KP#14 Realities of Life - Fit

The parable of the Wineskin - New Wine should be put in New Wineskin in Luke 5:33-39, Mk 2:22,Mt 9:17 teaches us a key secret of success, namely, "FIT". What you do must fit the occasion. Jesus' disciples are not to fast & pray then but they should after Jesus has left. Jesus emphasized twice, using the illustrations of in v36 not a piece of new garment on old garment and in v38 new wine must be put in fresh wineskin.

The purpose, of mending the old garment, or container to hold the wine, did not change. It is the method that must change to meet the new situations.

Fit is doing the right things for the occasions and/or the purpose.

It is quite natural for most of us to hold on to the old ways that helped us to be successful and be blind to the need for change when the situation has changed. We tend to fight the need to say the change is only temporary and they will go away. Such things happened for the horse carriages and the typewriters companies when new disruptive innovation comes. (See Clay Christensen's Books).

On the other hand, let me emphasize that principles don't change and it is the methods that change. The dot-com boom of the late 90s and the big crash in the 2000 showed that unsound business and financial practices don't last.

The Principle of Fit
The other words for Fit are Co-operate, Synchronize, Optimize, Smooth out the clinks and edges, remove conflicts, seek peace.

Fit implies that there are two or more parties involved:

• The occasion and the right protocol.
  
• The new wine and the right container.
  
• The Staff and the Company.
  
• The Business Offering and the Customers etc.
  

Fit must have also a purpose such that it is Fit for the accomplishment of the purpose. The steps for achieving Fit are:

1. Step 1 Define or discover the Purpose
   
   
2. Step 2 Face the Realities
   
   a. beyond influence - Ride on Them - e.g the trends (assuming not conflict with Bible), the common constraints
   
   b. influenceable - Change Them - e.g. wishes, conflicts, traditions, obstacles, assumptions, only ifs
   
   
3. Step 3 Find the Strengths of Each party
   
   
4. Step 4 Assign the tasks accordingly to Achieve the Purpose
   
   
5. Step 5 Review and Adjust the Fitness for maximum synchronization.
   

Fit is a very important operator that I will include it in my BVITS (Business Value Innovative Thinking Symbols) for generating break-through ideas.

In v39, Jesus gave a very practical application of Fit - Give them something better and they will forgo the old thing or old ways. i.e. if you want to take-away something from someone (e.g. smoking, drug, idol worship), you must give them something better. Taking something away without a better replacement will end up in fights. Remember - Give good to Take-away bad.

KP#13 Realities of Life - Good & Bad Co-Exist

The parable of the Wheat & Tares Mat 13:24-30,36-43 tells us the co-existence of Good and Bad in this world. They will only be separated and settled at the Judgment Day at end-time. Here are some important points to learn from the parable.

1. You can't differentiate the Good and the Bad initially. They all look alike.
2. You can only tell them, after some time, from the fruit they produce.
3. The final differentiation will only occur at the Judgment day where the Bad will be taken out and be burned whereas the Good will shine like sun in His Kingdom on earth.

Here are some applications for us:

1. Don't complain about the world that is not-fair, about the evils that are done. e.g. the present Financial and Economic Crisis caused by greeds, criminal acts, negligence, blind faith etc.
2. We do our part in righting the wrongs as led by God.
3. So be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Mat 10:16
4. Don't be disappointed or angry about the apparent and temporal successes of the wicked. Read Ps 37 and Habakkuk. Very often, we witnessed the downfall of the wicked in his lifetime rather than at Judgment time.
5. Don't take revenge into your own hand. Let the Justice System and God handle them. We are called to love our enemy. Mat 5:44, Rom 12:20

See also: Kingdom Discussion 14 Facing Realities of Life

Forgetting is not about Forgetting

This Sunday, 12 Oct 2008, my church, Petra Church, started its Services at the new place in Toa Payoh. Messages and songs shared by many, Pastors, Elders, and members were about God doing new things and forgetting the past. This triggers the meditation about what is forgetting. For the most part, the Bible is about remembering - the laws, the goodness of God, the testimonies, etc. Artifacts were created to help people remember the past. What then is forgetting? What and How to forget?

The surest way not to forget something is to tell you to forget that thing. Forgetting is then not about forgetting but something deeper - it is about learning from and remembering the past.

The effective way to forget something is to do the following two things together:

1. Bring Closure to the past hurts and even victories
   
2. Look Forward

Life is about moving forward. We can't undo the past but we can influence the outcome of the future by taking action now. Paul's teaching in Php 3:13-14 is not about merely forgetting the past, but about not letting the past stop us from going forward.

