Devotional Journal

I am changed...

2010-02-22T10:20:00.003+08:00

I am changed. I have changed. I will continue to change. But my God is unchangeable. As I am writing this, I am now a chinese pastor. Yes, the pastor in charge of the chinese ministry in my church. Therefore, my blog also change. I will be posting some of my devotonal thoughts on a new blog website. Of course, it will be in chinese.

The new blog website is http://cpcchinese.blogspot.com/.

Hope that you will be blessed too. Thanks for reading...

HHS...
Abel...

Going Deeper Week 8

2009-11-05T10:54:00.002+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 8 Day 2)
This passage is based on the writer’s understanding of Genesis 22. Can you do a study on the context of Gen. 22 (also in reference to Gen. 12 and 21) and discuss why you think the writer uses this as his illustration here?

FOR THOSE ORIENTED to the Jewish Scriptures the author could have chosen no greater example of faithful perseverance than father Abraham. Especially apropos, the moment at which Abraham offered his cherished son, Isaac, at Moriah (Gen. 22:1 – 18) forms the backdrop of the discussion at Hebrews 6:13 – 15. Abraham, caught in a crisis charged with yearnings for his son and even greater yearnings to obey God, believed that the promises of God would not fail (11:17 – 19). Consequently, he stayed the course of sacrifice through intense, prolonged testing and became a paradigmatic receptor of God’s covenant promise. Our preacher to the Hebrews uses the heroic figure of Abraham, therefore, as an especially apt illustration to encourage a community struggling with perseverance under trial.
In the Old Testament narrative (Gen. 22:15 – 18) God’s response to the faithfulness of Abraham goes as follows:

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I
swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not
withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.
Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and
through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have
obeyed me.”

This passage has two components on which the author concentrates. (1) The Lord’s declaration “I swear by myself” constitutes the main concern in the immediate passage and leads nicely back to a discussion of Psalm 110:4 in chapter 7, that psalm also speaking of God’s oath. (2) God’s pledge to bless Abraham and give him numerous descendants forms the heart of the covenant promises and corresponds directly to Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, the progenitor of that guaranteed host. That Abraham, “after waiting patiently … received what was promised” made him a fitting model for sluggish Christ-followers in need of refocusing attention on the promised rewards attending perseverance (Heb. 6:12).

[Guthrie, George H. “The Example of Abraham (6:13 – 15)” In The NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews. By George H. Guthrie, 241. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998. ]

Going Deeper (Week 8 Day 3)
Verse 18 speaks of God’s character. The writer goes on to explain that the two immutable or unchangeable things spoken of here refer to 1) God's promise and 2) His oath. God has declared His promise and His oath to be unchangeable, even by Himself. His will cannot be switched, transposed, or altered.
Because of God’s character, the writer also states two things which He offers. Can you identify them and explain their significant?

He offers… [Significance]
1. strong encouragement [This is very important for those who have fled for refuge. Though we are not sure who are these people the author of Hebrews is referring to, but they have to flee, they need encouragement.]
2. hope [Similarly, hope is needed for those who are at such situation of life, fleeing away for refuge. No one wants to be in hideout forever, they need hope so that there is something they can look forward to.]

Going Deeper (Week 8 Day 4)
Jesus did not become a high priest under Aaronic order, but rather in the order of Melchizedek. And this phrase, ‘the order of Melchizedek’ can be traced to Psalm 110:4. Can you do a comparison between 6:13-20 with Psalm 110 and discuss what the writer was implying?

Hebrews 6:13-20 [Psalm 110]
(v20) in the order of Melchizedek [(v4) according to the order of Melchizedek]
(v18) God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie [(v4a) The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind]
(v20a) Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. [(v5) The Lord is at Thy right hand]
(v20) He has become a high priest forever [(v4) Thou art a priest forever]

The idea of Psalms 110 actually runs throughout chapter 5 through 6 of the book of Hebrews. I think that the author is to highlight that what Jesus has done on the Cross is equivalent to a priest. But the author also tries to emphasize that Jesus is not the same as ordinary priest according to the Aaronic order; He is of an higher order; the order of Melchizedek which the audience are familiar of according to Psalms 110.

Obey and pray… (Hebrews 13:17-21) 121009

2009-10-12T12:16:00.000+08:00

I love this passage. It really speaks to my heart. It really encapsulates my desire for the church; that is for the church to obey its leaders and submit to their authority (v17). As a pastor, also as a leader of the church, I constantly struggle with members challenging my authority. I am not an authoritarian person by nature, on contrary, I am one who do not like to confront or in conflict. But I am a firm believer that I have authority over my members, not because I am smarter or better or even more spiritual; but because of the authority of the Scripture.

As a pastor and a preacher, I have to constantly learn to lead with the authority of the Word of God. There are times I will be tempted to rely on my exegesis, commentaries, or my cleverness to prepare a sermon, but I realize that my preaching will be only like hot air balloon; look high and mighty, but without any weight. Unless I firstly submit to the authority of the Holy Scripture, no one else will submit to the sermon I preach in the name of God.

