As Christians, we are all in the making. We are not yet finished products. As long as we are alive on this earth, we are bound to stumble and fall at times. Sometimes the fall can be so hard we find it difficult to pick ourselves up. And the more we feel the need to prove ourselves, the more badly we will be affected by failures.

But since we are still being shaped and moulded into the person God intends us to be, why should we give up just because we messed up at times. Maybe it is dented pride that caused us to throw in the towel before the fight is over. Perhaps it is because we find it difficult to forgive ourselves for our silly mistakes. But as long as we are still alive, the fight is not over. We can never tell how God can make “all things work together for good” and “turn our mourning to joy.”

Knowing that God is constantly at work in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13), it is good to take stock of where we have been and where we are heading at the end of a calendar year. How did last year go? What important lessons have I learned? What should I do differently in the coming year so that I can be truer to the destiny God has for me?

For those who are bogged down by failures, it is time we let failures drive us to rely more heavily on God’s grace and mercy. Perhaps God has been waiting for you to reach the end of yourselves and the end of your agendas. In the final analysis, as Christians, real change comes only when we rely fully on God and surrender to Him our own agenda for His agenda.

AC

"Fear not," the angel told the shepherds on that first Christmas. Why? "For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." What was the “good tidings of great joy?” That on the first Christmas, 2,000 years ago, God became one of us. That God Almighty - Creator and Governor of the universe - humbled Himself to visit planet Earth.

Isaiah had proclaimed 600 years earlier that Jesus would be born of a virgin and would be called Immanuel, which meant "God with us." So profound were the events of that first Christmas that thousands - perhaps millions - of angels entered into rapturous praise: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:8-14).

However, Christmas isn't the climax of history, merely the opening chapter of the greatest story ever told.

The “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” must always be understood in terms of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. You see this not only in the Gospels, but throughout the New Testament.

In other words, God's greatest gift wasn't simply sending His Son, but sending His Son to live among us, to die for us, and to rise again……to offer us the forgiveness of sins, redemption, and adoption into His family forever.

May we never grow too old to contemplate the wonders of the greatest story ever told.

David Sanford

As Christmas day draws nearer, things can get into a frenzy as we try to get the gifts ready. Instead of feeling the gladness and the joy of the season, we feel Christmas’ tyranny. The joy of giving falls away to a sort of panicked despair as we feel the need to give because it is expected of us.

It is time to refresh our giving with a truth from Scripture we have heard time and time again, especially during church offerings: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

Can we give cheerfully this Christmas? Only in so doing can we emulate the great Gift of Christmas: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...” (Jn. 3:16). Was our Father cheerful the night He sent His Son to lie in the manger of hay of Bethlehem’s rejection? I’m not sure. He doubtless wept as He traced Jesus’ path to the cross’ torture.

But like Jesus, “Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross...” (Heb. 12:2), the Father must have tempered His pain with His anticipation of the happiness and freedom which would surprise the recipients of His Gift upon opening.

So God gave, not reluctantly or because it was expected of Him, but because He loved. And what did He give? No store-bought gift would do for those He held dear. It must be home-made, as personal as could be, as deep from the heart as possible. This He did - He gave Himself. Someone said: “He emptied His pocket for us.”

Herein lies a Christmas mystery. Only by recalling the gift that comes from God can we comprehend what is the real significance of giving and receiving gifts. May this season not capture us in its tyranny, but release us in an eager cheerfulness to give as reflected in God giving us His most treasured possession.

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, The Tyranny of Giving

Relational depth is often a casualty in a hurry-sick world that glorifies exhaustion as a badge of accomplishment and accepts shallow relationships as the necessary price of achieving our individual ambitions. In contrast, Jesus states that those around us will know we are His followers not by our efficiency but by the quality of our love for each other (Jn 13:35).

The Apostle Paul's favourite metaphor for the community of believers is the human body: "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1 Cor 12:27). This comparision implies a vital interconnectedness between those of us who make up Christ's body.

Paul states that "the whole body is fitted together perfectly" and that when we take time to care for each other, each member will be "healthy and growing and full of love" (Eph 4:16). God wants our interdependence to be so tangible that when one of us experiences disappointment or joy, we all know it and respond accordingly. "If one member suffers," writes Paul, "all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor 12:26).

Are we ready to do that? In a world sick with hurry, are we prepared to slow down enough to create an environment in which our family and friends have time to reveal the purposes of their hearts?

The most disturbing result of hurry sickness is that we start to see those around us as obstacles that slow us down. Playing catch in the yard, leisurely walks with our wives, and unstructured evenings at home are viewed as interruptions. Yet, Scriptures instructs us to invest the time required to cultivate rich relationships (Col 3:12-17, 1 Pet 1:22).

Anonymous

Often our so-called strengths and abilities can turn out to be our weaknesses. Ideas and plans that are a product of our intelligence may be "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked" (Rev. 3:17).

We may be blessed with spiritual gifts, we may presume we are holy and acceptable to God, we may rejoice over the results of our effort, but until we see Christ and abandon our reliance upon our self-righteousness, all we will ever have, at best, is religion.

God does not need what we can do, He wants what we are. We, on the other hand, are eager to do something for Him; anything, as long as we do not have to deal with the problem areas in our hearts! But God wants to make us a holy people. Let us not be anxious in this process by trying to prove our worth to Him. Allow Him to do the deep inner work of preparation. Jesus lived thirty years of sinless purity before He did one work of power! His goal was primarily to please the Father with a holy life!

To aim at becoming powerful, effective or fruitful without first having our heart transformed is to put the cart before the horse. God promises to empower that which He first make holy. Do we want our Christianity to work? Seek Jesus Himself as our source and standard of holiness. Do we want to see the power of God in our lives? Then seek to know Christ’s purity of heart. If we are becoming the people God calls His own, we should be growing in holiness. A mature Christian will be both holy and effective, but holiness will precede effectiveness.

Francis Frangipane, Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God.

One Sunday, as I came down from the pulpit after preaching, a very old retired father, his wife and daughter came to talk to me and asked for prayer. The father ‘has lost interest in life’. He sits before the TV all the while watching ‘worthless’ programmes. The wife and daughter asked me to tell him to stop watching TV and do something useful around the house.

When I read the Bible text for today, I wondered what 'worthless things' were there tempting King David in the good old days so that he earnestly prayed to the Lord to turn his eyes away from them! There were no TV, video, newspaper, glossy magazines or the internet like in our days with contents that were not only worthless but positively corrupt (violent, criminal, immoral, pornographic and soul-destroying!).

Though the debate rages on concerning the effect of these worthless media on children and adults, no sensible person would contradict that it certainly corrupts the mind, soul and spirit. If you constantly feed your eyes with smut, you will soon accept it as normal. I was astonished to hear from one pastor of university students that there is a small but growing tendency towards homosexuality among Christian boys and lesbianism among Christian girls in our Asian society! Where and how do you think this new morality which was once alien to us has come? Aren't they imported through the mass media?

The Bible says, "Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants - what is good, pleasing, and perfect" (Rom 12: 2). So instead of giving the excuse that we cannot help looking at worthless things because it is so rampant in the world today, we need to pray like never before: "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your way."

Dr Benjamin George Sr.

The desert experience is a season of our lives in which we become acutely conscious of the barren and fruitless things in the world, in the church and in ourselves. We become conscious of sterility as opposed to vitality, of emptiness as opposed to fullness, of compromise as opposed to holiness. We become unable to cover up our pretensions any longer.

This desert can be a season of physical illness or depression. It can be a season of stress and anxiety, a season of poverty, a season of spiritual isolation and change. It is always a season of deep refining through repentance. It is when the usual emotional supports of life are removed. We are alone with ourselves, vulnerable and fearful. We are forced to see our true self: our sins, our hurts, our weaknesses, our failures, our pride, our vanity, our hypocrisies.

