Separated to the gospel of God

Romans 1:1
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God

Paul introduces himself before the letter of Romans, calling himself an apostle and more interestingly "separated to the gospel of God". This highlights his whole mission and aim after finding Christ. He has become totally devoted and committed to the gospel to see that it reaches as many people as possible. It is no longer a religious practise or theology for the few who are privileged. Paul has taken on the Great Commission upon himself and was living it out. He would have regarded himself as an instrument to be used by God, hence the passive structure of the sentense describing himself to be separated to the gospel.

And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision

1 Samuel 3:15
So Samuel lay down until morning,[b] and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”
He answered, “Here I am.”

In this passage, the Lord told Samuel about His displeasure of Eli's household and that He will do something against that household. Samuel knew that it was the Lord who spoke but was initially reluctant to pass the message on, probably because he did not want to hurt Eli.

Part of the job of a prophet is to bring warnings against those who are walking opposite to God. Before Jesus' time, only selected people are chosen to be prophets. After Jesus' time, there is still the role of prophet, pastors, teachers, evangelists and so on. However, most of us who have the Holy Spirit in us, are meant to hear from God. And there will be occasions that God may want to use us to bring a word of warning to our brothers and sisters. Are we preparing ourselves to be used by God and deliver God's message or do we filter and censor God's messages?

So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting

Acts 26:15
So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Paul, when he was Saul, was seriously persecuting the followers of Yshua. We may not know fully what the persecution involved but it was very likely to include a lot of violence towards the persecuted. One example was that Saul was presiding, probably instigating the stoning of Stephen - the first to die for our Lord.

Obviously Saul had not physically harmed Yshua, as far as we know. But his actions are regarded as being done on our Lord, when he persecuted His children. Putting aside modern day persecution of Christians by other groups, Christians too may be persecuting each other knowingly or otherwise. If we are not careful of what we say or how we "wear our Christianity" we could be offending the younger Christians, and by doing so we may be persecuting our Lord too.

Luke 17:2
It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

Matthew 18:6
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?

Acts 26:14
And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

When Saul (Paul) heard this from the Lord, He was confused about how he actually persecuted the glorious Being that appeared before him. Although he did not at first recognized it was the Risen Jesus of Nazareth, he knew this being to be a heavenly being.

Today, we may be persecuting Yshua without realising it. The things we do which goes against His will, the things we do in His name but not actually His will, the things we do to built up religion around Yshua instead of actually pointing people to Yshua and a whole lot more, may actually be persecuting our Lord. So then how do we not persecute the Lord? The answer is to surrender and do not our will but His will. This is of course easier said than done but the only way to know His will is to be in close communion and walk with Him all the time.

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Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on

Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

A simple statement from our Lord Yshua not to worry about our life - in particular not to worry about providing for our life; because He is the Provider Jehovah Jireh. Even many of our friends may give us the "do not worry" advice as a general sweeping advice. However when Yshua said it, he also meant that we can trust that He will provide - this is the reason that we do not need to worry for ourselves.

Yshua's advice of not to worry, specifically targets the fundamental needs of human beings, which are food and clothing. He could have chosen other things to tell us not to worry about. Instead, He chose these fundamental items of life itself to tell us that He is fully in control of our lives and is able to provide for our most essential needs. It is when we have the faith in Yshua, then this freedom from worry allows us to do greater things for Him.

Will He not much more clothe you

Matthew 6:30
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

It is sometimes hard for us to imagine how much God cares for us. This passage uses the analogy of wildlife to show how much God cares. The birds and plants and all other animals are created by Him, including us humans. Yet the wildlife go about their natural things and it is obvious that God provides for them.
Humans are the height of God's creation. It should also be obvious that He cares for us too. No matter we can understand it or not, we need to have faith like Abraham and believe that God will care for us.

But when it pleased God

Galatians 1:15
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace.

The phrase to look at here is "But when it pleased God". Often we do things to please ourselves. Even when serving God, there is an element of pleasing ourselves first. Another aspect might be that we are working so that God may be pleased or to please Him. There is nothing wrong with these. However we should remember that sometimes it is not about what we can do. Sometimes it pleases God to make something happen. That is God 's grace and it is something that we should embrace and direct or will towards God's will.

