The Father Who can provide Immeasurably More!

Hello guys, this is Thain.

So I've been so busy the last few days that I've forgotten to craft articles.

Well if you might ask, the articles I've crafted which were published here recently were already drafted in my notes. But honestly, I haven't drafted some new ones.

Anyway, I just want to share what happened on Sunday, April 10, 2022, and, of course, the Good Friday service, as well as some of my insights regarding the Lord's Message. 

So on April 10, the church celebrated its 31st birthday. Yes, the church in our city was established in the year 1991 through the efforts of faithful servants of God who have dedicated their lives to doing church planting and missions. 

We have adapted the theme IMMEASURABLY MORE in relation to the passage written in Ephesians 3:20.

I was deeply engraved with our guest speaker's message. Aside from that, he's naturally entertaining, but also because the Lord has spoken to me through his words, telling me to always trust him because he can always do and provide things immeasurably more than what we asked for or imagined. He reminds me that he's a God that could grant us anything in the name of Jesus. 

However, acknowledging this doesn't mean that God provides everything that we ask for. Yes, he provides. Even if we haven't asked him yet or prayed to him yet, he already knows what we want. But God knowing us personally also means that he knows what's best for us, and so if what we wanted would lead us to destruction, he would without a doubt deny it. God sometimes uses the response wait to test our faith, to see how much we believe in His power, and to see if what we demand is truly what we need.

Human as we are, we dwell in this physical realm where earthly things and treasures surround us and sustain us. However, our wants differ from our needs. Our lives might be gravely affected if our needs were not met, but want is a different story.

I actually have the time to reflect on the meme I saw after going out of church, which says that money can buy happiness, and I'm tired of pretending that it cannot.

Although this sounds hilarious, it is actually true. 

Money can buy happiness, but then again, joy is a different story.

Happiness depends on events. Parties, balls, celebrations, vacations, anything luxurious, bonding, and meet ups. These could make one happy, depending on how they see it. And money can play a role in order to make these things possible. Thus, this also means that there will be times when you will not feel happy. 

Joy, on the other hand, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22. You only need the holy spirit to live in you to transform you and to develop your spiritual health, and you will feel joy. Joy is eternal, as much as love is.

However, it is not safe to conclude that when you are already a Christian and the holy spirit already dwells in your being, you won't feel sad anymore. There will be no more tears and pain anymore. No, that is not the case as long as you're living in this world. Being sad, depressed, and lonely is inevitable.

The difference is that you might feel this sometimes, you might get tired and stressed sometimes, but you do not allow yourself to give up on life or the task the Lord has commanded you to do because the Lord is eager to bring you joy. 

You have the assurance that things will work in accordance with the Lord's will. Being joyful means being dependent on God. His word and his direction.

When you know that God is your friend and companion, it is impossible to feel defeated. God will never abandon us, but our sins prevent him from blessing us. As much as God is loving, he is also holy, and he cannot accept the existence of sin in his presence. 

That is why, when Jesus was crucified, he felt abandoned by God because God cannot tolerate sin. He is allergic to sin, yet he wants us to be reconciled with him. That's why he sent his son, Jesus Christ. 

During our Good Friday service, we did not discuss the seven last words, but rather focus on Romans 5:6-8. which talks about how unconditional God's love is. It is really true that a person rarely dies for the righteous. Even if one is the best among the best, righteous among the righteous, one would hesitate to lay down his/her life for him because in this world we just ought to live once. We cannot live again in this world. It is either we dwell in heaven or hell, depending on if you have received salvation and the gift of eternal life. 

Yet God, being unconditionally loving towards us, laid down his son's life for us while we were still sinners, powerless and living in the darkness. He loves us so much that he does not want us to suffer in hell because hell isn't for us. It is for Satan and his kind. Then there was Lucifer, who was banished from heaven together with those angels who had rebelled against God. 

So if you think no one loves you, Think again. God loves you and he will never abandon you. It is just up to you if you're going to accept him as your personal saviour. You are not a robot. God has given you free will, and I hope that you choose to be with him someday. 

What I'm sure of is that whether we have Jesus or not, we all receive his universal blessing. The sun, the air, the water, all these are universal blessings. It is not only the believers who enjoy this, but all. 

But in order for you to receive his blessings fully, Come back to him and be obedient to his word. God is faithful to his laborers in his vineyard. And he's also faithful to his children. 

God is our Father, and just like our biological fathers, he would provide for his child's needs as long as it could keep him safe. Our prayers to him smell like those of incense. Thus, this is an indication to always communicate with him, to search for him and learn with him, and all this is possible as long as you have the faith to believe that God truly exists. 

As Matthew 7:7-8 says, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

May God bless you!