What is REST? Part 2

After a relative comprehensive search (preventing unbalanced, biased & man's opinions) and meditation of the Bible on Rest, we may want to narrow down a certain subtopic and do a greater depth of study.
Firing up eSword again, using TSK (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge) which gives the related verses to the verse you choose, you can find other related verses to the key verse that you want to study further.

Two subtopics interested me ...

1. How to Rest.
2. How to Rest in the midst of Busy Schedule.


How to Rest:
Step 1. Come to Jesus
He welcomes you anytime. He will not reject you no matter how bad you feel about yourself or how you have disappointed him. He promises to lift you up and set you free. (see the mind map for relevant verses)

Step 2. Listen to Jesus
Study the words.

Step 3 Follow & Receive Peace
Do accordingly and Enjoy the Peace in the midst of Storm. Luk 5:48 House built on Rock,
Putting in practice is actually rest - you feel satisfied that you have followed God.
It is the good feeling that you get when helping others,

I am Busy and Have No Time to Rest?:
Time management is about Priority Management. Get your priority right and discard those activities that are not on priorities.

You will give time to things that you feel are unimportant.

If you can't rest, most likely, it is because you don't feel it is more useful or more important that the other things that you should do. Need to study into the benefits of Rest. Resting in Jesus brings refreshed and revitalized life, creativty, wisdom, etc answers to the problems and stresses that you are feeling., The more stress you have, the more Rest you need in Jesus.

Understand that there are seasons in your life. You many need to adjust your time spent on different activities. Nevertheless, practise Rest in midst of your activities.

What is Rest?

A sister in Christ asked about "rest". She believed that when Jesus said "rest" he didn't mean "inactivity" or lazing around, it is a state of being. It should not be something we bounce in and out of. So what is it?
Finding the Biblical Meaning of "Rest"
To have the Biblical Answer instead of ours or famous preachers, we must go back to the Bible and let the Bible tells us.

So, run e-Sword, choose a translation, say ESV, or KJV, and search for the word Rest.
Very quickly, we can find verses that are related to Rest. One main set is Mat 11:28-30 where Jesus speak of rest
Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ....

I will put up a mind-map and break the verses into parts and then meditate on the meaning of each part of the verses.

Here are some conclusions:

• Rest is found in Jesus's presence. He gives us rest.
• Purpose of Rest is to refresh, to strengthen us to be able to carry heavy loads easily
• Rest is a directed effort - "Take my yoke", "Learn of Me". It is like exercise! Except excercise makes your budy tired.
• Rest of Soul (v30) - peace of mind is found in learning from Jesus.
  I think this Rest means not just physical rest but Peace of Mind (pt 4), stress free or worry free or care free. So, I check other translations to see if anyone think like me... Yes
  
  (BBE) Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.
  
  The Messsage Bible gives a similar one with a new twist - Religious Freedom.
  (MSG) "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest.
  Is the MSG bible correct? I found one relevant verset in Luke 11:46 Religious Rules Burden.
  
  
• Going to other verses, I discover there are other meaning of Rest...
• I can also look up the orginal Greek word to discover some meaning... and follow the chain of the Greek word rather than the English REST word.

See the attached mind-map for the discovery of the meaning of REST.

and you can conclude .....

So what is Rest? How does it apply to me?
1. To have a stress-free, refreshed mental state, and peace of mind --- learn of Jesus. Rest is obtained by exerting mental learning and heart to heart talk to Jesus.
2. There is a Sabbath rest - time with God - worship and enjoying His presence.
3. There is the Rest of Completion - Work all done by Jesus. We need not try to strive for something we already have. We work it out from the inside.
4. There is time for physical rest; to allow your body to recover.
5. Rest is about going Home too where we are most comfortable .... one day that will be our heaven.
6. Rest is about waiting for the right time.... don't rush, don't fuss,... at the right time, it will happen.

It took me about 2 hours to do all these.

Hope all have learned how to study the Bible to find the right answer.

Success Attitudes

Some learning from hearing Joel Osteen's web cast

1. Things don't happen to us, they happen for us - to bring us to greater height of growth.
   
2. All things work for good Rom 8:28 - a seemingly bad things from our and other points of view will work for our good!
3. Don't have a slave or victim mentality. Don't concentrate on blaming others for our failures or lack of trying; don't say we cannot; don't let others determine our future.
4. Have the resurrection attitude - from death to life, from failure to stepping stone, from defeat to victory.
   
5. Always have a positive and success attitude towards life and all the happenings.
6. Covey's 10-90 principle teaches us that of the 10% of things that happen to us are beyond our control, 90% of the outcome of good or bad depends on our reactions. Convert every happenings to be an opportunity for good.
7. We have an extra help in such times, it is our God.
8. Some other preacher says that set-back is a set-up for us to come back again.
9. Recall the sea-gull parable - the person who hurt you is the least able to help you. Don't wait for them to make good the hurt. Forgive and forget those people and go on with life.
   

Images and Picture Missing

Some how the images and photos in all my past postings are gone.
I waited a week to see if it recovers. It did not.
I will put back the image one at a time if I could find them.
Sorry for the missing mind maps and pictures.

I was told that images and pictures on the Blogger are all stored in Picasa's web album and it was most likely that I accidentally deleted them while using Picasa.

The Meaning of "More than Conquerors"

Most people define 'more than conqueror' as conquering completely and absolutely.  They said it was Paul emphasising the extend of conquering. But, if wel look at the verse within its context, it means much more.  More-than-Conquerors are "Transformers of lives and circumstances to glorify God even through the suffering of love" resulting in converting enemy into friend and threats into opportunities.

A few weeks ago, an invited speaker to our church preached for 2 weeks on the topic of "More Than Conquerors". I was much encouraged, but felt I did not grasp the topic fully. So I went to do more digging into the Bible and was finally satisfied with the answer I found about the real meaning of "More than Conqueror".

A respected pastor first gave me an illustration of what the meaning of "More than Conqueror" was. A boxer fought hard and won a prize in a boxing match. He went home and gave the prize to his wife. His wife was "more-than-a-conqueror" - she got all the benefits and did none of the painful work. In a way, this is a great truth of the Gospel of Salvation- Jesus suffered and died on the cross and then was resurrected for our redemption. We are unable and have done nothing to gain the inheritance of Sonship. It was freely given by Jesus. However, this illustration is not correct from the context of the verse where the phrase is found. It actually distorts the meaning in the context. Let's examine this further.

The phrase is found in Rom 8:37 .....
Romans 8:37 (KJV) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

What are these things in v37? They are found in v35 tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.

A keyword in v37 is "IN" and not out of it. When we are in the midst of tribulations and hardships, we are more than conquerors. We are to be IN the suffering with Christ in us.

I was at first puzzled by the reference in v36, "As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. " But it is the key verse to explain the meaning of more-than-conqueror.

More-than-conqueror should be very different from just conqueror. v36 gives us the cue to the differences. Conqueror overcomes the enemy by confrontation, by force, by elimination, by killing, and by fear to get them into submission. The victory is as lasting as the victor has the force and power.

