Success is a wonderful word that everyone likes. Many have achieved success to enjoy it but to grief of many it has eluded time and again. Success can come in many shapes and forms depending on how you may define it and what you are searching for in life. To a student, success is to be top student in school; an athlete’s success means a gold medal in the Olympic Games; the musician’s success is to be world-acclaimed by music lovers; a businessman’s success is to be named in Forbes’ Magazine amongst the richest and the most powerful of people.

How does a Christian define success and what does it take for a Christian to be successful? There are yardsticks and benchmarks in the world to measure wealth, power, position, prestige and status, but to measure spiritual success as a Christian may be tough; why? Because there is no tangible evidence to prove that you are living a successful Christian life. A Christian’s success is internal rather than it is external; that being so, it is even harder to measure the Christian life in a materialistic world. But Psalm One has the necessary guidelines of success that you can follow to live a successful Christian life.

A Successful Christian’s Path

Psalm 1:1, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful”

He does not believe like the wicked; he doesn’t behave like the wicked; he doesn’t belong to the wicked.

A Successful Christian’s Delight

Psalm 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night”

He loves the word of God and to him it is the word of truth, God breathed, infallible, inerrant and absolutely perfect and preserved.

A  Successful Christian’s Prosperity

Psalm 1:3, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”

The Lord will prosper the believer who walks in His path and whose delight is in His word. That is not to say that there will be no storms but a believer who is separated in his walk will with Christ sail through every storm until it is calm again.

Do you have the characteristics of what it takes to be a successful Christian? A successful Christian is also described in verse 1 as a blessed or happy person and be successful without being self righteous.

K is for Keturah’s Kaboom

Javan wrote this poem after I knocked my car against a red metal pipe while going up a multi-storey carpark on my first solo drive to Mum’s Corner gathering. It was a frightening experience for me. Thank God I did not give up driving altogether but plucked up enough courage to travel on Singapore roads.

My Mum’s Car ‘Accident’

My mum started driving in May—
But on that Wednesday,
She made a dent, a huge one.
And now my dad’s speech is none.
When going to Mum’s Corner,
She hit a red-coloured pillar.
The knock was really bad,
Now dad is really sad.
The pillar was ruthless,
Combined with my mum’s clumsiness.
Though there’s nothing she must buy,
My dad is still going to cry.
All thanks to the bump,
My car has a negative lump.
Now with that mishap,
The one who gives up is my dad.

It has been slightly more than a year since I started driving, I’m thankful to the Lord that after the above-mentioned accident, there wasn’t anymore thus far. I had great fear driving for a long time. It’s a bit better these days. Thank the Lord for His help in protecting me, the driver and all the rest of my passengers, especially my children who are in the car most of the time. I drive out of necessity. Basically I do not like to drive but I have learnt much when I am on the wheels.

I’ve learnt to trust the Lord and to understand a bit about learning a ‘difficult’ skill. To many, it may be a simple thing to manoeuvre a vehicle but it’s surely a mammoth task for me, so I have to rely on the Lord and I have also learnt to complain less about driving as it’s also right for a child of God to be thankful. I’m thankful I could drive: it brings me from one place to another. Also, I have a very safe car to drive and I’ve acquired a skill that will be an asset as I could also drive out to buy dinner on Sundays.

Sister Keturah

Great Quotes from Great Men

“If you wish to know God, you must know his Word. If you wish to perceive His power, you must see how He works by his Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

“There is nothing so costly as ignorance.” (Horace Mann)

“I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me.” (Hudson Taylor)

“Loneliness seems to be one price the saint must pay for his saintliness. Always remember this: you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart.” (A.W. Tozer)

“When I was on board the Mary, those particular parts of the Book of Jeremiah, which relate to the opposition he met with from false prophets, were deeply impressed upon my soul. Now I begin to see the wisdom of God in it; for five churches have already denied me, and some of the clergy, if possible, would oblige me to depart out of these coasts. But I rejoice in this opposition, it being a certain sign that a more effectual door will be opened, since there are so many adversaries.” (George Whitefield – Journal – Dec. 10, 1738)

Written to his wife during one difficult time in the work of the China Inland Mission, “We have twenty-five cents – and all the promises of God!” (J. Hudson Taylor)

“To learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings.” (George Mueller)

“If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time.” (George Mueller)

“I would rather sail and hit a rock than sit and rot in dry dock.” (Dr Lester Roloff)

“There was a day when I died; died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.” (George Mueller)

“Be active. Give no place to indolence or sloth. Give no occasion for anyone to say, ‘You are idle’.” (John Wesley)

May our Lord’s sweet hand square us and hammer us, and strike off all kinds of pride, self-love, world-worship, and infidelity, so that He can make us stones and pillars in His Father’s house. Samuel Rutherford