We are confronted at every turn by our own shadow. In the desert, there is nowhere we can go to hide from our shadow, and our shadow is the part of us where our sins, hurts and “demons” have found a home. In the desert we stand unprotected from the fiery heat of God’s holiness.

Seeing what the desert experience does for us, is it any wonder why God allows us to go through it? In fact, we see many men and women of God become God’s choice servants because of the desert experience they went through. They are able to bing maximum glory to God because in their time of testing and trials, they choose to let the Lord deliver them from the darkness that has been clinging relentlessly to their soul. They choose to let the Lord heal them of their wounds and they choose to relinquish their desire to control both the Lord and themselves.

Adapted from Dr. Mark Stibbe, Times of Refreshing

In a desert with no grocery stores, not to speak of unheard-of fast food stores, Jesus told His disciples to provide food for probably some 20,000 hungry people (when you take into account 5,000 women and 10,000 children besides the 5,000 men mentioned).

Philip calculated that it would take seven months’ wages to give each one just a bite. The disciples collectively did not have a single cent to their name as Peter had said: “We’ve given up everything to follow you” (Mark 10: 28). Yet Jesus said: “Give ye them to eat.” Impossible! How can paupers feed others, let alone 20,000!

It was no joke. Jesus knew that, and He tested Philip with the question: “Where are we to buy bread for all these people to eat?”(John 6: 5). Philip replied: “It would take a fortune to begin to do it!”(v.7). The disciples had to recognize that there was no way on earth that the Mission could be carried out.

The Lord could have asked God to pour down manna from heaven. But He asks the disciples for their resources. Since they had none, they had to hold a fund-raiser. Andrew, the older brother who had led Simon Peter to the Lord, was the one who found the potential contributor: “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish” (v. 9). The boy was willing to donate 100% of his available resources (snacks).

Jesus said: “Have the people sit down.”(v. 10). Jesus knew (not crossing his fingers) that God will provide (v. 6). “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.”(v. 11) (Emphasis added).

Sometimes the Lord imposes burdens on us that are beyond our abilities to carry. But we can roll them back to Him for His intervening miracles, transforming the meagre offerings of ours into overflowing resources to the glory of His Name.

Professor Dr. George K. Chacko

It is a tragedy in churches today where men and women, laity and clergy, have neither the will nor the purpose to bring about restoration of hurting and broken lives.

When Christians stop acting in self-righteousness and judgementalism and commit themselves to a restorative ministry, and start saying with tenderness, “We are committed to getting every broken player onto the field again to serve in the kingdom, and no one is beyond restoration” - then we believe we’re going to see a true revival break out.

The church has been given the great privilege of restoring and releasing people. The world can duplicate almost everything the church can do - except show grace. Neither the devil nor people who are being led by evil can replicate grace. How tragic is it when the place where grace is to be found, it is absent.

When the church becomes known as a place where gossip, criticism, and slander are nonexistent, and where the most broken person can crawl up the aisle, sob his heart out in repentance, and know a community of people will gather around him and say, “Leave the past behind and look ahead of you. We’re committed to your restoration!” - then we’re going to see the church across the world experience a revival such as it has never known.

Perhaps the greatest renewal movement that could happen would be for the church really to learn how to restore others to grace. If the church can exercise grace, it will become a safe place where people will want to be.

H. B. London Jr., Refresh, Renew, Revive

Many a missionary has come back from the field with thrilling stories of the power of the gospel message to change cannibals to Christians. That kind of transformation in people gives a proof of the reality of the power of the Gospel. How wonderful to think of a man feeding his soul on the Word of God, who once fed his body on the flesh of his fellow men!

Interestingly, Paul speaks of another kind of cannibalism.

The Galatian church had once been a centre of dynamic Christianity. Paul, himself, had ministered there. The gospel had been presented clearly and the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the people had been evident. The love of Christ was an active force in personal relationships. Paul said they had loved him so much that they would have been willing to pluck out their eyes and given them to him to improve his poor vision, if that had been possible.

Sadly, things changed. The church became legalistic and love left. Paul lamented: “You ran well. Who hindered you from Him who calls you?” (Gal 5:7).

Observing their bickering and infighting, he warns: “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another” (Gal 5:15). The Christians there were in danger of becoming Christian cannibals.

How little difference with the world Christians sometimes present themselves. Going at each other’s throats, getting even, back stabbing, character assassination (sometimes subtly and sometimes bluntly done) are seen among Christians. But Scriptures give no room for cannibalism among Christians. Instead, we are to “through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13b) and “love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Pet 1:22).

Roger F. Campbell, Let’s Communicate

Life as we know it affords us little rest. Everyday, a thousand things clamour for our attention. Besides those things we have to deal with consciously, there are those things that nag us at the subconscious level. Have we forgotten to make an important call? Have we forgotten to submit an important paper or send an important letter? How are we going to finance our children’s impending tertiary education?

We live life in quiet desperation. We want out, but we never dare for a moment to relinquish control. We think we will sink the moment we do so. We feel we’ll be out of the race, the moment we lower our guard.

A life of anxious care, according to Jesus, is how pagans normally live. They know not any other way because they know not the heavenly Father who cares for His children. Those who have a Father in heaven, live life trustingly. They do not need to sit up late at night to plot, and plan and contrive. They leave their cares and needs with their heavenly Father and therefore need not lie awake with fear and anxiety gnawing at their hearts.

However, trusting the heavenly Father to provide us with all that we need, is not the same as being lazy or indolent. On the contrary, he who has faith in God works with excellence because he puts his trust in Him who enables him to do so. He does not work in anxious fear but with pleasing faith that gladdens the heart of the heavenly Father.

Adapted from C. H. Spurgeon, Faith’s Check Book

We use a lot of metaphors for our faith. We use images that have to do with war and with athletics. But one metaphor we ought to use more often regarding life in the Spirit is that of the dance. The psalmist praises God because He has “turned for me my mourning into dancing” (Ps. 30:11). Again, the psalmist says, “Let them praise His name with the dance” (Ps. 149:3).

Paul says in I Cor. 3:17, “... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” The dance aptly reflects liberty and freedom for some reasons. First, one can’t dance properly without being secure with the one with whom one is dancing. As children of God, we have the Holy Spirit who enables us to cry “Abba, Father.” The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God, thus releasing us from our doubt and insecurity. This assurance that brings freedom enables us to dance.

The second thing about dancing is that we need to do so with abandonment, that is, without self-consciousness or worry about what others think. We can’t really dance when we are constantly looking at our feet to see if we are doing right. We don’t really dance if we are doing it for the approval of others. Doing it to impress others may be called dancing, or even great dancing, but our subject about life in the Spirit has nothing to do with the opinion of others.

Another requirement is that we can only dance when we have no ulterior motive except the sheer joy of dancing. The dancing we talk about is about relationship and intimacy. It’s not about program or performance or even art. Because it is none of that, it can appear ridiculous or offensive. But that is exactly the kind of dance the Spirit invites us to - it’s not concern with what others think.

Adapted from Follow the Wind by Steve Brown

We do not gain God’s wisdom primarily from experience. Nor does it necessarily accrue to us with age. God’s wisdom has nothing to do with cleverness, gray beards, or doctoral dissertations. Rather, God reveals it to those who fear Him (Ps.110:10). He gives it to those who ask with expectant faith (Jas.1:5).

The criterion for Godly wisdom is Christ. Paul says: “In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). To understand the wisdom that is hidden in Christ, we have to look at the cross. In the cross we usually see obedience, suffering, love and courage. But wisdom? What’s wise about it? According to Paul, the cross is precisely where God’s wisdom is displayed: “We preach Christ crucified... Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (I Cor. 1:23-24).