'More-than' is entirely different in method and motivation.

1. It is not by force but by love that draws you. It is about suffering for the enemy's sake to draw them out to be willing to choose your kingdom life & lifestyle for themselves. 
2. Conqueror is about the benefits of the Conqueror - Me. 'More-than" is about the benefits of the others and not ourselves.

The Speaker cited Jim Elliot's story to illustrate the point. He had a gun with them. He could use the gun to kill his attackers. But he did not. The reasoning was that if he should die, he would go to heaven, whereas his attackers, without knowing the gospel yet, would go to hell. He chose to be killed (more-than-conqueror) instead of killing (Conqueror).

The final outcome, after his death, was the conversion of his attackers and their whole tribe. This is the meaning of "more-than-conqueror". It is not about overcoming the enemy but about converting the enemy to become friends by acts of suffering of love.

This is the way of the cross that Jesus has gone through before us, and Paul's motto of life in  

• Philippians 3:10 (KJV) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; and 
• Col 1:24 [ALT] Now I rejoice in my sufferings on your behalf, and I am filling up [or, completing] the [things] lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body, which is the Assembly.

In studying the whole passage of Rom 8 and related verses in the Bible, I come out with the following definitions of "More than Conquerors".

More than Conquerors are "Transformers of lives and circumstances to glorify God even through suffering of love" resulting in converting enemy into friend and threats into opportunities.

It is the attitude of

• Rom 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good and
  
• 1Th 5:15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
• Romans 8:28 (KJV) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. [even in adverse circumstances- added by me]
  

We can find many illustrations in the Bible that show forth the acts of "more than conquerors"

• Jesus on the cross for sinners
• Joseph forgave his brothers for the greater good of the people
• Paul's shipwreck resulted in the salvation of the islanders
  
• .....

Beyond Conqueror
In our Life Group discussion, the term "Beyond Conqueror" was suggested. Paul was not talking about more of the conqueror but an entirely different dimension of winning over the adversity of circumstances and people, transforming to convert the hearts of opposition to reception, and breaking free from the stifling circumstances to greater success beyond expectation.

Following this understanding with living it out in "Living the More-than-Conqueror's Life".

Here is John Piper's exposition on these verses, where he defines "More than conquerors" as "making your enemies to serve you for our good, as in Rom 8:28". This is similar but narrower to my definition because there is still a separation of the enemy and us.  

Updated 1 July 2025

This is DeepSeek's comments on this passage:

Based on your deep dive into Romans 8:37 and Lim Liat's insights, here's a clear synthesis of the true meaning of "more than conquerors," contrasting it with common misunderstandings:

Key Misconceptions vs. Biblical Meaning

1. The "Boxer's Wife" Illustration (Common Misunderstanding):
• View: We passively receive victory/benefits won for us by Christ, without participating in the struggle.
• Truth it Captures: Salvation is entirely by grace through Christ's work (Eph. 2:8-9).
• Why it Fails for Romans 8:37: It ignores the context of being in suffering (v. 35-36) and the active role of believers within trials. It suggests escape from hardship, not victory within it.
2. "Complete/Utter Conquest" (Common Misunderstanding):
• View: Simply means winning bigger, crushing the enemy absolutely.
• Why it Fails: It doesn't explain the qualitative difference implied by "more than" or fit the context of suffering and death (v. 36).

The Biblical Meaning (From Context - Romans 8:31-39)

• The Setting: "In all these things" (v. 37) – specifically, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword (v. 35), even facing death "all the day long" like slaughtered sheep (v. 36, Ps 44:22).
• The Conqueror's Method (Contrast): Uses force, elimination, fear, and confrontation to subdue enemies for self-benefit. Victory depends on sustained power.
• The "More Than Conqueror's" Method:
• Through: "Him that loved us" (Christ's love).
• Means: Suffering love, self-sacrifice, refusing retaliation (Rom 12:21, 1 Thess 5:15).
• Mechanism: Transforming the very circumstances of suffering and the hearts of enemies through sacrificial love and trust in God's purpose (Rom 8:28).
• Result: Enemies become friends (reconciliation), threats become opportunities, God is glorified. Victory is eternal and transformative, not just situational.
• Motivation: The benefit of others and the glory of God, not self-preservation or dominance.
• Participation: Sharing in "the fellowship of his sufferings" (Phil 3:10), "filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions" for the sake of the Church (Col 1:24). It's active participation in Christ's victory through suffering love.

Lim Liat's Definition (Supported by Context & Examples)

"Transformers of lives and circumstances to glorify God even through the suffering of love" resulting in converting enemy into friend and threats into opportunities.

Why This Definition Fits Best

1. Explains "More Than": It's not degree of conquest (stronger conqueror), but kind of victory (transformative, redemptive, loving).
2. Fits the Context (v. 35-36): It specifically addresses victory while enduring suffering and death, not avoiding it.
3. Aligns with v. 28: Explains how "all things work together for good" – through the transformative power of God working in/through those who suffer in love and trust.
4. Exemplified in Scripture:
• Jesus on the Cross: Ultimate victory over sin/death achieved through suffering, transforming enemies into the redeemed.
• Joseph (Gen 50:20): Transformed betrayal and slavery into salvation for his family and Egypt. "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good."
• Paul's Shipwreck (Acts 27-28): Transformed disaster into an opportunity to preach and heal on Malta.
• Jim Elliot & Martyrs: Death transformed into the catalyst for the salvation of their attackers (Auca Indians).
• Stephen (Acts 7): His prayer for his murderers planted a seed in Saul (Paul).
5. Contrasts with Piper: While Piper ("making your enemies serve you for our good") captures an outcome (Rom 8:28), Lim Liat's definition emphasizes the method (suffering love) and the transformative relational outcome (enemy to friend), which is richer and more aligned with the context of suffering and the cross. Piper's view could imply continued separation; the transformative view implies reconciliation.

"Beyond Conqueror" - A Helpful Nuance

The Life Group's suggestion of "Beyond Conqueror" effectively captures the essence. It's not merely winning the battle in front of you (conqueror), but transcending the entire paradigm of conflict:

• Transforming the nature of the victory.
• Transforming the enemy.
• Transforming the circumstance into a platform for greater glory and good.

Conclusion

You are right to move beyond the "boxer's wife" and "utter conquest" interpretations. The context of Romans 8:35-39 demands an understanding of victory forged within the crucible of suffering, achieved through the power of Christ's love, and characterized by the miraculous transformation of enemies and circumstances for God's glory. This is the profound, counter-intuitive, and ultimately triumphant reality of being "more than conquerors" – or truly, "Beyond Conquerors." It is the victory of the Cross applied in the life of the believer. Your study has grasped the heart of Paul's message.

 For a Devotion based on this Passage see:

• The Alchemy of Suffering Love - Rom 8:37

#KP31 Unity & Harmony

Unity is not uniformity.

