A streetcar named Christianity.

Faith is the essence of miracle. It's like fuel that fires up vision and dreams. It takes us to the place called Destiny. Grace; without it where would we be? The fruit of the Spirit. The full armour of God. The weapons of the supernatural. The whole majesty of God.

Now, imagine your dad knocking on your door today, he says you can have it. He bought it especially for you. He knew the one that you have been eyeing on it for the longest time. The one where you thought you'll never have it. Some would dream of a red-hot spanking Ferari, some would be thinking of a 2-door metallic black Maserati, some would be thinking about a 20" spoke rim, turbo-charged twin cam 24V engine, modified xenon lights, carbon fibre spoilers fitted onto a brand new sports 5 series BMW, complete with full leather interior, sun roof, GPS navigation system and an optional DVD screen :)

He parks that dream car of yours in the driveway and tells you that it's all yours. Now, even in your spell of unbelief, you would feel the adrenalin rush burning in you. Suddenly you just wanna grab the keys, start the ignition, grip the steering wheel, put the foot down on the accelerator and burn some serious rubber. Before you know it, you would have left a trail of dust far behind you, feeling the horsepowers in that machine and squeezing every inch of torque you could get out of the car.

You're cruising down the freeway, feeling really good about the car. It's absolutely a dream come true! Now, imagine the car being the gift that God has given us. Every single gift in heaven is in the car. All the riches of heaven packed into this package Dad has given you and I. The road being the journey that God is taking us. The junctions, the stops, the times when we accelerate down the stretch of road, the times when we experience some slow-downs with the car, it's all part and parcel of the journey God has for us. And of course, all of us driving to the place called Destiny that He has for us.

In that car, being the best car, your dream car, has everything in it. Everything that you need is in it. However, there are sometimes when we don't know how to work certain things and features in it. Have you ever faced that situation before? To be honest, I have. Once when I was driving another car, I was searching high and low for the button that opens the car boot. I think I was on the verge of giving up when I saw a button on the car key itself that activates that feature.

How many times in our Christian journey where we stumble upon a problem and freak out? Everything we need for our journey is fitted into the car. The manual, the features that keep us comfortable, the safety features that make us know that we're in safe hands. It is all in the car. Yet there are times when we choose to ignore those gifts that God has given us and when we're facing a problem, we find ourselves in a position where we don't know what to do, when all we need to do is to flick the button. How many times when we're driving when we feel the heat of life coming upon us? We feel the heat becoming unbearable and we begin to perspire, when all we need to do is to switch the air-conditioning on. Yet if we didn't know that there's a feature in that car, all we feel is the uncomfortable heat and we find ourselves whining about how the heat is overcoming us and making the journey uncomfortable.

God has come to give life and life abundantly. But if we don't know how to use the car features to the maximum of its capability, then we're not living to the full. In the words of Ps John Cameron, we're merely surviving, but God's will is that we thrive in life. God has given us this car that takes us to our Destiny the day we accepted Him into our lives, but if we decide to ignore the manual and just drive, then we're doing is merely surviving and when problems come, we don't know what to do. God has given us warning sings in the car, the road signs along the road, but if we don't know how to read them, then we're risking our lives and wonder why we face certain situations and problems.

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."
- 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

There are weapons that God has placed in our hands to fight the war in the supernatural. But if we ignore the battleplan and go out blindly, then the risk of us sustaining casualty will the huge. But if we know what is the plan and go out knowing who is fighting with and for us, then we go out with the victor's mindset knowing that the battle has been won.

God has similiarly given us a vehicle that gets us to our destiny, but if we don't read the manual and learn how to operate the features that come with the car, then we'll be merely driving and surviving but not overcoming. There is nothing that we can't overcome because we know the ultimate power behind the car. The wind beneath my wings that takes me higher. With our eyes fimly set on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith. The one who began a good work in us, will also be the one that will be with us in our journey to take us to the day of completion.