The unbelieving see the cross as foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18). Since the idea of the cross as wisdom appears ridiculous to them, they substitute that with another kind of wisdom which has its root in the devil. It is a wisdom associated with the grasp for importance (Isa. 14:13) and the desire to see like God in one’s knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:5). It is the way of arrogance, disobedience and the exaltation of self. We display it in a thousand ways: in the clamour for attention, in the practice of one-up-manship, in subtle speeches and nuances. It breeds envy and bitterness. It “is earthly, sensual, demonic” (Jas.3:15).

In contrast, God’s wisdom is the way of humility and obedience to God. It comes to us as we increasingly see and understand the cross – as we perceive the incredibly good self-emptying work of Christ who submitted to crucifixion for God’s glory and our salvation. We display Godly wisdom in everyday living every time we choose to humble ourselves, every time we die to selfish ambition for God’s glory and every time we carry our own cross. This “wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (Jas. 3:17).

Adapted from Discipleship Journal, Mar/Apr 2003

Scholars debate whether Jesus’ question on the cross is rhetorical or real. The first instance states that Jesus, knowing from Scripture and believing that God would ultimately vindicate Him, could not possible believe that God had ditched Him. The question is meant to express the extremity of His suffering and also to give voice to humanity’s feeling of lostness. To believe that Jesus’ question is a real one is to believe that Jesus thought His mission had failed. Otherwise, it remains a rhetorical question.

I believe that Jesus’ question is raw, honest and real because it is more in keeping with the essence of the Christian faith. First, it reveals the horrendous cost of sin. Those who trifle with sin do not realize what price it comes with. Only when we grasp the extent of His suffering on the cross, can we see how dreadfully heavy the payment for our sin is.

Next, it points to the nature of God - holy, just and pure. He simply cannot tolerate sin. He has to punish every sin committed. We can forgive people for the wrongs they have done to us or cancel the debts of people who owe us. But sin, in the eyes of the holy God, cannot be simply forgotten, ignored, or diluted. Its presence demands judgement.

When divine wrath and judgement on sin came, it was so horrendous that God Himself recoiled. Jesus felt the blunt of God’s revulsion for sin. Jesus had anticipated the ‘cup’ He had to drink was going to be bitter. But He only knew the exact ‘taste’ of it until it came. When it arrived, He lost the one thing left with Him - the link He had with His heavenly Father. The night couldn’t get any darker. The One He had always depended on turned His back to Him.

The raw and genuine cry of Jesus assures us that we do have a high priest who is truly able to sympathize with us. When He tells us - “I know what it is like to be driven beyond the threshold of tolerance. I know how it feels to go through the experiences that eat the heart out of life: losing someone you love and someone who loves you; being betrayed by the person you really trusted; being ditched by the people you depended on” - there is no empty ring about it.

AC

Once we have believed and received the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, we obtain eternal life. It is wonderful to be forgiven and be assured of heaven when we die. That is ‘the bottom-line’ of our Christian experience. Many seem quite satisfied with it! We are all the more contented with our status as Christians when we are blessed with good health and enough wealth to help us get on comfortably with life.

But none of life’s material blessing will last forever or satisfy us fully. Yet, most Christians live on this plane of life! There is more to life that Jesus wants to bless us with. When He said, "I have come to give you life to its full," He was clearly stating that He has a much greater mission to fulfill in us and a fuller purpose for us than merely giving us entry to heaven and earthly blessings! Every time I read these Words of the Lord I am so thrilled at the great possibilities before me and I deeply long to achieve that life to the full.

How can you obtain this ‘life to the full’ or ‘abundant life’ or ‘life full of the Holy Spirit’? Once, Jesus cried out from the temple steps on the great festival day: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7: 37, 38). The key to fullness is to go to Him daily! Only Jesus can baptise us with the Holy Spirit and grant us His fullness continually.

This ‘life full of the Holy Spirit’ is one that overflows towards God in praise and thanksgiving. It is full of the joy of the Holy Spirit, full of the peace of God that passes human understanding, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, full of the fruit of the Spirit and full of the gifts of the Spirit. Since it is full of fruits and gifts, it overflows to others and bless others. What a blessing it is to be with people who are full of the Holy Spirit. O! that you and I might claim that kind of abundant life the Lord promises!

Dr Benjamin George Sr.

There come times in our lives when we feel very much alone despite being surrounded by friends, advisers, counsellors or mentors. Those times of lonely struggles can be called the dark nights of our soul.

However, the Bible gives us the assurance that there is one person who fully understands us. He knows what we are going through because He identifies fully with our humanity.

We may have nagging doubt about Jesus’ ability to fully empathize with us because we think He lived in another time. How could Jesus know the struggles that come with modern living when life was so different during His time? How could He know the temptations that come through the internet when there was no such thing in His time?

The writer of Hebrews addresses the doubt we have about Jesus’ ability to empathize. He says, in effect, Jesus experienced the whole gamut of human emotions. Being “tempted in every way” means He knows every twist or variation of an individual’s temptation. None of us can surprise him with struggles or temptations we think are peculiar or unique to ourselves. In fact, He experienced the ultimate human struggle when even divine help seems to be taken away from Him - a time when God seems to have turned His back to Him or hidden His face from Him. That was the time when he cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”. That must be the darkest of the dark nights of the soul.

When the night descends upon our soul, we do have someone we can go to. He not only knows what mental anguish we are going through or see the pain that throbs inside us, He is there to provide the help we need. “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb 2:18).

AC

One day Jesus watched people giving at the temple. Mark records that many of the rich “threw in large amounts” (Mk.12:41). “Threw in” conveys an ostentatious kind of showiness, like a high-profile politician dropping his vote into the ballot box while multiple cameras capture the significant moment.

In the absence of cameras, some of the wealthy in Jesus’ day actually had trumpets blown to signify that the temple treasury had been graced by their grand beneficence. These people weren’t really investing in the kingdom of God as much as they were exploiting it for the sake of their image - and image is what matters most to Mammon’s disciples.

Then a truly extravagant giver quietly deposited her offering. Jesus made sure His disciples saw her. “A poor widow,” Mark calls her, “put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny” (Mk. 12:42), but worth so much more to God, because those coins were all that she had. Who could give more than everything?

For Jesus, it was never so much about the amount of the gift but the heart of the giver (2 Cor. 9:7). Through her gift, the widow showed she truly loved and trusted the Lord with all her heart (Mk. 12:30). Although poor in creature comforts, she proved to be rich in wisdom.

The wise understand that the priority of life is not gaining more for themselves but giving all of themselves to God. When our hearts are similarly submitted to what matters most, our resources will follow.

Cole Huffman, Discipleship Journal

If the Apostle Paul were to sit down to write to our church, how would he begin the letter? What would he thank God for? What would he mention first?

There are many ways churches are measured today: by its number, its building, its music, its ministries. Interestingly, all of these things are noteworthy - and most are even important - but this is not what Paul and other writers thank God for in their letters to the New Testament churches. Rather, they were thankful for the degree of faith, hope, and love that existed in those churches.

The church at Corinth got so carried away with spiritual gifts that they forgot what should be their priority, which is, love. Grieved by their failure to love, Paul said in essence: “Yes, you have more gifts than any church around, but because you lack love, your gifts are basically useless and certainly do not reflect Christ-like maturity” (I Cor.13).

While we get impressed with big numbers, expensive buildings, fantastic music and outstanding acoustics or great preaching, God looks at the inner life of a church. To what degree does a church reflect the image of Jesus Christ? To what extent are the members walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh? How much faith, hope and love do they demonstrate as a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ?