I find I need two words to describe this concept fully - A group of distinct individuals working together:

1. "unity" as united for a common purpose and
   
2. "harmony" as synchronizing of differences to achieve the common purpose.

Unity is about shared purpose and not about 'sameness'. Harmony is not about 'passive peace' and calmness but about appreciating each other differences and c0-operating actively together for the shared purpose.

Paul (Rom 12:5) uses a living body as an illustration - all parts of the body, the heart, hands, eyes etc, each with its unique function, working at its best, to contribute to the life and growth of the living body. Any healthy Corporate or Society should work like that.

The ingredients for success are then

1. shared common purpose - of the same mind Php 2:2. This will create the alignment of unique members toward acheive the same goal. There may need to be cascading of the higher goal to lower level goals.
   
2. discovering our unique roles and maximizing our talents to fulfill that roles.
3. the glue for harmony is "Love". Love as seen in being able to see the greater picture of the corporate body rather than self, respect for individual's differences, humility(Eph 4:2) .

The mind map is below:

This is the last posting of the series Kingdom Laws & Principles. 

Interestingly, the Ancient Chinese Classic I-Ching, the Book of Chang,
Hexagram #38 睽 Deviation– Synergy of Differences cover the same topic.

#KP30 Continuity - Old & New

With regards to things new and old, it is quite typical to find two main thought. Common among the younger generation, the thinking is "old is bad and new is good". On the other hand, among the older generation, "new is bad and old is good". They wish to return to the good old times.

• In Mat 13:52, ... Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

The person who is skilled in the Kingdom of Heaven thinking is able to draw out the best of the things old and new.

The principle is about continuity & discernment- keeping the best from the past and continues to innovate for the future. Certain structures of the past that bring harms need to be changed so that improvement and advancement can be made with new innovations.

Biblical principles - the Kingdom principles do not change with time. We need the unchanging principles to handle the ever changing new world. Unchanging principles give us the confidence and the patterns and guides to handle the unknown and changing situations. While principles do not change, the applications can be changed for different situations.

Even for high technology, TRIZ has shown technology system evolution follow certain laws and patterns. Moore's law is still applicable after different generations of technological evolution - from vacuum tubes, to transistors, to VLSI, to ... see Kurweil's presentation on Ted.com.

Jesus' teaching on "New Wineskin for New Wine" is not about throwing away the pass, old-wine-skin, but about using the right container for the right content. It is about fit for use and not about discarding the old. Paul's exhortation about the "forgetting the past and strive towards the future goal" is not about throwing away all the past but about the throwing away the dead weights of the past sins and burden. On many instances, Paul told us to remember the testimonies of the past heroes and to mimic his behavior as he followed after Christ. It is all about discernment and not about discarding.

Remember then to keep and develop the treasures of the old and continue to innovate the new and to pave the way from old to the new world.

Next: Principle of Unity and Harmony

KP#29 Human Resource Development

Most manager would like to quickly blame the lack of performance on the staff. If one is familiar with the 6-M Fish bone analysis of causes, man is one only of the six elements of Man, Machine, Materials, Methods, Measurement and Management of possible causes ( 6M came from Germany and one of the M was the Environment rather than Management. Management is the external entity that is responsible for improving the system). If one is familiar with the work of Edward Deming's system of profound knowledge, then the key cause of the lack performance could be in the system or methods.

In the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree Luke 13:6-9, the tree did not produce for 3 years and the owner wanted to cut it down. The Vine dresser however pleaded for another year. But he first want to dig around to find the causes and to add fertilizer. He was practicing a good method of finding the causes first before blaming the obvious - the tree or the man.

We can learn from the method of the Vine dresser:

1. Find the Blockages - Obstacles or Diseases for lack of Performance.
2. Empowering with Fertilizer.
   For human being, may be there should be encouragement and development - e.g. sending the person for training or coaching the person.

We can find a similar verse in John 15:2. The Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament gives the verse as:

Joh 15:2 "Every branch in Me not bearing fruit, He takes it away [or, lifts it up]; and every [branch] bearing fruit, He prunes clean, so that it shall be bearing more fruit.

The word airo G142, according to Thayer's, have 3 different meanings:

1. to raise up, to lift up
2. to take upon one'self and carry what have been raise up, to bear
3. to remove, carry off.

Most Bible translation just use cut-off. I prefer the 1st one - which is lift up. For development point of view, 2nd definition of carry and bear is even better. BRUCE WILKINSON, in the "Secrets of the Vine" uses the lift-up. Please read the book for the reasons of "Lift up". Essentially, vine stuck in the ground covered with dirt do not produce fruit. They need to be lifted up to get the sun and air to produce fruit.

The principle that I want to stress here is Human Resouce Development first before blaming and firing the staff for lack of performance. Please apply the 6M method to find the cause and if it is the man, coach and develop the man first. If he still can't perform, perhaps his job should be changed for his benefits.

Give Staff one more chance with Training & Support before firing.

Next: Principle of Continuity

KP#28 Excellence is Zero Defect

In the Parable of Lost Coin and The Lost Sheep, great emphasis was spent on searching and finding the lost. Why is it so? We can look at this from 2 points of view.

Firstly, from the macro view of the whole picture. A beautiful zig-saw puzzle will look awful if it has missing piece. A artifact with a missing piece is no longer a master-piece. A master-piece must have every details just right. The success of the whole body is dependent of the success of every member. The missing piece holds the last key to complete the picture. Hence, great effort should be spent in finding it.

Secondly, from the micro view of the missing sheep. The lost one has missed his calling and trying to find the way. He has lost his purpose and meaning and is likely suffering, like the Prodigal Son. Imaging ourselves being lost in the jungle or the desert without contact with others. How we long to get back to civilization to be back with friend and family. It is love that drives the effort of the search and rescue team who often put their own lives at risks to save the lost.

Lastly, if you are unhappy with "will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Luke 15:7), then you may be living a performance based life like the Elder Brother in the Prodigal Son story. Why there is greater joy? The other 99 righteous persons give forth their joy too.

Here is mind map showing the details:

Next: Principle of HR Development

Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil - Looking from Tree of Life

In looking at Gen 2:9 and Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil again, I have additional point to make.

Original Hebrew Word of Knowledge in Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil is H1847 da‛ath. BDB gives 2 definitions:

• 1a) knowledge, perception, skill
• 1b) discernment, understanding, wisdom

Strong's says From H3045; knowledge: - cunning, [ig-] norantly, know(-ledge), [un-] awares (wittingly).

In my earlier posting, I said "Knowing" instead of "Knowledge" in "Tree of Knowing Good and Evil". This agrees well the discernment of BDB and awareness of Strong's. A better word could be "judgment" which ties even better with my explanation of man wanting to be a judge of good and bad without God.

Understanding Knowledge of Good & Evil from Understanding Tree of Life
What does life mean? Checking BDB, we have H2416 chay

1) living, alive (adjective) 1c) lively, active (of man)
2) relatives (noun masculine)
3) life (abstract emphatic) (noun masculine);3a) life; 3b) sustenance, maintenance
4) living thing, animal 4a) animal;4b) life;4c) appetite;4d) revival, renewal
5) community (noun feminine)

Checking up Strong's, give:
khah'ee
From H2421; alive; hence raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively: - + age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.