The author of Hebrews reminds his readers in verse 17 to obey their leaders, so that their leaders will continue to serve them with joy, without burden. I think this is an excellent win-win situation in a church. Can you imagine your pastor always have to come before God to pray for his members who are not submitting and creating problems, instead of praying for their welfare and spiritual growth?

And then the author of Hebrews also asks his readers to pray for him and his team of leaders (v18), especially for his restoration (v19). There isn’t much information about why does he need to be restored, but likelihood that the author belongs to the church whereby his readers belong to, and he might be imprisoned for his faith. Anyway, the author, also as a leader, longs to be with his congregation; just like me as a pastor, I always like to be with my members.

Then this passage ends with referring Jesus as the great Shepherd of the sheep. As I read to this point, I am reminded of my calling as a shepherd. I know that I have a great Shepherd over me. I know that I need to shepherd my sheep as the great Shepherd shepherds me. This is what pleasing to Him (v21).

This is it. The reason I obey, I pray, and I shepherd is to be pleasing to God, the great Shepherd. But start by obey and pray.

HHS…

Abel…

Do good… (Hebrews 13:15-16) 091009

2009-10-09T10:47:00.002+08:00

I am trying to love. I am trying to love my wife by doing the ‘Love Dare’. I am surprised that it is not easy to love! I am surprised that it is not easy to love my wife though I think I love her. Love is not about thinking. Love is about sacrificing. Love is about giving of self to others. Love is about doing good and sharing with others (v16).

As a Christian, I am supposed to be a loving person; but it is hard. When the author of Hebrews wants us to continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise through Jesus (v15), he is inferring that ‘Since a loving God is working out his purposes all the time, there are no circumstances in which praise should not be offered (cf. 1 Thess 5:18). The sacrifice is further explained in an expression from Hosea 14:2 (LXX 14:3; cf. Prov 18:20), "the fruit of lips that confess his name." In the light of the Cross, there is no room for sacrifices such as those the Jews offered. Now believers offer the sacrifice of praise and acknowledge Christ.’ (Leon Morris, Expositor)

And such love must results in action: do good and to share with others (v16). I remember a sermon I preached in the Chinese Ministry some times ago, it is commonly called the ‘Good Samaritan’ (Luke 10:30-37). The main point of the parable is not about the Good Samaritan; it is about answering the question of an expert of the law: What must I do to inherit eternal life? (Luke 10:25) The final answer that Jesus gives is found after the parable: Go and do likewise. Do like what?

Do like the Good Samaritan does: loving people even he has to be inconvenient, even he has to pay a price, and even he has to do good to hi enemy (Jews and Samaritans are enemies to each other).

The standard for doing good in the bible is very high. I can do it myself. Will I stop by on the expressway if I see someone’s car is stalled and needed help? Maybe not. Will I pay to renovate the house of an elderly who is staying alone? Maybe not. Will I love and still do good to those whom have been opposing me and criticizing my ministry? Maybe not. Will you?

But such sacrifice and such action of love is what pleases God. So, do good.

HHS…
Abel….

City that is to come… (Hebrews 13:11-14) 081009

2009-10-08T09:52:00.001+08:00

Living in an urban city like Singapore can be very stressful. The pace of development is driving Singaporean to have a faster pace of lifestyle. We used to take an hour or more of bus ride from one place to another, and now we will consider spending more than an hour on the road to get from one place to another is unforgivable.

Recently, my family gave me a family car; and I find that I begin to be able to fetch people around and visit more people. In other words, I am doing more than before; I am getting myself more things to do. I begin to make more appointments, and giving myself lesser or even no room for resting. And this morning, when I woke up later than my wife, I knew that I have overworked in the past few days. I need to slow down, but how can I do so in this city?

As I read and meditate on today’s passage, I am being drawn to what Jesus had done for me. He came and died, so that I might have life. And the question I ask myself is: what kind of life Jesus would want me to have? I pause and ponder. I stop and soak in His presence. I know the answer: To live a life that is Spirit led and at peace with God; even in the midst of this busy and fast-paced city.

The author of Hebrews keeps using the idea of inside and outside to remind his readers about the work of Christ is to be among His people. There is no more inside, the grace of God moves to the outside. I think the challenge is for me to be in the city but not be of the city. Does it sound like Romans 12? How can we live a life which still in sync with God in the midst of this hectic society called Singapore?

I think the answer by the author of Hebrews is to look forward to the city that is to come, to be reminded that I don’t really belong to here; I belong to the eternal city that is to come. This is my hope. As I drive through a massive traffic jam, I praise God for freezing that moment for me to sing praises to God in my car or have a heart to heart talk to the one sitting next to me in the car; this has value to the city that is to come. As I am waiting for my turn during a medical appointment in a government hospital, I read and meditate on His Word which will never fail or exchanging stories with other patients; so that they may also experience my city that is to come.

Do you have a city that is to come? Start building that city, because we will be there in time to come.