For I have appeared to you for this purpose

Acts 26:16
But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

Paul encountered the risen Lord and his entire life changed. He had only one purpose and that is to do the will of God as revealed in Yshua. The encounter itself may have been short, and Jesus said few words. There was no doctrine or theology being taught, no correction to Paul intellectual knowledge. It was just Yshua revealing Himself. That was enough to change the life of Paul.

Although many of us do not have the Jesus encounter that Paul did, when we believe, the Holy Spirit did come into us. It is not by our own wisdom or understanding that we chose Christ, but He chose us. Having been chosen, we still must will ourselves to live for Christ.

With unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord

2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

This verse reminds us that as we walk in the Spirit, He will transform us into the image of God from glory to glory. This makes a lot of sense because when we are close to someone, we also become like that person, as seen in husbands and wives who have been together for a long time.

To be in the image of God should be nothing surprising since from the very beginning in Genesis, it says that we are made in the image of God. It is not just having a form like God, but also the spirit like God. This may be difficult to imagine if we think we are such terrible sinners. However, with the Spirit's help, we are supposed to be more God-like in our spirit, because after all, He is our Heavenly Father.

It is useful then to hold up a spiritual mirror from time to time to check on our image. We need to ask ourselves: are we becoming more like God or more unlike Him.

Look to Me, and be saved

Isaiah 45:22
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

God desires very simple from us - our attention, devotion, loyalty and so on. All these will be there if we simply love God with all our hearts, mind, soul and body.

We only need to look to God and be save. How consistent is this requirement from God throughout both Old and New Testaments. There is no difference in doctrine, no complexity. There is nothing we can do to achieve salvation, neither in the pre and post first Coming our Yshua Ha Masiach.

As the rest of this verse reminds us, He is the Creator and He chooses how we can be together with Him. All His Righteous requirements are satisfied in His perfect and only plan for salvation through Yshua our Lord. There can be no other for us to look upon that will be able to save us.

Thus says the Lord: “I remember you"

Jeremiah 2:2
“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your youth,
The love of your betrothal,
When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.

God was about to deliver a rebuke to Israel and He started first by reminding them of their original love for God, in the wilderness and in a foreign land. We too may show great enthusiasm when we first found the Lord. Human tendency means that we may grow to take the relationship between us and God for granted. It is the utmost importance that we maintain the relationship with God through walking in the spirit with His Spirit. Other practical things are useful such as daily devotion, serving in church, supporting charities but doing them without the Spirit is no better than 'filthy rags' as Jesus once said.

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus the Pharisee came to Jesus, perplexed by His teachings which seemed very true. And Jesus was explaining about being born again in order to see the Kingdom of God. This could be a simple verse if we assume it means born again to enter the Kingdom of God. However it is interesting that Jesus used the word "see" the Kingdom of God.

Can it be that Jesus mean born again is only the beginning of the journey? So at the beginning, the born again believer can see it, but he needs to maintain his faith throughout his life? If so, this would be consistent of Paul's analogy of running the good race and also needing to finish the race. This is something to be cautious about so we need to ensure we do not fall away from the faith.

A deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him

Genesis 15:12
Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

This event was during the time when God sealed the covenant with Abraham. Various promises had already been given to Abraham at various times. During this event, God sealed the covenant in a ceremonial fashion. God himself passed through the between the sacrificial animals while Abraham was not physically involved. Perhaps this also highlights Yshua's work at the cross, and our faith is believing in His promises. In this specific event, God reiterated the promise of land.

And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

John 20:28
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”

When Thomas felt Jesus physically after His ressurrection, it seemed that he at last understood the divine nature of Lord Yshua. So what happens after realization who Yshua really is?

Service to the Lord is good. Even better is the pure devotion to the Lord. This is simply giving ourselves and our hearts to the Lord. Whatever we do, be it service for the Lord or not, He wants our hearts, mind and soul.

But when it pleased God ....to reveal His Son in me ... I might preach Him

Galatians 1:15-16
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.

Three things to note here is that i) it pleased God ii) to reveal Yshua to us iii) for us to preach His good news to the Gentiles. These three are in fact tied together.

Firstly it is pleasing to God that He has chosen us, not that we decide to choose Him. This is not due to any credit that we might have earned through our practice of goodness. It is His grace that He is pleased to choose us.

Secondly, the revelation of Yshua to us as our Lord, is the highpoint for us. The divine God, also being human, is the substance of our hope - this is object of our faith.