In the original hebrew, Chay, Life is more than just being alive and active but include a very important element, Community, Company, Congregation.

So, if Adam partakes the Tree of Life, then he would be choosing communion with God and life comes automatically because God is the source of life.

On the other hand, choosing Tree of Knowing/Judgement of Good and Evil means a rejection of communion with God and Adam's own desire to be the judge.

The choice that Adam was presented with were:

1. Life with God (Tree of Life) versus
2. Be my own Judge (of Good & Evil) without God.

Or more simply put : 1. God versus 2. No God.

This choice is not about choosing life over knowledge but life with God or Be-my-own-boss without God.
One should hold the two key concepts in balanced and not choosing one and discarding the other.

e.g. God is both Love and Righteous (Truth, Justice).

In fact, Love has truth in it (1Co 13:6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ) and Truth has love in it. (Col 1:6 ...understood the grace of God in truth)
And Jesus is full of BOTH grace-love and truth Joh 1:14.

Similar, we should pursue both, Life and Knowledge(Wisdom) and not emphasizing one and rejecting the other. If you have Jesus (life), you have Truth( Knowledge, Wisdom). Life contains wisdom and knowledge because God if full of both. Wisdom or Knowledge begins with life - fear of the Lord (of Life) is the beginning of wisdom. (Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pro 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. )

So, choose both Life and Knowledge/Wisdom .
The choice that Adam made was not about life vs knowledge but about with God or without God.
Hope this clarify.

For a discussion on how to hold two extremess in balanced, see Yin Yang and the Bible .

KP#27 Principle of Accountability

The Principle of Accountability is found in the Parable of Dragnet Mat 13:47-50 and Parable of the Sheep & Goats Mat 25:31-46. The lessons can be combined for us to come out with a good method for establishing accountability.

If one studies the companies that are rated as "The Best Companies to Work for" , you can find that those companies tend to outperform their industry counterparts. Digging deeper, you can find that the staff have much freedom to decide what to do (empowered) and they are highly motivated to do well. The secret is two fold:

1. clearly communicated mission and vision (understanding the what & why)
   and no detailed prescription for how. Staff are given the freedom to decide the how to achieve the goals.
2. a proper accountability system.

Accountability provides the learning framework for us to grow. It is important that we know how well we are doing - correcting the wrong and strengthening the right actions. Accountability provides us to remove those behaviours or people that are not working towards the achievement of shared mission and vision.

Following the system, we can achieve the ideal of 'self-management' that is productive and adaptable and agile to changing business environments.

Here are the details:

Next: Principle of Excellence - Zero Defect

Salvation is Devotion to Christ

It is good now and then to relook and reflect on the meaning of salvation.

Past postings include

• Reconciliation- A Better Term for Salvation
• Salvation Re-visited - Relational View

Last Sunday, Pastor preached such a topic. My reflection is to look at it as "devotion" to Christ as Mary towards to Jesus (Luke 10:42). Jesus defining purpose of eternal life as knowing God the Father (John 17:3) and a warning by Paul in 2 Cor 11:3 that devil wants to prevent us from such a pure devotion to Christ.

The details are in the mind-map:

Life & Death

Rev Samuel Sia preached at my church Mandarin Service yesterday morning. I found his message very useful in our witness and sharing of the Gospel. Below is my reflections and summary. i.e. include my learning of his message and my own additions even though many ideas are from his message.

Jesus Breaks the Inevitable March from Birth to Death to Give us Zoe Eternal Life
When man are born into this world, he begins his match to death. The only way to reverse or break free from this covenant of death (Isa 28:15) is Jesus. Accepting Jesus not only reverse this sequence, bring us out of death into the life, He gives us a better life of Zoe, Godly eternal life (Isa 28:18).

I Don't Want to Receive Christ because I want to Join My Passed Away Spouse in Hell
While sharing the Gospel with older people, we came across, often, the refusal to accept Jesus because they wanted not to be separated from their passed away spouse in hell. Rev Sia offerred two key points:

a. They may not be there! Rev Sia shared two stories about the Fathers had already received Christ in earlier times but did not tell their spouse or children nor did they go to church.
b. Those in Hell wish that you don't come to join them. Luke 16:28

I wish to add a third point - seeing from the view of your children. My friend shared with me how his mother accepted Christ after years of refusal using the reason that she did not want to be separated from her husband. He told her to think of it from her children, his point of view. How much pains they will have to carry with them to see their beloved mother in hell. She was convinced and receive Jesus as saviour.

For other detials, please read the mindmap below:

KP#26 Stewardship - Optimization of One's Gifts & Resources

Most people in position, such as Chairman or CEO of corporation or Minister in Government Organization, do not realize that their position is an entrusted one. They are actually stewards to the entrusted resources and must be accountable to them. CEO is the care-taker of the investments made by the public and sharesholders. Government is entrusted by the citizens to be care-taker of their country and the associated resources. As stewards, one has the responsibility to optimize the resources entrusted.

The Jesus told of at least 3 parables and many more exhortations to encourage people to be good stewards. In the Parable of Talents Mat 25:14-30, the talents, 5,2 and 1 are distributed according to their abilities. The able has more talents and resulting in the key teaching of Mat 25:29 more will be given to those who has and those who has not will loose even what they have (my paraphrase).

In Luke 19:11-27, the Parable of Minas, the money is distributed evenly, 1 for each of 10 servants totaling 10. Everyone started with equal amount of resources. The key message is "do business until I come" in v19:13. There is a day of accountability in v15 when he returns "to know what they had gained". In the evaluation, those who have done well is a given greater responsibilities, from mina to cities! The one who did nothing lost his mina.

The principle of Stewardship means we must be accountable and we are to optimize the use of resources entrusted to us.

How can we Optimize the resources?
The key word is Faithfulness. In Luke 16:11-12, Jesus tells us the secret - starts with the little things now. Faithfullness in little will enables you to be faithfulness in the large. You will be promoted from stewards to owners.

Other principles include:
1. Less could be More: It does not depend on the resources given. Don't complain and worry about what you don't have. Work with what you have. More does not means better. In the Miracles of Feeding of thousands, the one starting with less fed more people!

2. Don't waste- Be Lean. In the feeding of multitudes, Jesus asked the disciples to collect back the remains and they filled up big baskets. They also clean up the mess at the same time!

See the mind map below for more ....

Next: Principle of Accountability

Watchout for Over Extrapolating & Spiritulizing of God's Word

It is very sad that Bible expositors, commentators and preachers tend to over extrapolate the original meaning of bible verses. Take this simple one, Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour(taste), wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Most commentators just take note of the word "salt" mentioned and then begin to expound and extrapolate the meaning of salt. So the commentators said that salt is for preservation. It is to preserve the quality of food so that it will not be spoiled. Hence, Christians are to preserve the people from the corruption of the world. Some even say that the color of salt is white and white represents purity. Christians are to be pure and so forth .... create thirst, sting pain, ....

