Rev. William Jonathan Ong reminds us that “We must leave our average behind to experience God’s extraordinary.” Is God calling you to do something extraordinary? Are you reluctant to do it because it would mean leaving your comfort zone? Our God is the same God Abraham trusted when he left his comfortable life to go live in a place he has never been. God kept His promise of blessing to Abraham – just like He will bless you so that you can bless others when you heed God’s call.

Has God ever urged you to do something you feel unprepared for, or to take up a daunting responsibility? You delay, or you try to get out of it. You don’t want to do it because it’s out of your comfort zone. Guess what? God’s plans for you are inconceivably grand that He needs to mold you into the right shape. He needs to stretch you out, to pinch some parts, and to cut off what’s unnecessary. These steps cause pain and discomfort; but without the pain and discomfort, you will not be ready to fulfill God’s purpose in your life. Be like Abraham and obey God with complete faith that He will always keep His promises.

What are you known for, and are you proud of that? Noah was known as a man of integrity and a man who walked with God. He was physically and spiritually fit. He started building the ark when he was 500 years old, and he stayed faithful to God for 100 years while building the ark. He trusted in God’s plan. Because he kept His focus on God, God used Noah to do extraordinary things. If your heart is in the right place, you too, just like Noah, can do great things for God. Are you ready for the next great adventure God will ask you to do?

What angers you the most in our society today? Is it kidnapping children to harvest their organs, or corruption in the highest levels of government, or pedophiles? Now look in the mirror and think of your own sins. Do these anger you too? Do you feel ashamed of your insatiable need to own what others have? How about your neglect in paying your debts, or when you blame others for failures which are your responsibility? Sin, whether big or small, is still unholy in God’s eyes. Accept responsibility for your sins and surrender your life to God. Jesus freely offers forgiveness.

In the book of Genesis, we see how God created a perfect world out of nothing. Day and night, sky and sea, majestic mountains and lush greenery, sun and moon, chirping birds and gigantic whales, man and woman. He can create such magnificence out of His infinite wisdom, yet He loves each one of us unconditionally such that He prepares and provides for our every need.

What is your defining quality? Is it your fashion style, or your sense of humor, or your excellence in what you do? If you say that you are a Christian, your defining quality should be love – a love that overlooks faults but does not tolerate sin. Your loving actions can draw people to Christ.  Remember, the Christian life is a life completely lived out through Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus!

Jesus Christ, by His death and resurrection, fulfilled all of God’s laws so we would be set free from the power of sin and death. He defeated all the powers of this world. This means that we don’t have to do anything else after we have invited Him to be our Lord and Savior. We don’t have to pray to angels or spirits; we don’t have to follow superstitious customs as a back-up to our prayers; we don’t have to walk barefoot behind any carved image or touch the carved image to be blessed. Get to know Jesus and His will through the Bible, so you won’t be deceived by false teachings.

What common cultural practices do you do? Do you say “good luck” to a friend about to face something difficult? Do you have “fortune plants” or golden frog figurines in the house so that you will have a prosperous life? Do you choose “good” dates to get married? If we say that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we don’t need to add anything to His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. We do not need to live in fear and submit to superstitious practices because Jesus is the Lord of creation and redemption.