HHS…

Abel…

Yesterday… Today… Forever… (Hebrews 13:7-10) 071009

2009-10-07T11:52:00.003+08:00

I have not updated this blog for about 3 weeks! I have been lazy (though I may spiritualize it as being busy preparing sermons). It is now no longer secret that I will be moving on in ministry; from the English service over to the Chinese Service. I am going to be Chinese pastor! As I look at my journey in serving the Lord; I have served the youths as a youth director, I have being leading small group of young adults (now they are young working adults or young parents), I have also been serving children in Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade (BBGB) ministry, and my latest portfolio was Christian Education for the church. In other words, I have practically served all age-groups except the senior folks; and now as I move on to the Chinese ministry, which is mainly senior folks, I am completing my cycle of ministries.

On the other hand, as I moved around, or being moved around, I have to keep adjusting my style and method of doing ministry. I simply cannot relate or speak to the children in the BBGB ministry the same way I relate or speak to a youth in church. Sometime, I get so tired of changing. But there is one thing which will never change: Jesus Christ. He is the same yester, today and forever (v8). His Word also doesn’t change. And this is probably why it is important to have the Word of God in our life, and more importantly, to live it out, just like the leaders mentioned by the author of Hebrews (v7).

As I step into the uncertainty of my future in the Chinese ministry, I know one thing for sure; I have to be faithful to the Word of God. As I learn and adjust my mentally to plan and organize and lead the Chinese ministry, I have to keep this one thing in mind; to keep the Word of God central. As I may be discouraged and disappointed by people and even results in the future years of the Chinese Ministry, I have to keep focus and my hope in one thing; Jesus Christ who is in the Word of God.

The author of Hebrews warns his readers that there will be all kinds of strange teachings (v9) and also all kinds of strange practices (v10) which will distract us from going after Christ. But remember one thing: the teaching of the leaders which is from the Word of God. This will direct us to Christ, this will draw us to the Lord, and this will deepen our relationship with Jesus; because the Word of God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Trends will change, culture will change, ministry will change, people will change, government will also change, and even some time our views on theology will also change; but Christ never change, His Word never change. It is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Yes, forever.

HHS…
Abel…

Marriage and Money… (Hebrews 13-4-6) 160909

2009-09-16T10:32:00.001+08:00

One night, I was trying to figure out how long have my wife and I been married. By next year, it will be ten years! Ten years, I have been living with my wife for ten good and bad years by the end of next year. We look at each other with amazement, and perhaps with amusement. For past nine years, we have gone through much in our marriage. We had lost almost all of our friends in the beginning of this relationship; we had a miscarriage of our first child; we had an income reduction when I decided to step into full-time ministry with the church; we had a further income reduction when I decided to stop working for three full years to study in a Bible College (it was when our daughter arrival); we had gone through a family crisis when my father had to go through a major surgery and I was experiencing a serious burnout and depression perhaps as my daughter arrival; and recently we decided to make a radical change in our service to the Lord to move on to something really new to us.

I am thankful for my wife, I think she is crazy and out of her mind, when she decided to marry me, and went through all these with me for the past nine years. I am really thankful to her. I believe this is marriage, it is when two share each other joy and struggles; it is when two share each other intolerable habits and behavior; but still honors each other. No wonder the author of Hebrews insists that marriage is to be honored by all (v4).

Then the author moves on talk about the love of money. He exhorts his readers to keep their lives free from the love of money. In other words, live a simple life. And the main trust here is to trust God, for He is trustworthy.

As I ponder and meditate on these verses, I think they speak about how we maintain a life which is simple and in contentment. I think when a man or woman commits adultery or sex outside the marriage; it is an expression that he or she is not contented with what his or her spouse can offer sexually. They are looking out for more, they are not contented. And it is the same with money, we can never have enough. The more we have, the more we want to have. This is utterly discontentment. This is greed. This is the root of our sinful nature. We want more than what God has given us. Adam and Eve wanted to have wisdom more than what God has already given them to be dominion over the earth. We want more sex than what our spouse can give it to us. We want more money than what we need. But our real need is to have God to be with us. If God has forsaken me and leave me, there is nothing else I can have to replace Him.

Are you unhappy with your marriage? Go home and give him or her a good big hug! And maybe have a night of good date and even sex (I hope this is not too R-Rated)! Are you loving your job, your money and your possession more than you need? Maybe it is time to learn to give away more (you can give them to me if you don’t know who to give them to) and learn to live simpler.

There was a saying: Live simple, so that other can simply live. But I would add that Live simple, so that God can simply live in you!

HHS…

Abel…

Keep on loving… (Hebrews 13:1-3) 140909

2009-09-14T10:34:00.001+08:00

I think the most distinctive feature of a Christian is love. I am not referring to mushy romantic kind of love here, neither am I referring to loving-in-exchange-for-something kind of love. I am referring to the kind of love which is an outward expression of God’s amazing grace and wonderful works in our lives. Christians call it unconditional love of God, and most Christians believe that only God can have such kind of love. But I think the kind of love which the author of Hebrews is referring here in verse 1 is the same kind of love which we call the ‘unconditional love’, and we as Christians should be expressing it in our lives.

There are three groups of people the author exhorts us to love, or rather keep on loving. In other words, our love for others is not a one-off event; it is an ongoing activity and habit of our lives. We are told by the author to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (v1), strangers (v2) and prisoners (v3).

Well, it is not so difficult to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ; after all they are supposed to be nice people. But the truth is that it is actually not so easy to love Christians. I confess that I have difficulty loving some of my Christian so-called friends. (I am not going to elaborate here, because I work in an all-Christians environment!)