But of all the attributes of salt, Jesus only highlighted "saltiness taste" and stressed on it twice. Any exposition should concern itself with the salty taste of salt. What is the purpose of the salty taste of salt? It makes tasteless food tasty. It makes thing better. It brings improvement. To put it with greater emphasis, it transforms thing - from tasteless to tasty. Similarly, Christians should bring transformation to the world around it - from lifelessness to liveliness; from darkness into light (see v14 ye are the light); from hopelessness to hopefulness etc. Salty Taste is about Transformation to the better.

With this "transformation" in mind, using salt as preservatives become wrong. Saltiness is not used to keep thing unchanged but to change thing for the better... is is about changing and not keeping the status quo!

Looking at the other half of the verse - if one lost its saltiness, it becomes useless and is cast out and be trodden under foot. There are some people who use this verse to support the view that Christian could loose his salvation. Again, this is over spiritualizing the issue. Jesus simple said that salt without saltiness were useless and were to be discarded. Christians that are not impacting and transforming the world are not fulfilling their purposes and calling of God and are useless - i.e. no impact. Together with v14, ye are the light, the call is for Christians to boldly go and cause transformation to world - bringing life to lifelessness, bringing light to darkness. It is more of an encouragement and commission to go rather than a threat of losing your standing and relationship with Christ. The flow of the paragraph is to go, not to hide, to influence the world, and bring glory to God.

Let our mind be sharp and wise and not be misled by overly extrapolating and overly spiritualized teaching. Learn to know how to accurately understand and apply the Word of God.

KP#25 Principle of Potential

The parable of the Mustard Seed Mat 13:31-32, a small seed growing up to a big tree, shows that :

• You cannot judge the future success by the present physical size
• Do not despise a small beginning

There are other popular descriptions for this hidden potential in a seemingly small thing:

• You can count the seeds in an apply but not the applies in a seed
• The Butterfly Effect: the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas (From Chaos Theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions).
• the small spark that lighted the forest
• Snowballing

The Parable of the Yeast Luke 13:20-21 which Jesus used to compare with the Kingdom of God shows forth the power and the process of the working of Kingdom Economy. The little yeast is first planted into a much larger volume of flour. The yeast then ferments the flour and with time, eventually converted the whole. It shows us that believer is not to be isolated but to

1. engage the world
   
2. transform it
   
3. and expand and
   
4. fill all the earth with His Kingdom's rule.

(yeast is used in other places of the Bible to signify a bad influence as in Mat 16:11-12, Gal 5:9. People then to over utilize symbolism and generalised it. One should always look at the context first unless one cannot be clear from the context then it may be ok use the interpretation from other context. Nevertheless, the principle of small beginning is the same whether it is for good or bad).

We should encourage the good small beginning and be watchful of the small bad influence and stopping them before it becomes a big problem.

See also Luke16:10 faithful/dishonest in a very little is also faithful/dishonest in much.)

Next: Principle of Stewardship - Optimization of One's Gifts & Resources

How to Get Your Need Met

The story of Elisha and the Widow in 2 King 4:1-7 teaches us the principle and shows us the steps for getting our needs met.

The principle is very simple - Jesus is the answer and source. Seek Him first and then followed up with work of obedience and faith.

The steps are:

1. Understand Your Need.
Very often, we confuse the symptom with the cause. We often think God should change the situations for us rather than our own need to change. We pray for God to give us a better Boss but we actually need to improve in our skill and discipline. God has in fact arranged for a demanding Boss show that we can be better. In our case, the widow need is very clear - pay up the creditor or loose her sons. What could have caused this lack was not explained to us. The key theme seems to stress on God will answer your need despite the cause. But for long term solution, finding the cause and fixing it is key.

The rest of the steps are explained in the mind-map below:

The lessons to learn are:

1. Go to God first with any need or problem. God may ask you to talk to your mentors or friends.
2. Miracle comes with using something you have or could do first. This is the principle of sowing and reaping. Confessing is a form of doing too.
3. Advice must be followed with Action - No action no result.
4. While God is the Giver, you determine how much you get by your action of faith.
5. God always supply more than enough. The widow only asked to clear the debt but God provided the extra living needs. The oil could have stopped when there is sufficient to pay for debt. But it only stopped when there was no more vessels.

KP#24 Going Back is A Good Option

Distractions and scope creeps are common occurences in business and project. Before long, the business or project would take on its own direction. It is time to review and return to the original mission and values may provide a way out of your troubled business or project.

The story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 or the Ephesian church in Rev 2:1-7 serve as examples of the need to go back to the original mission and values.

Business Venture Lessons from the Prodigal Son Parable
There are much lessons to be learned from the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The Prodigal Son know how to start a business - get capital first. Unfortunately he does not know how to run it. He committed the same error as most start-ups with lots of capital - waste them in big scale marketing events and advertising without the products being ready for the market. Nevertheless, his father teaching lead him not to steal or cheat in time of need but to earn a living working even in a lowly job. His breakthrough comes from doing a reflection, facing the reality, admitting his errors, working out the options, making the choices and once again taking the action - Go Back, even if need to be shamed. Other lessons are given in the mindmap below:



Next: Principle of Potential
 

KP#23 Create The Trends

Instead of watching and following the trends, we could innovate and set the new trends. e.g. The software Vasicac create one of the killer application for micro-computer now widely known as the spreadsheet providing successes for Lotus-123 and then the Excel. Older people will be similar with names like Multiplan, QuatroPro etc.

In the post Creative God but a Boring Church I discussed about some of the reasons of the boring church and how to be creative. Jesus had always been an innovator - breaking free from the traditions, revealing the truths, and demonstrating the power and authority. Innovation is not about breaking moral laws but more about breaking contradictions, impossibilities and removing compromises. It is about 100% win win for all. This is very unlike human practices of legalizing our sins or weaknesses. Mat 5:17 shows Christ came not to abolish the Laws (God does not contradict Himself) but to expose the lies, the sins, the weaknesses, the truths and to empower us with new nature to fulfill the laws. It is not a compromise but a break-through solution.

As we establish the new trend with our innovation. we need to provide a bridge to the new world. This bridge could involve educating the existing market, building new infrastructure, removing prejudices etc. This bridge building could be very expensive. It could be most expensive show stopper for your innovation. It caused God to incarnate and die on the Cross. If possible, your innovation should ride on existing structure and knowledge unless you have large resources. e.g. cars need better roads than the trails that horses ride on. Cell phones needs a new infrastructure. The growth rate and investment needed to make our innovation successful depends much on how we can make better use of existing knowledge and infrastructure. This explains the easy adoption of PC with word processing to replace type-writer and Spreadsheet software.

See the attached mind-map for more ....