There is no better place for new believers to grow and mature than mingling with and observing Christians who are walking in the light and measuring up to the stature of the fullness of Christ. In fact, this is God’s ideal context for discipleship to take place - within a functioning body that is “building itself up in love as each member participates in the growth of the church.”(Eph. 4:16 paraphrased)

Gene A. Getz, The Walk

“We can actually bring pleasure to God. What an incredible privilege.” (F. Frangipane)

When I was 16, I was asked to be one of the worship leaders at a youth music camp. I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was the last night of the five-day camp. The auditorium of the Wesley Methodist Church in Klang was filled to the brim. The atmosphere was drenched with a sense of anticipation: like people anxious to see the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The music started smoothly and its tempo picked up with lightning speed. The praise was simply awesome and we could feel not just the presence of God, but God Himself dancing over His people with joy. Then, as we moved into the “worship” songs, there was a long rapt silence. We were so soaked with the worship, it was like heaven on earth.

By this time, my eyes were filled with tears as I reflected on His goodness. Then, in my spirit, in an almost audible voice, I heard the Lord speak to me, “Joshua, open your eyes.” “But I want to focus on You Lord, let me worship You,” I answered. “Open your eyes Josh,” again He said. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

As I opened my eyes, I saw the ‘multitude’ of worshippers (to be exact, only 350 of us) with their eyes and hands raised towards heaven with blissful expressions of joy, peace and hope. Then the Lord said, “Joshua, I want you to see now, that of all the wonders I have created - all the mountains, the rivers, and the seas with all its splendour - nothing can compare to what you have witnessed tonight. Of all things created, of all the beautiful sceneries out there, this is the most beautiful one to Me.”

That experience gave me a deeper perspective of God. From that point onwards, I decided to make it my ambition to lead people into such deep worship that it would put a smile on God’s face. And if I wasn’t leading in worship but seated in the congregation somewhere, I would be part of that “scenery” that so pleased God.

JL

Within all of us is a whole conglomerate of selves. There is the timid self, the courageous self of the lost of opportunities for study or evangelistic contact. If the decision is to be involved in human services, the civic self smiles with satisfaction, but all the excluded selves protest. No wonder we feel distracted and torn, harassed and fragmented.

What we need is to bring our divided selves under the control of a unifying Centre. As we yield to the Centre everything about us becomes focused and assembled. This yielding is nothing more than the experience of the great commandment to love God with all our being. A French Christian, Marie of the Incarnation, wrote in 1628, “My spirit was more and more being simplified... In the depths of my soul... these words were continual; ‘Ah! My Love, my Well-Beloved! Be blessed, O my God!’... And since that time my soul has remained in its centre which is God.”

When we experience life at the Centre, all is changed. Our many selves come under the unifying control of the Arbitrator. The divine Yes or No settles all issues and conflicts. The quiet evening can be enjoyed to the fullest because our many selves have been stilled by the Holy Within. The business self, the religious self, the energetic self, all are at peace because they are living in obedience. No self needs to be disgruntled since all things good and needful will be given their proper attention at the appropriate time. Life is then lived in unhurried peace and power. Life then finds its balance and equilibrium.

Richard J. Foster, Freedom of Simplicity

In the book of Nehemiah, we see the walls of Jerusalem in ruin. It reflected on a people who had let down their guard and were overcome by apathy, complacency and compromise. Nehemiah was heartbroken and he wept, fasted and prayed before God for change to come.

What about the spiritual conditions of the people of God today? Outwardly things may appear to be well. But if we look deeper do we not see hurts, strife and disunity in the body of Christ? Are they not many who are living defeated lives? Do we not see sins committed rampantly in the church? Can we not notice how much materialism grips Christians and steal their passion for God?

We need to fast and pray and stand in the gap for the people of God today. Can we set aside our own comfort in order to bring restoration to the Church? Some are hurt and struggling in their relationship with God and others. We need to be involved in rebuilding lives.

Nehemiah committed the task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem before him to the Lord. He found favor with God and man (Neh 2:9). He had everything he needed to rebuild the walls. The Lord has also provided us with everything we need to rebuild our lives by giving us His Son, Jesus Christ. All we have need of is found in Him (Col 2:10). Each one of us has been given talents, gifts or skills in the building programme of God. Let us therefore come before Him and position ourselves along the ruined walls of the church and commit ourselves to the task of rebuilding.

DC

Why are we trying so hard to achieve, impress or live up to expectations? Could it be that the underlying reason for all our striving, hustling and ‘busy-ness’ is a search for significance?

In the Christian circle, our search for significance includes areas of character, personality and spirituality. Since such virtues are always praised, we think that the higher we score on them, the more worth we have as people.

As believers of the Lord Jesus Christ, where exactly does our significance lie? The ‘Lord’s Prayer’ (actually should be the ‘Disciples’ Prayer’), points us in the right direction in its very first phrase, ‘Our Father in Heaven’. To address God like that means we are the King’s children!

Jesus points out that our significance lies in the recognition, and receiving into our innermost being, the unchangeable fact and truth that we are His. We are His treasured possession, the ‘apple of His eye’. This realization alone should draw us nearer and nearer to Him in living lives worthy of our calling. Our significance lay not in the accumulation of materiality or recognition of our achievements, but in the wondrous truth that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Failures or the disapproval of others cannot take that away from us.

F. Morais

The Bible describes sin as doing things our own way that are contrary to God’s ways. Our world is in such a terrible mess because we give little regards to God and His ways. We see this in all the hatred and violence, the selfishness and the broken relationships in the world. The movies and television is one never-ending commentary on sin and its fruits.

Every act of sin is like weed in the garden; if not rooted out they will soon overrun it. Small acts of dishonesty can soon spread into attitudes and habits we cannot break. One harsh word, if not followed by an apology and forgiveness, can make a relationship sour and strained. That first drug fix or exposure to pornography will almost without our realizing it become a prison we cannot escape from.

Worst of all, sin separates us from God. Sin is like a thick cloud which blots out the sun. This is why God seems to be far away. We grope in the dark for God but we cannot find Him because sin gets in the way.

The Bible uses some vivid pictures to describe our sin situation. We are chained in a dungeon with no way out. We are sinking in thick mud - the more we struggle, the worse it becomes. We find ourselves in deep turbulent water and we do not know how to swim. We are perishing in our sin. We need rescuing and we need a Rescuer.

God in His love sent someone to rescue us. His name is Jesus. The name means Saviour or Rescuer. The Bible explains it like this: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Jesus Himself said that He came to seek and save the lost. He did this by giving His own life for us.

Norman Warren, What’s the Point?

The Bible describes sin as doing things our own way that are contrary to God’s ways. Our world is in such a terrible mess because we give little regards to God and His ways. We see this in all the hatred and violence, the selfishness and the broken relationships in the world. The movies and television is one never-ending commentary on sin and its fruits.

Every act of sin is like weed in the garden; if not rooted out they will soon overrun it. Small acts of dishonesty can soon spread into attitudes and habits we cannot break. One harsh word, if not followed by an apology and forgiveness, can make a relationship sour and strained. That first drug fix or exposure to pornography will almost without our realizing it become a prison we cannot escape from.

Worst of all, sin separates us from God. Sin is like a thick cloud which blots out the sun. This is why God seems to be far away. We grope in the dark for God but we cannot find Him because sin gets in the way.

The Bible uses some vivid pictures to describe our sin situation. We are chained in a dungeon with no way out. We are sinking in thick mud - the more we struggle, the worse it becomes. We find ourselves in deep turbulent water and we do not know how to swim. We are perishing in our sin. We need rescuing and we need a Rescuer.