Therefore, sometimes, it is easier to love a stranger; because there is no string attached. When the author mentions that we might be entertaining angels without knowing it, he is probably alluding to Abraham, when he showed hospitality to his heavenly visitors in Gen. 18:2 – 15. For me to buy a meal for a stranger who has been starving for days, it is easy, though might be inconvenient at times. But the author challenge for us is to keep on loving. Keep on loving a stranger? This sounds strange. How can a stranger be a stranger if we keep on loving, keeping remembering and keeping on entertaining him? He will be a friend or even a brother in Christ by then. I think this is the point of the author. He wants us to ‘entertain’ stranger in into God’s family. He wants us to treat strangers as if they might be angels. He wants us to keep on loving.

And then lastly, he wants us to remember those who are in prison, those who are suffering, those who are being mistreated, those who are on the fringe and those who are being neglected. He wants us to suffer with them. He wants us to identify with them. He wants us to at least, remember them.

Do you have people around you who are in these categories? There are people who are being marginalized by the society. These people are around you and me. In my church, there are the girls from Andrew and Grace Home. These girls might have been behaving badly in the past, they might have committed some mistakes or crimes in the past, but they might also be unfairly treated by their family, friends, and even society in the past. They are in my church, every Sunday, but do you even notice them? Do you even remember them or even their names? Maybe this is one thing we can do, get to know the name of at least one of these girls, remember them in your prayer everyday, keep on greeting them in church whenever you see them, and keep on loving them.

HHS…

Abel…

Do not be shaken… (Hebrews 12:25-28) 110909

2009-09-11T10:14:00.002+08:00

Today is 9/11. Something happened eight years ago took the entire world by surprise and changed the way we lived and believed. Many were shocked by the event; many had lost their faith in the superpower government; many began to live in fear and in suspicious of one another. The world had changed.

As I read and meditate on today’s passage, I was shaken by the Word. I was shaken by the truth and reality that the world will one day be consumed, one day all that I have achieved will be considered rubbish, and all that I have accumulated will be gone and become worthless ashes. But the good news is that, there is something that will not be shaken: God’s Kingdom!

When I was still a theological student, I have to struggle with the topic on Eschatology; which is the study of the end times. One of the issues in this study is our understanding of Millennium Kingdom of God. Is it going to be a literal rule of Christ for a literal one thousand years (millennium means a thousand years)? Or is it going to be a literal rule of Christ or Christians for a symbolic millennium (an arbitrary period of time)? Or is it going to be a spiritual rule of Christ in heart of Christians for a symbolic millennium (from the point when a person believes in Christ)? There are many possibilities and views, because the Bible is not specific about it and we as interpreters of the Scripture have our worldviews and creatively interpreted accordingly to our preference worldview.

But as a good Presbyterian, I think the Kingdom of God has begun the moment when we believed in Him; and we are looking forward to a literal ruling of Christ or Christians in the future before the end. But no matter what views we take or believe in, the Kingdom of God will not be shaken and cannot be shaken (v28). This means that we who are Christians who have been grafted into the Kingdom of God, now and forever, will also not be shaken!

Therefore, let us be thankful and so worship God (v28). This is our only and right response. Are you facing a crisis in your job whereby your faith has been shaken? Stand on the Kingdom of God within you and give thanks for the many good years He has given you. Are you facing a crisis at home whereby you do not know how to discipline your child or how to take care of your sickly parents? Stand on the solid rock which is the church of Jesus Christ, worshiping Him. I have no guarantee that your crisis will be gone, but I can be sure that your perspective about those crises will be changed as you learn to be thankful and worship. Do not be shaken.

HHS…
Abel…

The story of the two mountains… (Hebrews 12:18-24) 100909

2009-09-10T11:22:00.001+08:00

During my off day recently, I took a morning to wash and clean up my new family car. It was a joy to do so, though washing the car alone was tiring. It was something new, and it was a sign of God’s providence to me and my family. Then, I remembered my motorbike, my Phantom Bike. I have not been riding on it for about a month, ever since I got the new car. So I went to try to start the engine of the bike, it didn’t work. One of the reasons why I like motorbike is that it has a simpler mechanism; when you can’t start a bike, you can push start it. So I tried to push-start or jump-start or run-start (whatever you call it) my bike. I changed its gear to first gear, and held on to the crutch and pushed it up and down the car park, hopefully to be able to get the engine started; but it didn’t work. I pushed and ran with the hundred-over-kilograms-motorbike for almost an hour, just to come to a realization that I couldn’t start the engine. It is not working this time.