Next: Going Back is a Good Option

KP#22 Seize the Opportunity

Seizing an opportunity has a pre-requisite practice of KP#21 Be Watchful. Once you detect and confirmed a structural change, you need to act quickly. Your ability to act quickly depends on your agility, readiness, responsiveness and risk management. Most people are not ready to act - the inertia to change is too high or there is a lack of resources (no reserves), or lack of mobile resources.

Responsiveness does not means "recklessness". One needs to have Risk Management. Risk Management is not about not taking risks but taking calculated risks and determine how much risk you can take without jeopardizing your core business success.

The details are in the mind map.


Next: Create the Trend

The Purpose & Process of Life

The purpose and process of life can be summarized in 3 steps :

1. connect to Jesus and then to others
2. living out by good behavior and good works
   
3. telling others about the how and why - getting them to connect to Jesus.

Life purpose begins with knowing the creator Jesus and then to establish a intimate relationship with Him. Created being can only understand his purpose by asking his Creator - Why am I created? We are created to enjoy His love, glory and companionship. When we experienced His love for us, we can then begin to relate and to love others. As we connect with others, and taste the good and bad, we learn more about His love for us.

Relying on the inner strength that comes from Christ in us, we are able to live out and show forth the strength through good behavior and good works. Our performances bring glory to God. But our performances must be motivated from the inside by His love. We perform because we are of excellent character. We do not perform to gain glory, or money, or influence for ourselves. We want to gain influence through and for Christ. We are the channels and the stewards where God could show forth His glory.

Our excellent performance will draw people to ask us for the 'secrets' of our success. We are to tell and to share our 'secrets' - Paul called it the "Mystery" - which is the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Our telling comes after our acts of love and performance and not before. Someone says, "No one cares about what you know until he knows how much you care about him". We must tell, but first show forth your action of love and success.

The order, connect first to God and then to others, and then living out and then telling how, is important. We don't tell before we work. We don't work until we know Jesus. We don't work ourselves but with and through Jesus.

Connecting to our creator Jesus is the purpose of life and then life is about living out and sharing the Jesus within.

As an example, the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. All true knowledge and wisdom begins with the understanding of God existence and His ordered patterns of life. Science is not possible without a Creator and a Creator of order. Without a believe in order, there is no science. Knowledge without having an absolute anchor and moral standard will leads to failure, destruction and death in the long term. The secrets of success and a fulfilled and healthy life begins with knowing God and His character. The main cause of the financial crisis is essentially a belief without God and only in Self and greed.

Wolf Cutlure vs Lamb Culture

Recently, in Chinese Businesses in PRC, there is this promotion and adoption of the "Wolves Culture" of doing business. The wolves culture promote wolf-like principles like

1. aggressiveness, ruthless and self-seeking - achieving the ends at all costs ; the ends justify the means; never satisfy - always go for more.
   
2. alertness to opportunities and grab them
3. great team work.
   

In contrast to the Wolf Culture, there is the Lamb Culture which is biblical based, or at least, good moral based, and has love as the center, stressing integrity, humility, sacrifice, dedication and social responsibility. The lamb culture is very much like what is presented in Dev Seidman's "How" and Gary Hamel's "The Future of Management".

The 1st principle is like a new version of an old Chinese book titled "Thick Black Study" teaching people to be thick-skinned and back-hearted to get thing done their way.

Except for 1st principle of ruthlessness, the other 2 principles of alertness-agility and team-work are quite biblical and are covered in Kingdom Laws & Principles.

Some more information on the Lamb Culture Forum can be found here.

Fleshy Work & Spiritual Work

God put His Kingdom Principles and Laws to work in His created universe. Key character traits like honesty, diligence, humility, and integrity make for success. Business people, whether believers or not, when they follow the God established laws will reap the benefits. Such accomplishments are not, work of the flesh, but spiritual work - they are the outcomes of respecting, trusting and following God's Laws.

However, if business people violate God's laws, and use dishonesty to grow their business, then those short-term successes are work of the flesh. It is the motivation and principles that we exert bodily in the fresh to follow that determine the spiritualness of our effort - spiritual or fleshy work.

Don't let anyone deceive you into not working. Spiritual work takes a lot of effort in the body flesh and muscles and our mind too.

See Let Go & Let God - Spiritual or Just Plain Lazy?

KP#21 Watch and Ride the Trend

It is common knowledge that change is the permanent and unavoidable thing of life. Living means growing and changing. However, coping with the changes bring stress and hardship.

The secret of successful and victorious living lies in the following 4 strategies:

1. Watch & Ride the Trend
   Being watchful of the changes, the trends, and then plan to riding on it to success.
2. Seizing the Opportunity in the Crisis.
   Very often though, the changes just happen suddenly; at least to those that have not be watching or to those with lack of knowledge. There is little to plan to cope with the changes. The ability to seize this opportunity, or more precisely, crisis, depends very much one readiness, agility, and responsiveness.
3. Innovate and Create the Trend and Following.
4. Going Back is a Good Option. When there is uncertainty and lack of directions and the present situations is not at all comfortable, going back to the original mission and calling that make the corporate successful in the 1st place could be a good option. We don't always have to do 'new' things.

We will cover the 1st strategy - watch and ride the trend.
Jesus uses the Budding Fig Tree Mat 24:32-36, the Evening Sky Mat 16:2-3 to tell us that

• changes can be predicted.
• be watchful wise and know the trend

We must be always on the watch so that we don't be fooled by our present and past success thinking that things will always stay the same. We should not be fooled by things that happen on the surface and go deeper and further. Luke 18-9-14 tells the story of Pharisee and the Republican - who is the one that is saved? self-righteousness or true repentance.

Here is the mind map ....

Next:  Seize the Opportunity

Grace Based Doctrines

It is good to reflect on what we have learned after some years. My growth in Christ goes through several stages. Firstly, I got to know Jesus as my personal savior and then I tried to please Him by trying to be a good Christian and following the Bible as much as I could. Then I discovered the spiritual gift of tongues and experienced the miracles working God of the Bible. After this I discovered that it was God within me, Christ in Me, that empowered me to be the Christian that Jesus wanted me to be. It used to be 'have-do-be'. Now it is 'Be-Do-Have' (see Be-Do-Have Repeat and Grow). I started this blog showing the great love and empowerment of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not just save us but gave us His Zoe life so that we are empowered to live out  His glory. It helped me through my desert time of betrayals, disappointments, and attacks. It enables us to come through all the more confidence in His love and empowerment for us. This is now commonly known as the grace-based doctrine.

What are then the essential beliefs of the Grace Based Doctrines?
Below is the mind map showing the key beliefs.
I wish to quote John Piper's "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him."
Know for yourself that God is delighted in you - just as you are. But He loves you too much to leave you in your present state. He will bring you to greater heights to show forth His glory through you.