God in His love sent someone to rescue us. His name is Jesus. The name means Saviour or Rescuer. The Bible explains it like this: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Jesus Himself said that He came to seek and save the lost. He did this by giving His own life for us.

Norman Warren, What’s the Point?

Who are you struggling with today? What person is causing you anger, annoyance, heartache, or irritation? Look past the irritation to the need. This, I think, is part of the essence of the gospel; it is unconditional love expressed in a nutshell.

When the relationship with a family member, a coworker, or someone in your church is strained and challenged, learn to look past the irritation he or she causes you and begin to see the need in that person’s life. This even applies to those who go out of their way to hurt us, the people who actually seem to hate us and take pleasure in offending us.

Look closely at the brash, arrogant, self-important person, and you’ll often see a person who is deeply insecure, unsure of his or her self-worth, constantly needing to reassure and build himself or herself up at the expense of others. Look closely at the quarrelsome person who constantly contends and debates with you, and you may see someone who is confused underneath it all, someone who seeks to be convinced that your Christian witness is true. Look closely at the person who is sullen and withdrawn and hostile, and you’ll often find someone who has been deeply wounded in mind and spirit since childhood, someone who is desperate to be loved without conditions, without having to measure up to someone else’s expectations.

Look past the irritation to the need in that person’s life. See him or her as someone for whom Christ gave Himself, and give yourself in the same way. I believe that if you do, in most cases you will see healing.

Ron Lee Davis, Gold In The Making

When Jesus Christ entered human history, He brought into the world a totally new force, the most powerful force in the world - unconditional love. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God did not extract conditions or promises of good behaviour from us; He did not demand that we requite His love shown to us; He loved us so much that He simply gave His Son to die for us - no conditions asked. That is unconditional love.

When the time came to write the definition for unconditional love, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13. Paul didn’t write this chapter to be sentimentalized or idealized. It’s not just a sweet sounding hymn or poem to be read at a bridal shower or a wedding. It’s a practical guide to life in the trenches, for the rough-and-tumble Christian struggle that we face every day of our lives. It’s the prescription for the ultimate healing of broken relationships, broken marriages, broken lives, and broken self-esteem. It’s a practical strategy God wants us to live out, literally and obediently, so that His desire for unity among His children will be realized.

Take time today to meditate on 1 Corinthians 13.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

Ron Lee Davis, Gold In The Making

The way we follow can either help or hinder our leaders. God has given us gifts that can support and encourage those in authority. Jonathan shows us how as followers we can enrich our leaders - in tangible and intangible ways.

Jonathan warned David of potential disaster, even though it positioned him between his father and his friend (1 Sam 19:1). Jonathan put himself on the line. As Saul's son and confidant, Jonathan was uniquely able to discern and relay to David the fluctuating moods and schemes of the king (1 Sam 19:10). He proposed a plan for David's escape (1 Sam 20:18 - 22).

Our leaders have to daily battle the world, the flesh, and the devil. Sometimes, we may need to discern the conflicts our leaders are going through, warn them of impending dangers, and help our leaders to see the way of escape that God has provided. At other times, we may need to help our leaders hold steady during the trials that refine them.

Always on the move, David needed a friend, an encourager, and a protector. God provided all three in Jonathan. God is looking for people who will approach the calling of following with devotion and excellence. He seeks those who will use their spiritual and material gifts to enrich, protect and release their leaders, and who understand that in the kingdom of God, second place is as much in God’s will as a position of authority. We give our leaders a gift when we follow Jonathan's example.

Sandy Mayle, Discipleship Journal Sep/Oct 2003

John Wesley said, "God will do nothing but in answer to prayer." S.D. Gordon said that "The greatest thing anyone can do for God and for man is to pray." He also stated, "Prayer is striking the winning blow... service is gathering the results." E.M. Bounds said, "God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil...The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock of heaven by which God carries out His great work upon earth. God conditions the very life and prosperity of His cause on prayer." If these things are true, then "prayer should be the main business of our day."

Heaven holds the key by which decisions governing earthly affairs are made but we hold the key by which those decisions are implemented. Prayer is not overcoming reluctance in God. It is not persuading Him to do something He is unwilling to do. It is “binding upon earth that which already has been bound in heaven.” (Matt 16:19). It is implementing His decision. It is enforcing His will upon earth. Prayer makes possible God's accomplishing what He wants and what He cannot do without it.

No angel was invited to share this high privilege. Only redeemed humanity. And many of us are too busy - watching television, following sports, engaging in business, moonlighting, etc. Someone has described the modern man as a person who drives a bank-financed car over a bond-financed highway on credit card gas to open a charge account at a department store so he can fill his Savings and Loan financed home with installment-purchased furniture. May this not also be a description of many modern professed Christians. And may this not be one reason why modern Christians have so little time to pray.

Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne

We see God seeking to avoid exercising just and deserved judgement. He, Himself, longs to spare the nation. But, strangely, He is “helpless” without a man, without an intercessor. If no one will intercede, God cannot withhold judgment.

Why should He be “dependent” upon the prayers of a man to defend the nation from the judgments which He, Himself, wishes to withhold? God is the almighty and supreme Sovereign of the universe. He is Himself the ultimate Judge, Jury, and Executive and Enforcement Authority. Or is He? If He longed to withhold judgment against His people, if He yearned to show mercy, why did He not exercise His supreme sovereignty and do so, regardless of the prayers - or lack of prayers - of any man? Why did He set up a system which made Him “dependent” upon a man? Is this not a baffling mystery?

This mystery needs to be seen in the light of God’s eternal purpose for the Church. As Christ’s Eternal Companion, the Church (the Bride) is to share with Christ universal sovereignty. "Don't you know that some day we Christians are going to judge and govern the world?...” (I Cor. 6:2a). “And he who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, to him will I give power (authority) over the nations” (Rev. 2:26).

By delegating His authority to her for administering His decisions and enforcing His will upon earth, God placed the Church in apprenticeship for eternal sovereignty with Christ. By practicing in her prayer closet the enforcement of Heaven’s decisions in mundane affairs, the Church is in “on-the-job” training for co-sovereignty with Christ over His universal empire. She must learn the art of spiritual warfare, of overcoming evil forces in preparation for her assumption of the throne following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

Paul E. Billheimer, Destined for the Throne

It is not uncommon for Christians to go through ‘dry’ times during which this is a condition when we have little appetite for God’s Word, our spiritual food and fuel. We are also lethargic in spirit and prayer is usually sidelined. Sharing our faith with others is the last thing on our minds. Fellowshipping with other brethren and meeting together to worship is looked upon as something to be endured.

There is also a sense of lostness - a lostness of vision and purpose for living. What does one do in these circumstances? Where and to whom does one turn to?

At the risk of presenting a seemingly simplistic answer, I’d like to point you to 1 Cor 14:4. In this verse lies a potent remedy to our dry seasons.

This seemingly simplistic answer to our ‘dry’ times is speaking in an unknown language (or tongue). By it we shall be ‘edified’. This word ‘edified’ is translated from the Greek ‘oikodomeo’ which means: ‘1) to build a house, erect a building, 1a) to build (up from the foundation), 1b) to restore by building, to rebuild, repair, 2) metaphorically, 2a) to found, establish, 2b) to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness, 2c) to grow in wisdom and piety’

Now isn’t that what a Christian going through lean times would wish for - to grow in wisdom and piety (lifestyle of holiness); to be built up, or rebuilt (renewed), established; and experience growth in affection, grace, holiness, virtue and blessedness? Sounds like the abundant life Jesus spoke about in John 10:10.

