will lull you into complacency. You will fail to notice anything wrong and then when the hard problems come, you will be surprised at what hit you. Just like the U.S. army, you might take a long time to recover.

As soldiers of God’s army, we have to be prepared to respond to Satan’s attacks. How? Paul gave us many instructions in many of his letters. Example, in 1 Cor. 16: 13-14, he commands us to “Be on alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” Simply obey this and do your best for Christ.

Be on alert, be wary, be careful, be discerning of the seemingly “good” things. If not, you will only be distracted by temptations and be swayed by false teachings. Exercise spiritual discernment by being diligent in reading God’s Word. Evaluate all things in the light of the principles and truths that you find in the Bible. Stand firm in the faith. Fight against doubt. Fight against discouragement. Pray, pray and pray, always ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us everyday. Act like men, be mature. Do not remain spiritual babies. Grow up by feeding on God’s word. Be strong. Realize that you cannot be strong by your own effort. Yield your life to the Holy Spirit and He will strengthen you. Let all that you do be done in love – love for God, and love for His people. Our God is love, we should be love too.

During Jesus time, there were two prominent Jewish groups. You have heard of them – the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the conservative middle class, highly educated and very legalistic. They believed all of the Old Testament and loved to debate (and show-off their knowledge) about the Laws.

Naturally, they could not resist testing Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And Jesus answered, “You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment” (Matthew 22:35-38)

Heart, Soul, and Mind – with every part of you, wholly, totally, completely, unreservedly.

God gave Himself to you in Jesus. Jesus loved you and He laid down His life for you on the cross. Having received that love, God wants you to love Him with your heart, soul, mind, and body; that is, with all of your passions, your eternal being, your emotions, your thoughts and reasoning, and all of your physical strength. God wants you to love Him with your whole being. By doing so, you express your love and gratitude; you return God’s love toward you in Jesus Christ.

To love God begins by being loved by God. We learn to love because God first loved us (I John 4:19). You will never love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength until you allow His love to cover and transform each of those areas of your life. Simply surrender in obedience to the Lord’s will.

This is often hard to do. We often want to be in control of our own lives. We depend on our strength to achieve. We want to do something big for God, or to accomplish something good for God. Often, we do these out of guilt, or fear, or duty. Only when we have experienced the unconditional love of God and understood the depth and width and immensity of it, can we respond in love to Him. Our worldly culture is based on performance and merits. Yet God sees your heart. God knows what is in your mind. God still loves you and wants you to love Him. Is there any other proper way to respond to this God except by loving Him and obeying Him with our whole being?