What about work?
It is about obedience to the general and unique calling of our lives. Our work of obedience is not for gaining salvation for we have already been saved, but for extending God's Kingdom and God's glory from and through us from within. Our obedience brings the blessings that God has appropriated for us and shows forth His glory to others so that others may be drawn toward him. (updated on 19 Aug 2009)

KP#20 Focus & Priority - Building Strengths more than Overcoming Weaknesses

Parables of "The Hidden Treasures" and "The Pearl of Great Price"
Everyone has limited time and limited resources. The key to effectiveness and productivity is knowing what are the important ones and then concentrating effort and time on doing them. Life is much simplified, stressed free when we identify the things of utmost of values. Jesus taught this principle of "finding the treasure and giving all to get it" in the parables of "The Hidden Treasures Mat 13:44" and "The Pearl of Great Price Mat 13:45-46". It is so important that Jesus uses two illustrations. This principle is put into practice by Paul in Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.

1st Find the Treasure
What is the Treasure? What are things that are of importance and value? This is found in our mission statement for the corporation and in our calling for our personal life. The mission gives us the purpose and meaning of existent. We need to spend time to search for it and to craft it. It is the most important thing to do. Do it first. Find the mission.

2nd Give All to Get It
The follow on step is to spend all the effort and time to realize the found mission. To Paul, it is Jesus Christ. He spent his all to get to know Christ in an intimate way and to grow up to be like Him. All others are considered less valueable than that. Knowing our mission and meaning of life, an individual or in a corporation, enables us to work out a priority list. We should use the things of lower value to get the things of higher value.

Core & Context - Work on Building Up Strength more than Overcoming Weaknesses
This concept is well illustrated by Geoffrey Moore in his books when he speak of core and context. He suggested we should spend time in enhancing and building the core of differentiation from the markets and outsourcing our context. In the book "7 Practices of Effective Ministry", Andy Stanley et al use the Baseball game as illustration - a pitcher (his mission) is to spend effort in improving his pitching rather than spend effort in improving his batting. For me, we need to spend effort in improving our weakness to an acceptable level and spend more efforts in improving our strengths. This pre-supposes that we have found a role than utilizes our strengths.

Not all activities are of equal important. Activities that help you move in the direction of your mission and vision are needful. The others are just distortion. Find your treasure first and spend all to get it.

Next: Watch and Ride the Trend

Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil

The two famous trees in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:9) are the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

There are people who shorten the description and call it the Tree of Knowledge. The result of eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was sin and death. Hence, they claimed Knowledge is bad and should not be pursued. They also cited 1 Co 8:1 knowledge puffs up to support their case.

Let's take a closer look at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What is the keyword here? Knowledge of Good and Evil? Knowledge is the higher qualifier and Good and Evil is the finer descriptor. Knowledge covers a much greater scope than "Good" & "Evil". Or to put it another way, "Good & Evil", Moral, is only a small part albeit a very important part, of knowledge. We cannot drop the finer descriptor of "Good and Evil" and just talk about knowledge. Just talking about Knowledge would be wrong - it is too generalized. The key descriptor is about a specific kind of knowledge of "good and evil".

A better descriptor for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, given by others, include "Tree of Laws ", "Tree of Knowledge of Sin" or "Tree of Moral". The Tree of Life is compared to the Tree of Laws as "Grace" vs "Laws" for salvation.

Some preachers remarked that man, after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, got to know that there are good and evil things, but they lack the discernment to tell the good from the evil. God gave the Laws later to reveal the sins. But in Romans 2, we know the sense of right and wrong is built into our conscience and man can't argue that they don't know.

For me, I prefer to name the tree, the "Tree of Knowing Good and Evil", to prevent it from being just shortened to knowledge. The Chinese version of the Bible has, I think, a better translation, as the "Tree of Discernment of Good and Evil"(分别善恶的树). Eating the fruit of this Tree shows that man wants to be the judge of good and evil. Man wants to be his own judge of what is good and what is evil. God is kept out of the picture. This, to me, is the greatest rebellion against God. The true judge of all should be God and not man. The created being, man, cannot be the judge. Only the Creator, God, can be the judge.

Is Knowledge Good or Evil?
Knowledge should be judged as good or evil by the content. Any knowledge that excludes God or exalts against God is bad, worldly, and even demonic. The knowledge that originated from God (e.g. Bible ) and Truth is good and Godly. Jesus tells us that we must know the truth and the truth will set us free. Knowledge from the Devil is bad and evil. Knowledge from man cannot be judged that way but must be by content.

Back to 1 Co 8:1 "knowledge puffs up". If you read accurately, and from the context, you will realize that not all knowledge puffs up but only a particular kind of knowledge. Which kind? It is explained in the next verse 1 Cor 8:2, the kind that thinks he knows everything. The ESV translation qualifies with "This 'knowledge' puffs up". ALT also qualified with 'such knowledge'. Knowledge does not puff up. It is the person who thinks he knows all gets puffed up.

The foundation of knowledge, or true knowledge, begins with acknowledgment of God.

• Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

• Isa 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Knowledge should be Judged by Context not just the Source
The knowledge that comes from God - the Bible is good. There is not much argument against it. But if the knowledge comes from man, can we, conclude from its origin, that it is therefore no good and worldly? I don't think so. 

The existence and nature of God can be seen from His creation. Man in pursuing the truth will be able to discover a portion of the truths of God. The golden rule of love, taught by Jesus, can be found in many cultures. We can find many teachings of Lao Tze and Confucianism that agree with the Bible. Putting it in another way, Biblical Knowledge extends the teachings of Lao Tze and Confucianism. The Lao Tze' and Confucianism discovered the laws or way of the universe and human behavior but did not discover the giver of the order and the personification of the dao (The Way) in Jesus Christ. They will be thrilled to have known Jesus. 

Pursue Knowledge and learn to discern the good and evil. This is maturity.

See also Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil - Looking from Tree of Life

Yin Yang and the Bible

A typical difference between Eastern and Modern Western thinking is about options.

Modern Western thinking believes in choosing either Option A or Option B depending on an evaluation function.

Eastern thinking believes in holding both options in balance - the concept of Yin and Yang.

In Confucius' teaching, holding both in balance is called the dao of the middle 中庸之道 or Golden Mean - the course between two extremes.

Boldness is the middle between cowardice and violence.
Love is the middle between hatred and pampering.
Faith is between unbelief and presumption.

Christian living is holding the balance between relying on God and man's effort.
We have

• Option A: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" Phi 2:12
  
• Option B: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Phi 2:13

Option A - we do the work. Option B: Let go and Let God.

While God does the initiating, we have the responsibility of listening to God and being obedient.
If we don't spend time studying the bible and praying (talking with God), we can't hear God too clearly.
Our sensitivity to God comes from time spent talking and studying His Word and our obedience to what we hear.

Revelation of God comes easily and frequently when we study the Bible. Revelation also comes in our worship and prayer. Take away our effort in pursuing God, and God will seem far away. On the other hand, it is always God who initiates the communication with us. Without God's initiation, no matter how hard we try, we will not hear God.

So while we need to understand the extremes, we maintain our walk in the middle. On one hand, we let God lead us and on the other hand we strive to accomplish what God has revealed and instructed us to do. Grace - God's empowerment only comes when we initiate actions. It takes two to accomplish the work and word of God.

