Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Unseen Reality

"At the root of the Christian life lies belief in the invisible. The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality" - AW Tozer in The Pursuit of God

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)


Christians in Singapore are sometimes deemed as foolish and un-realistic, as we try to live out our lives in faith, hope and love in the increasingly materialistic and competitive society we find ourselves in. I think I've been deemed foolish at times, sometimes even by those within the institutionalized church.

Coupled with the tension of living the Christ-life, juggling family, work, church and life, it is tough to keep my eyes fixed on the unseen. However, Tozer said "The object of the Christian's faith is unseen reality"; though it may be unseen, it is REAL. And it is this reality and the occasion glimpse of the eternal things made common and visible that spurs me onwards.


"O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen." - AW Tozer in the Pursuit of God


Ollie
May 2008

Friday, May 2, 2008

Discovering the highest possible fulfillment

"To seek God does not narrow one's life, but brings it, rather to the level of highest possible fulfillment." - describing A. W. Tozer's discovery in the Introduction to "The Pursuit of God" (Tozer Legacy Edition).


Thursday, May 1, 2008

Participants in Ongoing Creation

"From Genesis to Revelation creation themes abound. God is always renewing things; He is always making things new. Our understanding of who we are as people inhabiting this planet is not simply that we are people who have been created. We should understand ourselves as participating in an ongoing creation which culminates in an ultimate new creation, something that has started but has not yet been fully consummated." - Dr Douglas Stuart - Old Testament Survey (Foundations) @ www.biblicaltraining.org


God is not done with creation yet; He did not just created (as recorded in Genesis) and left the world to run on its own, obeying Natural Laws. God created and is creating; God is always renewing things and making things new.

We exist between two bookends - Genesis and Revelation; and we as Christians and the Church have the privilege of participating in God's ongoing creation. To restore and mend that which is broken, to restore and make new what is not right, to be a part of this creative process. From issues of salvation and redemption, to mending the broken and brokenness present, to social justice and serving the poor, to creative arts and music that declare the creative beauty of God, we should be participants.

It is my prayer that the Church Universal and especially the church local rise up to this privilege and calling.


Ollie
May 2008