My old Phantom Bike is not working. My new Hyundai Matrix is my new hope. This is my story of two modes of transportation, but in today’s meditation we have a story of two mountains: the mountain of the Old Covenant (Mount Sinai) and the mountain of the New Covenant (Mount Zion). I am impressed by how the author of Hebrews intentionally structured this passage with seven images for each mountain. Of course, the climax is at verse 24 when Jesus was being mentioned:

The climax is reached with the reference to Jesus, seen here as "the mediator of a new covenant." The word for "new" (neas) is applied to the covenant only here. It refers to what is recent. The covenant involves "sprinkled blood" (cf. 9:19-22), which reminds us of the cost of the covenant. The idea of blood speaking is not common and there is undoubtedly a reference to Genesis 4:10 where Abel's blood cried from the ground for vengeance on his killer. Jesus' blood speaks "a better word" than that. His blood opens up a way into the holiest for people (10:19): Abel's blood sought to shut out the wicked man. (By Leon Morris)

As I continue my meditation, I realize that the description of the Mount Sinai is one with terror and fear; and the Mount Zion is one with hope and joy. My old Phantom Bike causes me to have muscle aching all over my body (imagine pushing a hundred-over-kilograms motorbike running up and down the car park for almost an hour); but looking at my clean Hyundai Matrix, I am satisfied.

Do you have religious experiences of the past causing you not able to move forward together with Christ now? I have. But I have also learned to look forward to the new mountain of faith and hope as I move on into new ministry. I am not too sure what some of your past religious experiences are or even traditions which have hindered you to move on, but there is always something new and better before you as you journey with Christ. There are always two mountains, one in front and the other one behind. Look to the one in front which is with new hope and joy, leave the one behind which is with terror and fear.

HHS…

Abel…

No one… (Hebrews 12:14-17) 070909

2009-09-07T12:49:00.002+08:00

Today is Monday again! I am not so blue today. Today, I make a few visitations in the morning, to encourage and pray for people whom need such grace of God. When I see the joy flowing out from their eyes when I visited them, I know that this is what God has called me to do. I know that my future ministry will be one of which I will enjoy.

When I am back into office, continue my meditation on Hebrews, I am drawn to this verse saying: See to it that no one misses the grace of God (v15). This is a double confirmation of God’s calling upon my ministry life. I don’t think I am doing God a favor by stepping out of my current comfort zone into new ministry; I am simply thankful to God allowing me to participate with Him and letting me to be so filled with joy and grace, as this is where my heart is drawn to. I want to see that no one misses the grace of God. Yes, no one.

And interestingly, there are two others ‘no one’ in this passage: 1) without holiness no one will see the Lord (v14b); 2) see that no one is sexually immoral (v16a).

Of course, according to the structure of this passage, the author was saying that without holiness no one will see the Lord, and what he meant by holiness is no to have bitter root (v15) which is in other words, no one is to misses the grace of God; and secondly to be holy means to have no one is sexually immoral. When the author used ‘no one’ three times, I think he meant it.

The author meant for no one to be unholy, he meant for no one to miss the grace of God, and he meant for no one to be sexually immoral. And the ‘no one’ includes you and me. In other words, I am to be holy if I want to see the Lord; I am to have the grace of God (no bitter root for me); and I am to be sexually moral (else I will be deemed as godless like Esau).

It is easy to declare that I am a holy man, since I am in full-time service in God’s ministry; but in reality, I am not as holy as I want myself to be. We can give all sort of standard or definition about holiness and even quote scripture to justify that we are considered holy by the blood of Christ (I think we are only considered righteous because of Christ). If we honestly ask ourselves, are we holy? You can keep the answer to yourself.

If we want to see God, we have to be holy. We have to make every effort to be holy (v14). We cannot simply sit around and expect ourselves to be holy. I think the author of Hebrews knew the psychology of humans, he pointed our correctly that the two areas whereby we struggle to be holy are: forgiveness and lust.

Do you have anyone to forgive? I have. Or do you need to seek forgiveness from anyone? I also have. Do you have any sexual thought which is inappropriate according to the Word of God? I have. (Don’t look at me as it I am a sex maniac, I just couldn’t match up with God’s supreme standard or sexual purity). But I am making every effort to see that I left no one not being forgiven (as far as I know and as far as I can); and I left no impure thoughts not confessed. As without holiness, no one will see the Lord. I want see the Lord, I want to come into His presence, and I want to meet Him face to face!

I don’t want to be the no one.

HHS…
Abel…

Endure disciplines… (Hebrews 12:4-13) 040909

2009-09-04T10:10:00.001+08:00

My daughter has begun to assert her will. She will let us know what she wants, and what she doesn’t want. Sometimes, what she wants is good, so we give it to her. But there are times that what she wants are not good for her or maybe even dangerous; so we don’t want to give it to her. When we go against her will or her ideas, she will be angry and sometimes she will cry or scream. Then, my wife and I will discipline her. We will insist she apologizes to whoever she throws her temper at, and we insist she goes to reconcile with whoever she has hit or screamed at. Sometimes, she will obediently do so; but there are also times when she cries and screams even louder. As good parents, we keep our ground and stand firm with our decision (though it can be really difficult, but we do so because we love her).

I think my experience with my daughter is not unique, I believe when we love someone, we unconsciously set a boundary for him or her, so as to protect him or her from getting harm. My wife is pregnant, and her job demands her to work late. Because I love her, I always ‘pressurize’ her to leave her workplace as early as possible; I even encourage her to take leave to rest (and she did it recently, slept almost throughout the day). Of course, I do not discipline her it she doesn’t, but I will express my unhappiness as some form of ‘discipline’.