Thirdly, our Lord has a mission to reveal Himself to all the world. We who are followers are not only assigned this task, but it is something natural that we would want to share the Good News that our Lord brings.

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying

Isaiah 6:8
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”


There is another angle that can be written on this passage. That is to consider itself Him who makes the calling. God already knows who to call and what the assignment is. Yet he calls and let us response to it. He no doubt has plans from the beginning to end and He chooses to involve us at the right time.

The call also is not about our abilities and talents. However most of us are focused on abilities and talents and when we do something, we tend to use our own expertise to accomplish the task. On the other hand, God's call has the purpose also to bless the one being called. The calling can only succeed if the person surrenders to God' guidance, even though there is a definite calling.

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death

Romans 6:4
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The term "Born Again" has been used for much of the last few decades to denote those who are real Christians, mainly because they have made their own conscious decision. This is meant to be in contrast to a group of people who had Christian heritage, tradition and legacy but do not truly believe in the Lord Jesus.

This passage reminds us that "Born Again" is just one aspect of the relationship to be with Christ. It uses the image of baptism into death to make us conscious that we must spiritually die to our old selves. Only when our old person die, then we can be raised by the resurrection of Christ. Only then can we have a genuine walk with Christ.

The most practical example to dying to our old selves is to die to our old habits. That is to seek God and overcome the old habits. Hence those old habits are powerless against us since we are dead to it and being made alive in Christ.

And who will go for Us?

Isaiah 6.8

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”


An interesting view of this verse is that God was not specifically asking Isaiah. No doubt God would have meant for Isaiah to hear His question. We can generalise that God is actually asking anyone and everyone about who is willing to go.

So our view now can be changed to one that opens our ears to God. God does not need to call us specifically all the time on all matters. He will not push us against our will to do His. There are some tasks which are for all believers, for all time, such as telling about the Kingdom.
However, we may still need to ask God and listen to Him. Using the same example, we are not all called to be evangelists; there are many ways in which we can spread the Good News about the Kingdom.

The twelve asked Him about the parable

Mark 4:10
But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.

Continuing from the previous note, we again see that Jesus explained the parables to His disciples. Teaching in parables seems to be the normal way Jesus taught the crowd. However, as with most of the crowds, His disciples also did not understand. This account shows that the disciples did not hesitate to ask Jesus, they were willing to learn and did not have pride that prevented them from asking. 

Jesus spoke in parables for several reasons, firstly, His message is only intended for those He has chosen, secondly, His teachings are very confrontational to the religious views in the society, so He was being discreet at the appropriate time. 

Relating to us now, the Scripture may seem mysterious to us in certain parts, whereas other parts are very clear. God chooses to reveal the right things to us at His right time. We can just trust Him to show us. In addition, we can also be like the disciples and ask God for explanations and it would be His Spirit that leads us to ask the right questions at the right time. 

He explained all things to His disciples

Mark 4:34
But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.


During His ministry, it is recorded that Jesus spoke in parables to the crowd of people. Then He would take His disciples to one side and explained the details or the lessons of the parable to them.

Many came to see Jesus, but some came for the miracles, others came for the popularity and curiosity. Many in the crowd do not have a willing and receiving heart. So Jesus spoke in parables so that only the ones who are ready will understand. Many of His disciples also did not understand and He had to reveal the parables plainly.

There are more than one occasion that Jesus and God calls Himself the friend of a person. Being a friend means that God would not keep secret from His friends. Abraham was such a friend of God that He revealed His plans for Sodom and Gomorrah. His disciples are also friends and they have the task of continuing the work for God's Kingdom.

In short, God is NOT a mysterious God. When we walk close with Him, He will reveal things which are necessary for us to know.

They laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, .... and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.

Luke 23
26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.


The events involving Jesus' march to the cross took on a curious turn when a man named Simon, was pulled out of the crowd to help our Lord Jesus as He was physically suffering under the scourging while carrying His cross. There are many ways to see this, firstly Yshua's physical suffering was so bad that even the cruel Roman soldiers knew He could no longer carry the cross Himself.

Secondly, we can see even in the most difficult period of His life, Yshua was able to make a connection with Simon and most likely caused Simon to believe. Thirdly, Simon was probably another bystander but when told to carry the cross for Yshua, he moved promptly to help. We do not know how many other lives were saved through the testimony of Simon about his most privileged encounter to carry the cross of Yshua.