Other points of balance include :
Denying oneself to follow Christ vs Prosperity & Health as one soul prosper
Salvation by Grace and Faith only vs God's workmanship created for good work. see James 2:17-18 Faith without work is dead.

Another point of view is "Both sides of the Same Coin".

A key point in maintaining balance is to get the boot sequence right:

God is 1st, Jesus is the Source and end-point and man just follows and then spirals to greater and greater height. Yin-Yang is the 2D view of the 3D spiral of growth into the image of Christ.

This duality or dichotomy can be seen in Ecclesiastes 3
 ¹ There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:  

² a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 ⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

For related, see Chinese Classics & The Bible.

See also The Doctrine of the Middle and Christian Values

Corrective vs Preventive Theology

A highly recommended book is "David - A Man of Passion and Destiny" by C Swindoll. It was a gift from a friend. The greatest benefit from reading the book is the many lessons that we can apply to our lives.

In chapter 18, Swindoll discussed "Corrective vs Preventive" Theology citing Gal 6:6-8. It is a key message for the "Grace-Doctrine" hearers. It clarifies some of the misconceptions that "Grace Doctrine" hearers may have.

We have emphasized too much on confession and repentance of sins - the corrective effort (1 John 1:9) but very little on the preventive effort - Rom 6.

The whole purpose of God's grace to us is not just the forgiveness of sins but the empowerment to live beyond the passive demands of the laws in victory and doing God-glorifying works (Eph 2:10).

Rom 6 tells us we are set free from sin and become slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:22); spent much time arguing against using grace as a license to sin.

Rom 7 speaks of struggle with the flesh, 7:19 But the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing but ended with the secret to victory - Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Rom 8 gives us the encouragement that God is for us and will lead us through and to victory all the way. The secret is "Grace Power - Christ in Us".

Gal preached against justification by laws and stressed that salvation comes only through faith in Christ. Yet it reminded all that God's laws shall not be mocked - we reap whatever we sow. There is forgiveness for sin but not saving from the consequences of our sin. God's grace enables us to learn and walk through the consequences.

Let's follow after the Holy Spirit and be empowered by grace inside to lead a God-glorifying life. We do not have to waste time committing and then repenting from sins. 

Preventing is not trying not to sin but to pursue righteousness leaving us no time to sin.

Summary:

From Gemini:

Key Points Summarized:

• Misconception of Grace: Many Christians overemphasize confession and repentance (corrective) while neglecting the power of God's grace for overcoming sin (preventive).
• True Purpose of Grace: God's grace is not merely for forgiveness but also for empowerment to live a victorious Christian life.
• Balance: While acknowledging the need for repentance, the focus should shift towards pursuing righteousness and allowing God's grace to prevent sin.
• Key Passages: Romans 6-8, and Galatians 6:6-8 provide a solid foundation for understanding the concept.

By ChatGPT:

Applying this to your context of teaching and intpersonal interactions, the focus shifts from merely correcting wrong behavior to encouraging and empowering others to live righteously. By fostering a preventive approach, individuals are motivated to pursue righteousness actively, reducing the need for corrective measures. This aligns with the idea of leading by example, showing grace, and fostering an environment where righteousness is the goal, leaving little room for sin.

This preventive approach can transform how you guide and teach others, emphasizing the empowerment of grace and the pursuit of a God-glorifying life, rather than merely avoiding wrongdoing.

DeepSeek: Your Concluding Maxim: The Best Summary

"Preventing is not trying not to sin but to pursue righteousness leaving us no time to sin."

This is the practical gem. It echoes Paul's "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal 5:16). The focus is positive pursuit (Eph 2:10's "good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do"), not negative prohibition. A heart and life filled with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.) has little room for the works of the flesh. It's displacement, not just resistance. 

Obedience Brings Freedom

In John 8:31-34 we have the flow of concepts...

31 If you abide in my word
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
34 everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.

The word 'know' is the original 'ginosko' meaning "to know (by experience, or effort)".

Hence, freedom comes from learning about the Truth (taught by Jesus) and then obeying them by putting them into practice, and then tasting the real experience of freedom. ... Know-Do-Have-KnowMore-cycles to greater and greater freedom.

So we have this interesting truth of "Obedience brings Freedom". Freedom comes not by doing whatever you like but only by following the Truths. Sins and bondage come from disobedience of the truth. If we are trapped in bondage, being forced to do things then we must know that we are following a lie. Discover the truth to reveal the lie and then follow after the truth and you can break free.

This is not difficult to understand. We are built, like machines for an example, to work in a certain way. If we operate not according to our instruction manual, we will malfunction. Only when we follow our operating manual will we find the effectiveness, joy, and fulfillment of life. 

To be free, learn and obey our operating manual - the Bible and receive the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus the reason for this Christmas season.

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ChatGPT provides the following interesting points:

Obedience Brings Freedom

Your insight that "obedience brings freedom" is profound. Freedom in Christ is not the license to do whatever we want but the ability to live as we were created to live. Obedience to God's truth leads to a life of purpose, fulfillment, and true joy, as opposed to the emptiness and dissatisfaction of a life lived in sin.

The Path to Freedom

To break free from bondage, one must:

1. Identify the Lie: Recognize the false beliefs and practices that lead to bondage.
2. Discover the Truth: Engage deeply with the Bible and the teachings of Jesus to uncover the truth.
3. Obey the Truth: Put into practice what is learned, leading to experiential knowledge and greater freedom.

Doubao:

The idea that freedom is derived from knowing and adhering to the truth as taught by Jesus is compelling. It emphasizes that true freedom is not about unrestricted license to do as one pleases but rather about aligning one's actions with a set of guiding principles and truths. The "Know-Do-Have-KnowMore" cycle proposed suggests a continuous process of learning, applying, experiencing, and further deepening one's understanding, leading to an increasing sense of freedom.

The comparison to a machine operating according to its instruction manual is quite insightful. Just as a machine functions optimally when used in accordance with its manual, humans are suggested to thrive when they follow the spiritual and moral guidelines provided in the Bible. This view implies that disregarding these instructions leads to malfunction or bondage, similar to a machine operating outside its prescribed parameters.

KP#19 Strategy - Plan to Succeed

All project begins with a plan - either in the mind or best layout on paper (or soft copy in computer).
There is the old saying that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail. This is emphasized twice by Jesus in the Parables of "Building a tower" and "Waging a War" in Luke 14:28–33.

The Steps are:

1. sit down - spend the effort
2. count the cost
   a. for the total project
   b. make sure it is enough to complete and to overcome the obstacles- Luke 14:28, 31
3. If not, Come out with alternatives to complete the project - Luke 14:32
4. Commit all your resources in fulfilling your plan (eg Calling by God) - Luke 14:33
   Half-hearted commitment is not able to bring success.

Never start any new thing without counting the costs for completion. The most basic is the total commitment of heart to learn, to think , to source, and to overcome any obstacle in the way. Apply the Kingdom Principles to your business.

Next:Focus & Priority