Our imperfect love towards each other will cause us to discipline our love ones for the good of their well-being. Likewise, God disciplines us for our spiritual well-being (I think also for the well-being of our soul and physical). No wonder the author of Hebrews encouraged us to ‘endure hardship as discipline’ (v7). In other words, be patient when I withhold giving in to your request as a discipline.

What do you do when you know you are being disciplined by God? God disciplines us for our sins, or even just to direct us to His will. Do we get angry with God? Do we get away from God? Do we withdraw ourselves from God? I hope you don’t. I hope you endure hardship as discipline.

It is not going to be pleasant to be disciplined, and s going to be hard. But it is definitely good for you. Endure!

Endure!

Endure!!!

HHS…
Abel…

Don’t grow weary and don’t lose heart… (Hebrews 12:1-3) 030909

2009-09-03T14:45:00.003+08:00

Finally, I have completed the chapter of faith. As I look back, there are dead faith, impossible faith and fearful faith; there are also obeying and doing faith, blessing and worshipping faith, and a future faith. I am stunned by my statement of faith, as it is no ordinary faith for me to be the people of faith. As I look at my scarlet faith, I have more faith until I receive the perfect faith!

All these amounts to a great cloud of witnesses describe in Hebrews 12:1. These are not only people, but these are the people who carried the stories of faith, the stories of God’s faithfulness. And all these stories point us toward the author and perfecter of faith, Jesus Christ our Lord (v2).

It seems very idealistic and theoretical. But in reality, faith is to live out with much struggles, opposition and temptation. In reality, faith is always being tempted. In reality, faith is always challenged, faith is always tested.

Faith needs me to act in love, the love of Christ. I remember, I was utterly discouraged by my struggle and lack of faith. I was visiting someone at a government hospital. It was a six beds ward. Besides the person I was visiting, there laid an old and sickly lady, and apparently she was not very alert to her surrounding. This old lady somehow accidentally spilled a bowl of sweet and sticky stuff on the flour. No body came to her help, no body came to ask what she wanted; all that the nurse did was to clean up the flour and ask that old lady to lie down.

There was a surge of compassion within me. I thought to myself, I should go over to give that old lady some assistance. But as I looked around, my sense of courage died; and I began to reason within my heart (sounded like the rich fool in Luke 12) that it might not be appropriate for me to go over to help her. I was struggling within me, I didn’t have the faith that if I went over, I would be able to bring about God’s love to her. I waited and didn’t do anything.

Then, I saw another young lady patient, staying next to that old lady, she got out of her bed in pain, went over to that old lady; asked her what she needed. After knowing that old lady wanted to clean her hands, the young lady took out her wet tissues and sat by that old lady bed, gently cleaned up every finger of hers. No body noticed what that young lady did, but I noticed. My heart was pierced deeply by the rebuke of my lack of faith to bring the love of Christ to that lonely, sickly old lady. I was the beauty of that young lady. It was not her figures or her features or even her face, she was simply another sickly young lady patient in the hospital. But I saw the beauty of one who loves, one who cares and one who gives of herself even though she was in pain.

How about you? People are watching you, you have a cloud of witnesses, you have people of faith cheering you to act in faith; but are you acting in faith and in love? Have you lately missed an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love in faith? I have, I hope you don’t. I hope you will persevere in your struggles and trials. Do not grow weary in doing good, and do not lose heart in faith.

HHS…

Abel…

Perfect Faith… (Hebrews 11:39-40) 020909

2009-09-02T16:10:00.002+08:00

I am so thrilled that I have a comment on my Monday’s blog. I don’t know who that anonymous is, but I hope he feels much better about his situation at work. He may not be able to understand why he is in such a situation, but I guess this is what faith is all about. It is to trust God for a thing at a time, taking a step at a time and waiting for the perfect time.

Those people who were being commended in Hebrews 11, none of them received what had been promised (v39)! When I think of it, it is like broken dreams or unfulfilled ambitions. I remember that I used to want to be a mandarin pop song songwriter cum producer, but I never got a chance to have my dream to become true. It remains only as a dream.

But God’s promise is more than a dream, it is a real hope. Recently I watched a Christian movie by the name Faith like potatoes. It is real life story about a Scottish farmer living in Africa experiencing God’s miracle in and through his life. The main character aid that faith is like potatoes, it got to be tangible, something you can hold it, smell it and feel it. But before a farmer can harvest potatoes, they are all under the ground. You never know how they have grown until the harvest, until the prefect time for them to be unearthed.

I thought that is a very good illustration of faith. At this point, we are merely planting the seed of faith. There are so many things in our lives which we put our hope and faith on do not come to pass, as far as we know; but faith is believing that God had planned something better for us, we just have to wait for His perfect timing (v40). We know this truth in our head, but our hearts are often drifted away from sure assurance. That is why, we need to keep coming back to the Cross, the Author and Perfecter of our faith!

Do you have unfulfilled dream? Do you have promises from God which are yet to be fulfilled? Do you have the faith like potatoes, to wait till the perfect time? Not our perfect time, but His perfect time. So that we can receive the prefect fruit of faith, just like potatoes; you can touch it, hold it, feel it, and smell it!

I am waiting now… for the perfect faith.