In order to turn them from darkness to light

Acts 26:17-18
 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now[a] send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

A few key concepts of our Lord's mission for us is presented in this few verses. Firstly we need to be delivered from many people who will be against us. But God did not save us from our enemies and take us away. Instead His plan is to bring us back to those who do not believe and to open their eyes to bring them out of darkness.

The other sentence has the two major gifts, that is the forgiveness of our sins and the sanctification by faith in Christ. The forgiveness of sins is somethings which is given and cannot be earned. The sanctification process itself, will involve the Lord and we also cannot achieve this by ourselves.

Some thoughts comparing the Second Coming with Birth of a Baby

Establishment of God's Kingdom - like birth of a baby.
Looking forward to the coming of the King and His Kingdom - like looking forward to the coming of the baby. No mother remembers the birth pain even so terrible because focus is on the other side of time - ie the birth. Same should be for coming of the Kingdom, should not be worried about tribulation pains if we are really focussed on God, we should be welcoming the Kingdom.

Keeping pure and holy - like mother keeping body pure before baby born
Very doable. Cutting caffeine, alcohol.
No mother concern 9 months is too long to keep pure.
So too we should not be concern we have a lifetime to keep pure, a lifetime is nothing compared to eternity with God.

May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5
23 .... may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This verse can be a general application for all Christians, because the Lord is coming and we are meant to keep ourselves blameless. To put it in context, this chapter begins with the description of the Second Coming of our Lord Yshua Ha Masiach. Although the exact time will be unknown, there will be many signs so that those who watch will now. So the whole Body or Church is supposed to be alert to this, and keep ourselves pure in preparation for His Coming.

The verse mentions not only our physical body has to be pure, but so too do our spirit and soul. A preacher once defined these three quantities as follows: We ARE a spirit - the real us, we HAVE a soul - our intellect or mind and we LIVE in our body - the physical part. This verse says to keep all three blameless.

If this does not make sense then try thinking of the opposite of keeping just the body pure but unrestricting the soul and spirit. Pretty soon the spirit will motivate the person to unholiness, then the soul will rationalize or justify the actions, and quite soon the body will be helpless but follow what the soul and spirit directs. Hence all three must be kept blameless.

And he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar

Genesis 22
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

This is the famous account of Abraham going through with sacrificing his son Isaac on God's commands. Often this account has been used to teach the strong faith towards God, in particular the strong faith of Abraham that we can use as an example. It almost holds Abraham at the pinnacle of faith to which we must aspire to.

Looking deeper into the story and thinking about the reality of the events may reveal even more startling lessons. A few points worth considering:
- The context which is often not revealed in detail is that Isaac is the promised one whom the blessings and promises of God would go to. Abraham knew this. Abraham must reasoned that whatever God asked him to do to Isaac, yet Isaac would still be able to fulfill that promise. The believe in God's promises to come true is the core of Abraham's faith.
- Sarah would not have agreed if she knew about it - which is most likely why Sarah was not told. Abraham would have believed even if he sacrificed Isaac, somehow Isaac would be able to come home with him.
- Abraham was not a perfect man, and his faith was certainly not perfect. But this part of Abraham's life showed clearly his obedience and trust in God's promises to him, even though sacrificing Isaac would destroy the promise immediately.
- Abraham had no trouble believing God can do the impossible.

Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me

John 14:9
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus responded to Philip as above, when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father. The disciples such as Philip, at that time, did not yet understand that Jesus is the face of the Father.

Today, that response from Jesus can remind us of our relationship with God and whether we really know Him through the Son Jesus, Yshua Ha Masiach. Many believers should know Yshua, but how close are we with Him? Living in this world and not seeing Yshua physically, it is easy for any believers to get distracted by physical things.

To know Yshua, who puts the Holy Spirit to live in us, require us to walk with Him, have communion with Him, and in touch with Him in the spirit because God is Spirit. We know the theology that Yshua is the Son, and is One with God the Father. So we will not ask the same question as Philip did. However, when we really know Him in the deepest most way, it is the time when we will experience the full joy of being with the Lord, like heaven on earth.

There he built an altar to the Lord

Genesis 12:8
And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. 