Of course there are a host of other attendant factors requiring our attention if we are to be pulled out from the quagmire of spiritual stagnation and backsliding. But why not begin with the simple practise of ‘praying in an unknown tongue or in the spirit’ (1 Cor 14: 14 & 15). Why don’t we get back to the basics and experience the river of God’s refreshing Spirit flowing through us once again. I have experienced this again and again in following the Lord these 26 over years. The Word never fails. Give it a shot. Get ‘wet’ in the Spirit again and serve the King with joy.

FM

Passion is "any kind of feeling by which the mind is powerfully effected or moved: a vehement, commanding, or overpowering emotion." Passion moves the mind and the will to action. It covers a whole range of feelings such as desire, longing, zeal, affection, craving, hunger, and so on. These feelings are all characteristic of a person who is deeply in love. A man in love or a woman in love will never quit. That is the nature of love (Song of Songs 8:6-7).

Christians need passion that is appropriate to loving God. The verse in Psalm painted it well: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God” (Ps. 42:1-2). David had it when he said: “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD, and to seek him in his temple” (Ps. 27:4).

To developing passion for Jesus, we must, like Mary (Luke 10:38-42), take time to get to know Jesus. The more we sit at His feet and listen to Him, the better we will know Him. And the more we know Him, the more we will love Him. We must set aside a regular time for personal meditation in the Scriptures and prayer.

The second key to acquiring passion for the Lord Jesus is to realize that sin creates a barrier between us and Him. The guilt of sin can keep us from going into the presence of the Lord. The guilt of sin is taken away whenever we confess that sin, trusting in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to forgive us and cleanse us (I John 1:7-9).

Coming to God without unconfessed sin is not about being perfect. We will never be holy enough or disciplined enough to get into God's presence. It is about loving Him and wanting to please Him with our obedience. And as we find ourselves falling in love with Him, our passion for Him will conquer a thousand sins in our lives. We will begin to love what He loves and hate what He hates.

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit

Worship is about letting God be God. The problem with worship is sometimes we unknowingly let other things usurp God.

For example, instead of putting God in the centre of our worship, we place self there. Perceiving that worship is primarily a personal experience, we look for spiritual highs described by terms such as being “touched” or “refreshed” or “recharged”. When we put ourselves on an inward-looking mode like that, God is unlikely to receive the attention due to Him.

Another wrong focus comes from the perception that worship is the mechanism that triggers God’s presence. When we see worship as something to get God to show up, we will be overly concern with forms and effect - what do we do to achieve the right effect. The act of worship will then take precedence over the One we worship.

Worship is really about God having His way with us. This does not mean that there is no emotion involved or no tangible demonstration of God’s presence. Worship is more than all that. We see this in Isaiah’s encounter with God (Isaiah 6). Isaiah had a most awesome revelation of God and he was evidently touched to the core. When the Lord revealed His will to him in that incident: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”, Isaiah responded: “Here am I! Send me.” Worship radically altered Isaiah’s life. Through it, he was deeply convicted of his sin and consequently he gave his life in answer to the call of God.

We must keep in mind God’s goals for worship if we do not want other things to usurp God. A good question to ask when we come together for worship is: Are we coming together in unity? It is possible that we go through the act of worship and look for that “heavenly touch” and forget altogether that God desires unity. If we are here to worship God, meaning we are fully submitted to Him, how much is that submission seen in our relationships?

Steven Fry points out the critical connection between unity (which is practically expressed in forgiving one another, encouraging one another and loving one another) and the Lord’s presence. He writes: “We are yielded to Christ’s authority to the degree we seek to maintain unity with our brothers and sisters.” In such a situation, we can only truly say we worship God when we allow Him to have His ways with our relationships.

AC

Are you carrying the burden of pride? Think for yourself how accustomed you are to challenge words spoken against you, how easily you cringe under criticisms, how often you toss sleeplessly in bed when others are recognised or preferred before you.

As long as you set yourself up as a little god, there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have inward peace? The heart’s fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honour from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest.

Such a burden as this is not necessary to bear. Jesus calls us to His rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. The proud man needs to have his pride nourished by hearing nice things about himself or being treated in ways that make him feel good. Surely if God is bringing such a one to be like His son, he will not get what his ego cries for.

The meek man knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him. He rests perfectly content to allow God to place His own values. He will be patient to wait for the day when everything will get its own price tag and real worth. Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He is willing to wait for that day.

In the meantime he will have attained a place of soul rest. As he walks in his meekness, he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace meekness brings.

Adapted from The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer

The godly are tempted and tried. True faith must be put to the test. But the godly are delivered out of their trials, and that not by chance, nor by secondary agencies, but by the Lord Himself. He personally undertakes the office of delivering those who trust Him. God loves the godly or godlike, and He makes a point of knowing where they are, and how they fare.

Sometimes their way seems to be a labyrinth, and they cannot imagine how they are to escape from threatening danger. What they do not know their Lord knows. He knows whom to deliver, and when to deliver, and how to deliver. He delivers in the way which is most beneficial to the godly, most crushing to the tempter, and most glorifying to Himself.

We may leave the “how” with the Lord and be content to rejoice in the fact that He will, in some way or other, bring His own people through all the dangers, trials, and temptations of this mortal life to His own right hand in glory.

This day it is not for me to pry into my Lord’s secrets, but patiently to wait his time, knowing this, that though I know nothing, my heavenly Father knows.

C. H. Spurgeon, Faith’s Check Book

“In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where He could be alone to pray.” Mark 1: 35.

Have you heard people say “I have so much to do tomorrow that I will have to get up very early and leave home”. Perhaps that is the way you approach the busy and tough times that we face today!

How different it was to men of faith like Martin Luther and John Wesley! It was Luther, they say, who made the famous remark: “I have much work to do tomorrow and hence I need to get up early and spend two extra hours with God”. Wesley was the same in his pursuit after God and His will.

The men and women who have experienced their God personally and intimately know the importance of seeking God’s face before anything they do or even say!

The psalmist, King David said, “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Psa 63 : 1, 2).

Blessed are those who long for their God and seek Him early in the morning of each new day. Blessed are you, if you will look for Him diligently and enquire of Him before you set out to do your tasks, small and great. That is what the Lord Jesus did while He was on earth; He prayed alone to His Father early in the morning for guidance. He prayed all day when He needed help and He prayed all night long when pressured by decisions. How then, could you begin your day without committing it to God? I dare not!

Dr B. George Sr

‘But exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin’ ( Heb 3:13 ).

Today, we live in a society where sin runs rampant. Violence abounds. Apathy and indifference for holiness is the norm. What used to be normal societal standards are now deemed ‘old-fashioned’. Holy living is considered an absurdity, even among ‘Christian’ circles. I wonder how many Christians today are like Lot of old who was ‘vexed’ with the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The writer of Hebrews warns believers of the hardening of the heart through the deceitfulness of sin. To avoid that we are called to do one thing, and that is, to exhort one another.

If we do a simple study of the word ‘exhort’, we would discover that it has a rich range of meanings. Strong’s concordance explains it as ‘beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ation), entreat, or pray.’

We see the importance of the ministry of exhortation when we realize how vulnerable we are to sin. Perhaps if we beseeched one other to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; comforted each other; desire good for our brethren; entreat them to be strong when they vacillate; called for higher holy standards; then, perhaps we could ensure our hearts remain true to the Lord.

So, the need for the hour is deliberate and purposeful exhorting of one other. Instead of being a stumbling block to one another, may we not be too tired of exhorting one another; not just preaching, but encouraging, and empathizing with one another to walk worthy of our high calling as children of the Most High God.

F. Morais

Why do we pray when the Bible tells us that God knows our needs, even before we ask? The answer is not always obvious but it is quite simple. To pray is to obey.

God appointed prayer for our benefit - our edification and our equipment - that we may experience a personal and abiding relationship with God.