HHS…
Abel…

More faith… (Hebrews 11:32-38) 310809

2009-08-31T14:14:00.002+08:00

Today is Monday, I am having Monday blues. It is a kind of feeling that I-have-not-rested-enough or Can-I-don’t-work or I-hope-Jesus-returns-today. I am not sure if you have any Monday blues, but I certainly have. Sometime, this kind of feeling can drag me to depression (not being exaggerated, it can really happen to some people). Sometime, this kind of feeling can cause me to lose hope (at least for the week ahead). And sometime, this kind of feeling can affect our faith.

Hebrews 11 tells me to simply take a look at all those who had gone before me; I am not in the worst situation. If those people who were faithful (and some not so faithful) had their fair share of blues, why should I be spared?

Gideon was fearful and doubting, God gave him fleece. Barak couldn’t wean off his dependency on woman (Judges 4:8), God gave him Deborah. Samson never learned from his mistakes, God gave him strength for pillars. Jephthah was an illegitimate son with low self esteem and perhaps insecurity, God gave him vindication. David committed adultery and murder, God gave him a heart of worship. Samuel anointed the wrong king and felt rejected; God gave him a peaceful death. Many, if not all, of the prophets had their shortcoming and weaknesses and even faithlessness, but God gave them faith to be faithful in the kingdoms and ministries entrusted to them.

Daniel didn’t shut the mouths of hungry lions, God did it. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah didn’t quench the fury of the flames of the blazing furnace, God did it. God did all those miracles recorded in Hebrews 11:33-38. It was in the weaknesses and the desperation of the people, God acted. It was when they realized their inability to act faithfully or to live by faith, God was faithful. It was when they thought they had no more faith to continue, God gave them more faith.

Are you also at the bottom of your situation? Are you feeling hopeless and think that you will be the next to be terminated from your job? God can give you more faith. Maybe you are having some fears of going through an operation or medical procedure and have no faith to go through it; God can give you more faith. Maybe you have no faith that you will be able to do well for you coming examination, God can give you more faith. Maybe you are facing difficulties and struggles in your relationship or marriage and have no faith if you can carry it on; God can give you more faith. Maybe when you look at your rebellious child, you have not no faith if he or she will turn back to you or God; God will give you more faith.

God will give you more faith so that you can love more, give more, and fear less. God will give you more faith so that you can live in peace, work with power and believe with more faith. Yes, more faith.

HHS…

Abel…

Scarlet Faith… (Hebrews 11:31) 270809

2009-08-27T09:25:00.002+08:00

I think I really preached a very good sermon on Sunday. I am still very moved by it. The parable of the Lost Sons (Luke 15:11-32) keeps repeating in my mind. I keep wondering, how could the father welcome and accept his ‘prodigal’ son? After all, this ‘prodigal’ son cursed his father by requesting for his inheritance; this ‘prodigal’ son was not being led astray (at least we are not told by the text), he left his father on his own accord; this supposedly Jewish ‘prodigal’ son was unclean as he had closely associated himself with the pigs; this ‘prodigal’ son did not come to his sense if there was no crisis in his life; and this ‘prodigal’ son had no desire to become a son of his father again, he only wanted to be a servant!

But it was amazing to see how the father welcomed and embraced this ‘prodigal’ son back into his family. Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve his father constant look out for him? No, but the father did it anyway. Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve his father lifting up his robe and expose his leg in disgrace (thought the text didn’t mention this, but I think this is what likely had happened) to run towards him? No, but the father did it anyway. Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve his father hugging him in order to shield him from being stoned by other villagers if they saw him as he deserted his father and being ‘unclean’? No, but the father did it anyway. Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve to be kissed by his father as a sign of welcome? Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve the best robe to cover his ‘unclean’ body? Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve the ring that gives him back his authority? Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve the sandals which only fit the feet of a free man? Did the ‘prodigal’ son deserve the fat calf and enjoy the fellowship with his father once again? No, no, no! But the father did all these for him, anyway! All the ‘prodigal’ son had to do was to ‘return’.

The ‘prodigal’ son had the faith that if he returned, something good will happened to him, though he did not know the extent of it. The prostitute Rahab also knew that if she welcomed the spies of the people of God, she will receive favor from the Lord, though she did not know the extent of it. She became the mother of Boaz, who became the father of Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David (Matthew 1:5, 6), and whom the line whereby Jesus Christ the Lord of all our faith came from!

What did Rehab do? She welcomed the spies of Israel and let them went away safely, and clung her hope on a scarlet cord (Joshua 2:18). This was an re-enactment of the Passover. This was a sign of God’s faithfulness in keeping His covenant with His people. With Rehab’s scarlet cord, she and her family was saved from the destruction of Jericho. With the return of the ‘prodigal’ son, he received the full blessing and acceptance from the father. With our faith in Christ’s death on the Cross, we enter into the eternal salvation which He has promised.

We cannot keep the covenant, we cannot keep the promise we make before God; but God is the covenant keeper and He is the One who will make sure the covenant is kept as He make it! God will make sure His promise to us will be fulfilled as we clung on to our scarlet cord with faith.

