September 2007

Get back to the basics ... and practise

Luke 11: 9

A guy once asked me "How many strings does a normal bass guitar has?" and I told him "Four". He immediately jumped up and said "Then I can learn to play the bass much easier than the normal guitar". He meant it so seriously that I started to laugh. He then told me that since the bass guitar has just 4 strings he could easily learn it than trying to figure out all the 6 strings of a normal guitar. To cut the long story short, I explained to him how he needs to first get his basics strong by getting to play on an ordinary 6-string acoustic guitar before he could dream about the bass.

Here's a quick lesson for you and me. Some times we strive to do great things in life. We are all set to go the extra distance hoping that we can move mountains. But at the end we get disappointed because we could not accomplish what we thought we could. This is simply because at times we fail to know the basics of what we're planning to work with.

A mathematics student cannot dream about solving Integral Calculus if he does not know how to solve a basic algebraic expression. And he cannot solve a basic algebraic expression if he has not learnt the formulae. There is no shortcut to great achievements in life.

There's at least 3 things a man should implement in his life to be the kind of person God wants him to be.

1. Have a clear understanding of the Instruction Manual - The Bible
2. Practise what he learnt - Do what God has commanded in His word
3. Experience the outcome of what he learnt and practised - Be blessed

Let's examine ourselves for a minute here. How many times have we strived to know what our future holds? How many times have we struggled to stay away from sin but failed? Why is it that at times the peace of God does not reign in our lives? ... And sometimes we wonder Why don't things happen in our lives the way we expect them to happen?

Friends, it is at such times we need to understand that something's wrong with our "basics". When such questions popped up in our minds have we taken the time to go the designer's manual (the Bible) and know what it has to say about our life? God has given all of His plans for our lives in His word and I'm sure that when we take some moments to meditate on His word, He will reveal to us the great design and plan He has for our life.

Even though we know some of the great facts about our design and God's plan for us, we often miss to do our part to facilitate God's plan to work in our lives to completion. For example, God clearly said that to receive His blessings we need to "Ask ... Seek ... Knock". But many a time we miss that part and worry over the things we need. This is where "Practice" comes into picture, my friend. We have to continually go down on our knees and ask the Lord and seek His face and knock on the door and only then God can do His part of opening the floodgates of heaven and pour His blessings on us.

Finally, what's the outcome of our practice? It is the blessing we receive from God. Then the world around will be able to see the blessings which our good God has showered upon us and as a result the world will come to know the Love of God in and thru our lives.

Even now, I would like to encourage you, my friend, to get back to the Bible and know what God has in store for you, know what God wants you to do to enable Him to bless you. Once you receive the blessing, glorify the Lord.

Have a blessed month !!!

Your friend,
Eshcol
PS: The word PractiSe is spellt with an S when it is a verb.