It is by our prayer life that the quality of our walk with God is gauged. I have found that when I am fleshly through neglect, such as not spending enough time reading the Bible and reviewing Scripture memory verses or spending time in prayer, I am more ‘temptable.’

Temptations are no respecter of Christians and all of us are prone to the fiery darts of the enemy and the passions of the flesh that comes in one disguise or another. Disobedience - the denying of Christ, the dethroning of Christ, the denial of Christ in one’s daily life - remains a disciple's foremost danger. When Christ is not sitting on the throne, then the flesh reigns. Even if it is momentarily, it presents one with enough time to sin.

“Pray, that you may not fall into temptation,” Jesus chided his closest disciples. The aim of prayer is to dethrone the self in us that the Spirit may take dominion. “Be filled in the Spirit,” is a daily, moment by moment engagement to save us from the devil, our flesh and the world that is anti-Christ. It is an act of the human will as much as it is a mysterious act of divine grace and providence.

Being filled with the Spirit is not a filling to just feel good but a filling to follow what is good. When we are filled with the Spirit and follow God's counsel in humble obedience, then peace and joy is the natural outcome. Obedience is therefore the key to true joy. Deception is the opposite. Eve was deceived and it led to disobedience. Many Christians are not disobedient until they are deceived. Deception often results in disobedience.

'The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick' (Jeremiah 17:9). But a season of extended Bible reading and prayer will soon expose our folly under the Spirit's examination.

Steve Oh

In a cemetery many of the old monuments include the words: “Here lies...” Then follow the person’s name with the date of death and perhaps some praise of the good qualities of the deceased.

But how different would be the epitaph on the tomb of Jesus! It would neither be written in gold nor cut in stone. The angel announced the exact opposite of what is engraved on some tombs: “He is not here: for he is risen.” (Matthew 28:6).

Two of the most important events in human history are the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain... If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” (I Corinthians 15:14,17).

In reading about the Early Church we find that the central theme of the early Christian witness to the world was the fact that Jesus Christ, who was crucified, had been raised from the dead.

Today we usually hear a sermon on the resurrection each Easter, but that is about the only time. However, in the preaching of the apostles, the cross and the resurrection were constant themes. The cross and the resurrection were linked; they are supposed to be linked. Without the resurrection the cross is meaningless. Apart from the resurrection the cross is a tragedy and a defeat.

If the bones of Jesus lie decayed in a grave, then there is no Good News, and the world is still in darkness. Life has no meaning at all. The New Testament then becomes a myth and Christianity is a fable – and millions of people, living and dead, are victims of a gigantic hoax.

However, the New Testament teaches that Christ is indeed risen from the dead. The greatest and the most thrilling fact of human history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Billy Graham

The death of Christ has always been the centre of God’s plan for atonement. His blood shed on the cross is the result of His sacrificial love. Christ’s death on the cross reflects God’s love as well as His righteous judgement. His absolute love towards mankind is expressed through the cross. Righteous judgement demanded that the penalty for sin be paid by death - the shedding of blood. Blood represents life. His love toward us had to meet His own demands and Jesus, His Son poured out His life, shed His blood in our place. When Jesus died, He set us free from the judgement that we deserved. Christ was our substitute and because He died for us, we have eternal life.

In the light of this coming Good Friday and Easter Sunday, it is essential that we realise that the grace that was extended to us resulted in judgement being removed from us. It happened because that great demand was met by God giving us His Son, thus allowing us who are broken and dislocated to be properly fixed and fitted together. It is not just eternal life but abundant life! Let us, while looking back at the sacrifice made for us and receiving forgiveness and new life, consecrate ourselves to take up our cross , lay down our lives and walk the way of the Cross! It is all made possible because of His resurrection power!

CHR

Reading those elaborate ceremonial laws from Exodus to Numbers may leave us relieved that we now only need to confess our sins to experience forgiveness and salvation. But that would imply that God was somehow unfair to the Israelites by demanding more of them.

Truth is, salvation in the Old Testament was also by grace. The clearest evidence is that the Israelites were saved from Egypt before the laws were given at Sinai (Exodus 20:2). Today’s Sower reading (Numbers 21) shows that that grace also operated through faith.

Israel had rebelled against God again and so He sent poisonous snakes to punish them. They confessed their sin (vs 7) but God said they would live only if they looked at the bronze snake that Moses made (vs 9). That was a test of faith. Jesus used this very incident to teach Nicodemus about faith unto eternal life (John 3:14).

What then was the purpose of those laws? Romans 7:9 says they served to teach them what sin was. By observing those laws, Israel reflected the truth about God and set itself apart from the other nations.

Christians are the new people of God. But with that privilege also comes the responsibility to maintain that witness. If so, even if forgiveness comes via a simple act of confession, can we be any less careful about the performance of our Christian duties?

TGH

Susannah Wesley was born in London in the year 1669. She came from a staunch Christian background, and at the age of 20, married Samuel Wesley, the rector of the Epworth in Lincs, England. Susannah was a strict and God-fearing woman. She made sure that all her children feared the rod even before they turned one. They were also taught to cry softly when being disciplined. One can imagine the noise of all the children crying together; it would have been an orchestra in itself!

As soon as the children could speak, Susannah made sure they were taught the Lord’s Prayer and as they grew, to include scriptures in their prayer. Besides the hectic schedule of taking care of her children Susannah never neglected spending time with them. Due to the large family structure, she allocated one night for each of her children so that none would feel left out. However, Susannah gave special attention to John who was miraculously saved from a fire that happened in the family’s rector in February 1709. It was indeed John who later founded the Methodist movement and stormed England with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is not surprising that Susannah is considered one of the most notable and devoted mothers of Christendom. She was an ordinary woman with an extraordinary faith who knew the purposes of God not only for her children but also for her life. She was indeed a woman of destiny!

DS

Paul urges the Roman Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices for the purpose of proving what the perfect will of God is. In order to do that one cannot be conformed to the ways and thinking of the world. The world conforms itself to the visible, thus limiting itself, but the Christian is called to look beyond, believing in the invisible by using the visible as proof of the invisible (Rom. 1:20). This sets the Christian apart from the norm and makes his faith one to be desired. As we live in this world our lives must portray the will of God in our families, work, careers, business practices, finances etc. The principles of godliness must be seen in every one of these areas. Most of the time, we will be challenged in these areas to either “go with the flow” or do it God’s way. Here is where we ‘present our bodies as living sacrifices’ so that we may prove what God’s perfect will is in each situation.

Three persons in the Bible who lived out this principle are: Joseph, when he was tempted by his master’s wife (Gen. 39:7-20); Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when they refused to bow to the king’s idol (Dan. 3); and Daniel, when he was commanded not to pray to his God (Dan.3:10). The short-term results in all these cases were humiliation and imprisonment, but the long-term result was exoneration beyond their wildest dreams.

Fear of the short-term result usually grips us when we need to make decisions in God’s favour, but the promise of God assures us that,

“The eyes of the Lord roam to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of him whose heart is loyal to Him”. II Chronicles 16:9

We have His assurance that He will be with us through each situation and that our lives will be a blessing if we seek His will with all our hearts.

GR

In his book, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, J. Oliver Buswell wrote:

A woman from a tribe where the Gospel had never been preached heard for the first time the story of the King of Heaven who had sent His Son to the corrupt and rebellious realm of man to make reconciliation, and who had caused a Book to be written to explain His laws and His plan of redemption. As the simplicity and grandeur of the story entered her mind, she turned to her neighbour and said, “I always thought there should be a God like that!”

This incident illustrates the principle of intrinsic probability. In coming to the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible, we are not coming to a strange and improbable region. If God is as He is, then that the Bible should be His Word is just what we should expect.