Php 3:13-14 ... but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark...

A better translation of the verse is from God's Word :

This is what I do: I don't look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal

The meaning of 'forgetting the past' is about 'not looking back' or ' not continuing to live in the past and is not about forgetting the past which is not possible anyway.

There are two ways that kept us living in the past

1. Past hurts or failure:
   Causing us to live in self-pity mode, to be pessimistic, to keep to ourselves, and to withdraw from life and progress.
   
2. Past Success:
   Causing us to want to relive the good old days, complain about the present, and be unable to make changes for the future.

The solution then is to bring closure to the past events and the accompanying experience of hurt or joy. The closure comes about by

1. facing and admitting the hurts
2. figuring out the lessons to learn - about people, methods used, wrong beliefs, ourselves, etc.
3. forgiving oneself or others
4. storing the knowledge learned in our memory banks
5. look forward

The key is to remove the regrets and only-ifs. 

In the context of Php 3:13, we can see that Paul brings closure to his past accomplishments - circumcised, pure Jewish blood, Pharisee, blameless before the laws, and failure - persecution of the church. He was able to bring closure to his so-called victories because he compared them with the knowledge of Christ - his victories were superficial - He counted them as dung. He did not get stuck in self-pity mode - the worst sinner because he persecuted the church - He is not worthy to be a Christian at all. His breakthrough in understanding comes in "Php 3:9 and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn't receive God's approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God's approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith."

Step 1:  A new understanding of God's Truth sets us free from the bondage of our past - failures or successes. 

 John 8:32 “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Let our past failures and hurts be healed with understanding and by God. Let our past true successes cause us to be grateful and encourage us to have greater faith in a loving God to move forward.

Jesus in Rev 2:5 tells us to "Remember how far you have fallen. Return to me and change the way you think and act, and do what you did at first".

This does not conflict with Paul's Php 3:13 because it was about facing our failure and learning from it which enables us not to look back and to look forward.

Joseph brought closure to his past betrayers by his brothers, Potiphar, Cup Bearer, etc. He said they meant evil but God meant it for good.

The 2nd step of looking forward also helps us in bringing closure to the past. 

Painting a better vision for the future will encourage us to put the past aside, especially when we see how past events help us create and build a better future. 2 Cor 1:4-5 Our sufferings allow God's comfort and our ability to comfort others. Many new businesses were started because the ideas of the founders were rejected by their employers. Failures are the stepping stones to success.

Forgetting is not about forgetting but about admitting, learning, forgiving & healing, and moving forward.

A wonderful prayer from ChatGPT:

Heavenly Father,

I come before You today with a heart filled with gratitude for Your boundless love and mercy. Thank You for Your faithfulness and for always being a constant in my life.

I acknowledge the weight of the past, the shadows that sometimes linger, and the chains that have bound me. I confess my struggles with letting go and fully embracing the hope You offer.

Lord, I ask for Your healing touch to mend the wounds of my past. Grant me the courage to face my fears, the wisdom to learn from my mistakes, and the strength to forgive myself and others.

Help me to replace the regrets with hope, the bitterness with grace, and the despair with Your unwavering love. May Your truth set me free from the bondage of my past, empowering me to live fully in the present moment.

I surrender my heart and life to You, trusting in Your perfect plan for me. May Your light shine brightly within me, illuminating my path and guiding my steps.

In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Amen.

KP#12 Attitude & Mindset --- The Battle for Your Mind

After we address the 10 laws of the Kingdom with clear cause-and-effect relationships, we now discuss the principles or mindset of the Kingdom. Zig Ziglar said, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude. ".

The battle is for our mind first - the thinking and then our will - the decision-making. 

Our present life is the result of the decisions (choices) made in the past. 

To change our life, we must start making different choices and that begins with a new mindset. 

2 Cor 10:3-5 tells us our battle is in the mind and we need to control our thoughts to ensure that they conform to Christ's. 

Rom 12:2 tells us our mind is to be renewed. The consequence is life and peace Rom 8:6 i.e. true success!

The posting Changing Behaviour (1) Mine gives a better understanding of our thinking and decision-making process.

Kingdom-minded believers begin with 

1. a right mindset of self-worth (identity) and 
2. maintenance of positive attitudes(Phil 1:3-6, 4, 6-7). 

 (Please also see Satan's Lie and Performance-Trap in the posting Connecting to the Singapore's Dream. to understand your self-worth better) This is shown in the mind map using the BVITS thinking method below:

Next: Good and Bad co-exist