The verse above occurred in Abraham's journey when he had arrived in Canaan. God had promised Abraham that the land of Canaan would belong to his descendants. This could be Abrahams's first arrival in the land of Canaan. Before this, God had called him out the city of Ur. The promises that God made to Abraham from the very beginning included:

Genesis 12
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”


Just as Abraham followed God out of Ur, when God showed him the promised land and continued to lead him on, Abraham did not stay or procrastinate to go further. He was faithfully listening to God's direction. He did however built the altar before leaving Canaan, then built another altar near the mountain between Bethel and Canaan.

It does not give detailed motives for the altars but they could mean various things to Abraham. He could build it to mark God's promises to him to remind himself, he could have build in faith and declaring the land to be his in the future or he could be humbled by the favour of God and decided to mark the place where he prayed to God. In any case, he left physical symbols about his relationship with God.

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Where I am going you cannot follow Me now

John 13
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?”
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”

This was the context that prompted Peter to later ask why he cannot follow Jesus at that time. His eagerness and loyalty is exemplarary in this case - he wanted to follow Jesus even though he did not know where Jesus was going. This could be a lesson in faith in comparison with the account of Abraham and Isaac.

However the context here is quite different. The Lord Jesus was not intending to prove Peter's faith to Peter, as was the account with Abraham. Here, Yshua's intention was to reveal to Peter what would happen and prepare him to continue the task after He was gone.

Of course Jesus wanted Peter to be with Him ultimately when Peter's tasks on earth were finished. More importantly, Peter still had much to grow and to receive the Holy Spirit. With Jesus on earth, Peter had the great privilege of learning by example in the ministry of Jesus. When Jesus left, only then can the Holy Spirit come into Peter. It is the Holy Spirit that Peter needed to surrender to and allow Him to empower his life and ministry.

Lord, why can I not follow You now?

John 13:37
37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.”

Peter at this time did not understand why he cannot follow Jesus. He was impulsive but at this time he was genuinely intending to follow Jesus at the end. The only  problem was that when the situation arise, he was not ready to do so.

To put it to perspective, Peter was already following Jesus for about three years. God knows when we are ready to do certain things and when we are not. God may have chosen us and called us to some specific task, and he has a timing for everything.

As we hear God's assignment for us, we would also need to wait on God's timing to perform them. Going ahead to eagerly out ou our own enthusiasm and own desire to please God, may not necessarily produce the outcome that God intended.

Clouds and darkness surround Him

Psalm 97:2
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

1 John 1:5
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Why does darkness surrounds God (as mentioned in the Psalm verse) while Jesus revealed that God is light (as mentioned in 1 John). There is not even one bit of darkness in God. How can God have darkness while His Glory shines so remarkably, as mentioned in so many places in Scripture?

So the darkness mentioned in Psalm is not of God, but that which surrounds Him and hides Him from His creation. It could be the darkness represented by His enemies, or the lack of knowledge / relationship that we have with God. In any case, this darkness separates us from God.

While this darkness is hiding the glory of God from us, the psalm emphasizes that righteousness and justice are still upheld by God and thus still need to be practiced and valued by us. The thicker the cloud and darkness, the harder it is for us to practice the righteousness and justice.

It is through our Lord Yshua, who reveals that He is the Light, that we are able to see the Glory of God through the Son. When we know Jesus, we see God's light and we follow it. Hence by faith, righteousness and justice follows because we are focused on the true Light.

And he went out, not knowing where he was going

Hebrews 11
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

"And he went out, not knowing where he was going." - An incredible statement of trust in God displayed by Abraham. This is the result of surrendering of one's will to God. Going deeper, it also means that the fear of the unknown, has been overcome at least in part, by the greater fear of needing to follow our Creator and Lord. The other human nature, in fact sin, is pride of trusting ourselves and our ways, rather than God's way.

Not knowing where to go in itself is undesirable and foolishness. But not knowing where to go, being the result of following God's lead, is totally wise. God is after all the Creator and He has shown to have our best interests in mind. We only need to let go and stop doing our own way, and with a willing heart and ears, step out into the still, soft voice of God's calling.

Christ will be magnified in my body

 Philippians 1:19-20
 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

 Paul was talking about preaching the Gospel - not by a preacher only but by all of us, and by any motivation. We can do this by prayer and by the Holy Spirit. The preaching of Christ and the gospel is something that we should not be ashamed about. Instead we should deliberately set our will in doing this and to do it boldly, because the preaching of Christ is not something we would do by natural motivation. This glorifies God to others but it also is beneficial for our own growth as "Christ will be magnified in my body".