In Christian theology, the doctrine of revelation is the doctrine of God making Himself, and relevant truths about Himself, known to man. In this respect, Hebrews 1:1 tells us, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son...”

Therefore, a lot of what we can know about God is found in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. This makes understanding the Bible as much a relationship as it is an intellectual pursuit. Approached in that way, the biblical message should begin to sound strangely familiar to us, as it did to the tribal woman.

TGH

Most of the letters of Paul in the New Testament were written to specific churches and for specific reasons, e.g. to address problems or to correct wrong teachings. The letter to the Ephesians is probably the only exception. The lack of a personal greeting suggests that it was aimed at a general audience and probably circulated among several churches. That makes it especially useful to us because the teaching contained therein is less likely to be confined to a specific culture or time period but it should be applicable to all generations.

Paul starts the letter off with a review of what God has done for his readers in saving them (1:3-14), as if he intends to remind them of their recent conversion experience. If so, what he has to say next should represent his desire for them as they begin their new life in Christ.

It is instructive then that Paul next says that he asks God to give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they might know Him better (1:17). And, as if to make his intentions unmistakable, he prays the eyes of their heart may be enlightened (1:18). The implication is clear: our first concern as believers should be to learn more about this God that we have come to know and to whose family we now belong (1:5).

The main way God speaks to us is through His Holy Word. We may occasionally hear from Him by way of audible voices, visions or impressions but His primary mode of communication is undoubtedly through Scripture. It is through the Word that we will know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe (1:18,19).

TGH

Out of the stories of the workplace comes the anecdote of a young person who applied for a job, presenting recommendations from a pastor and a Sunday school teacher. After studying the papers, the manager said, “I’m impressed with the nice things these people say about you. You are just the person we need. But I would very much like a recommendation from someone who is acquainted with your activities on the weekdays”.

A man we will consider hiring is Daniel of the Old Testament. His ‘workplace’ Babylon was the epitome of pagan power and hedonism. What contribution did Daniel make to his generation on the weekdays in the streets where the drama of life took place? He was not a clergyman or a full-time Christian worker, but a layman who had a job in which he was surrounded by the same kind of people we meet in the marketplace everyday.

Daniel came to Babylon as a young man with an unalterable awareness of the One he was working for; the God of his fathers, the Lord of Israel. While he turned in a full day’s work for the king in the Babylonian court, his efforts were pegged against the pleasure of his God. Fortunately, for the kings he served, they gained more out of Daniel than anyone else on the payroll. Daniel had a kingdom perspective. He did not allow any of the kings to dominate his spirit. His prayers and direct comments to them showed exactly how he felt about their power. To Nebuchadnezzar, he made it plain that the Babylonian Empire and the present regime in particular held sway in the world only because the God of Heaven had willed it so: “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, He has made you ruler over them” (Dan. 2:37-38). To Belshazzar, he said, “You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honour God who holds in His hand your life and your ways” (Dan. 5:23).

Daniel made these blunt, confrontational statements to kings who could have annihilated him on the spot. But he never flinched nor soft-pedaled his words because he kept his eye on the God high above their thrones who made them look, by contrast, rather puny. Daniel teaches this: on weekdays, a person of real world faith gauges every activity not against the opinions of people but against those of God. When divergent opinions occur, one is careful to remember where real power lies.

Adapted from Forging a Real World Faith by Gordon MacDonald

Seek a proper time for yourself and think often the blessings of God. Leave aside mere curiosity. If you will but withdraw yourself from unnecessary conversations and idle going about, you will find sufficient and proper time for profitable meditations.

Someone has said: ‘Whenever I have been among men, I have returned a lesser man’. He, therefore, who seeks to reach that which is hidden and spiritual must with Jesus slip away from the crowd.

O, he who cuts off vain anxiety, and meditates simply on helpful and godly matters, and establishes his whole hope in God, what great peace and quietness would he possess!

If you wish to be deeply rebuked in heart, go into your cell. A cell continually used grows sweet, and ill-kept spawns weariness. If in the early days of your Christian life you dwell in it and keep it well, it will be afterwards a dear friend to you and a most pleasing solace.

In silence and quietness the devout soul makes progress and learns the hidden things of the Scriptures. There it finds streams of tears in which each night it washes and cleanses itself, that it may be made more familiar with its creator.

Why do you wish to see what you cannot have? ‘The world passes away and the lust thereof.’ If you could see all things at once before you, what would it be but an empty vision? The desires of sensuality draw you to walk abroad, but when an hour has passed what do you bring back but heaviness of conscience and destruction of the heart? So does all carnal joy enter pleasantly, but in the end it gnaws and destroys.

Lift up your eyes to God on high, and pray for your sins and omissions. Attend to the things, which God has commanded you. Shut the door upon yourself and call Jesus, your Beloved, to you. Remain with Him in your cell, for you will not find peace so great elsewhere.

Excerpted from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis

This truth has many applications. One of the most startling is that God actually uses our sins and mistakes to this end. He employs the educative discipline of failures and mistakes very frequently. It is striking to see how much of the Bible deals with godly people making mistakes and God chastening them for it.

Abraham, promised a son, but made to wait for him, loses patience, makes the mistake of acting the amateur providence, and begets Ishmael - and is made to wait for thirteen more years before God speaks to him again (Gen 16:16 - 17:1). Moses makes the mistake of trying to save his people by acts of self-assertion, throwing his weight around, killing an Egyptian, insisting on sorting out the Israelites’ private problems for them - and finds himself banished for many decades to the back side of the desert, to bring him to less vainglorious mind. David makes a run of mistakes - seducing Bathsheba and getting Uriah killed, neglecting his family, numbering the people for prestige - and in each case is chastened bitterly. Jonah makes the mistake of running away from God’s call - and finds himself inside a great fish. So we might go on. But the point to stress is that the human mistake, and the immediate divine displeasure, were in no case the end of the story.

God can bring good out of the extremes of our folly; God can restore the years that the locust has eaten. It is said that those who never make mistakes never make anything; certainly, these men made mistakes, but through their mistakes God taught them to know His grace and to cleave to Him in a way that would never have happened otherwise. Is your trouble a sense of failure? The knowledge of having made some ghastly mistake? Go back to God; His restoring grace waits for you.

Excerpted from Knowing God by J.I. Packer

There is a lot of talk about worship today. The big question about worship in our generation is: “How should we worship?” Should we continue singing old hymns with their ‘slow and dead beat’ which our forefathers cherished? Or should we go along with the clapping and shouting which excites the in-generation of today?

I believe the worship of God may vary from age to age according to the culture and trend of the in-generation. It would be difficult for the older generation to stick to what they were used to. The reason for this is the simple fact that while the fathers are ageing and dying out, their children and grandchildren are filling our churches. Their tastes and desires will overtake the generation before them. Happy are those who learn to adjust and accommodate the past and the present!

The vital issue in this great quest for ‘the perfect worship’ is “WHAT HAS GOD TO SAY ABOUT OUR WORSHIP?” The Lord’s complaint to Israel was: “You bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?”(Malachi 1:13).

What about us? We don’t bring animals for sacrifice today but most come unprepared. God is not concerned whether we sit sluggishly or jump up and down while worshipping Him. He is concerned about our heart and spirit! Is our heart, soul, mind and strength in our worship? Have we prepared ourselves in our spirit to move with the Holy Spirit as He leads us in worship?

It is time to make worship our personal responsibility. Don’t leave it to the cheering song leader, the lively and witty emcee or the spirited preacher. Think of how to prepare our bodies, soul and spirit before we come into the sanctuary of God. What do we bring to God? How much of ourselves do we offer Him? Where is our heart during worship?

Some of us may need to make drastic changes and worship Him in spirit and in truth from now on.

Dr Benjamin George Sr