Do you have dreams or promises from God that yet to be fulfilled? Cling on to the scarlet cord in faith. Do you think you are very far from God and want to return but not knowing how? Hang out your scarlet cord and you will be received.

HHS…

Abel…

The People Faith… (Hebrews 11:29-30) 250809

2009-08-25T10:55:00.002+08:00

Singapore just celebrated its National Day not too long ago. The theme of this year celebration was surrounding the Pledge:

We, the citizen of Singapore,
Pledge ourselves as one united people
Regardless of race, language, or religion,
To build a democratic society,
Based on justice and equality,
So as to achieve happiness, prosperity, and progress of our Nation.

I am not being patriotic here. As I read Hebrews 11:29 and 30, I imagine a nation being born as the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea on dry land (v29) and walked round the walls of Jericho to see it fell (v30). This is the power of the people in faith, and I call it: the people faith.

Walking through the Red Sea on dry land and the fall of the walls of Jericho were the two most magnificent miracles in the history of mankind. No matter how researchers and scientists try to explain and rationalize the possibility that the Red Sea could be opened and walked across if all the factors were in placed; or how the marching of the people of Israel could have produced some sort of frequency when coupled with the shout at the end of the march caused the walls of Jericho to fall. These are merely speculation and possibilities. But what had happened the eyes of the people of Israel were the miracles of the Lord!

What made these two miraculous events so magnificent was the involvement of the mass, the entire nation of the people of Israel. I don’t know how to make sense out of these, but I know that there is power when the people of God have a common faith. It is not about the faith of the leader. Moses could have opened the Red Sea, but if no one dared to step into the dry ground, they would be destroyed by the Egyptians. Joshua would not be able to take the city of Jericho even if the walls fall down after he marched around it according to the instruction of the Lord. It took the people of Israel to do it together, so that they could experience the power of the miracle.

It is easy to persuade a few brave and committed members to follow me to do some great for the Lord by faith, but it will be difficult or almost impossible to rally the entire church to do the same. But if we do it together, the effect of it will be miraculous.

Recently, our church has this 20K blessing campaign. It is simply going out to bless the people around us. We should do so not because it is a campaign; but as an outward expression of the blessings of God in our lives. I know that the number is growing very slowly, it is because not all the members are convicted and doing it together.

Can you imagine if our church blesses 20K people? And if only 1% of these 20K start to come to church to seek God, that will be 200 people, 50% growth for Covenant in half a year! This is significant and magnificent. Do you have faith that our church can grow in extent? I believe we can and have faith it can. But it is not enough, unless we do it together in faith

We, the members of Covenant Presbyterian Church,
Pledge ourselves as one united body inChrist,
Regardless of race, language or ministry,
To build a Church without walls,
Based on the Holy Spirit and His Word,
So as to bring about blessing, Good News and salvation to the people of our community.

HHS…
Abel…

No Ordinary Faith… (Hebrews 11:23-28) 240809

2009-08-24T10:27:00.001+08:00

Yesterday I preached a good sermon. It was good because God spoke to me through my own sermon. I was preaching and being preached to. I was moved and touched by my sermon. Sound strange? Sound egoistic? Whatever we call it, the truth is that I was ministered yesterday.

It was an ordinary Sunday, which I have to preach an ordinary sermon on an ordinary passage: The parables of the lost in the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of Luke. But however ordinary it is, there is no ordinary result; because I prayed by faith that God will speak to us, and that includes me.

The faith of Moses’ parents were simple, they just wanted to keep the child alive! But it is not an ordinary faith. They would never imagine that their child will be greatest leader in the history of Israel, the one who have a face to face encounter with their Almighty God, the one who led the people of Israel out of Egypt and out of slavery, the one who witnessed miracles after miracles of God through him (ten plagues, parting the Red Sea, water from the rock, healing, manna from heaven, and more), and the one who contributed the five most fundamental writing of the Old Testament which half the population of the world today based their faith and lives upon them. These were no ordinary works.

My faith for my sermon was simple, but I knew that the impact it had on me was not ordinary. My faith for my daughter is simple, that is she will grow up to be a good person who fears the Lord. I will not imagine that she will one day becomes the lady Prime Minister of Singapore, or the one who brings the good news to the entire Singapore and it becomes a Christian nation, or the one who will be used by God in healing everyone who is touched by her. Whatever my faith is for my daughter, there will be no ordinary results, because God is the one who will bring them to pass.

Because of Moses’ parents’ faith, the faith of Moses became extraordinary. Do you think that you have only simple faith? Let it be, and act upon it. As long as you have faith , it will be something extraordinary. There is no ordinary faith.

Are you weary of trusting God to heal? It is a simple and ordinary desire to want to be healed; there is no ordinary faith as you wait upon the Lord to bring about the extraordinary. I cannot guarantee that healing will surely take place in the way we want it to be, but I can be sure that God loves and will bring about much more goodness in the midst of our pain and sufferings if we allow Him to do so. That will not be ordinary, because there is no ordinary faith.

HHS…

Abel…

Statement of Faith… (Hebrews 11:22) 210809

2009-08-21T09:56:00.002+08:00

I have attended many funerals and even preached at some. One thing I found in common, not many of those deceased, planned for their funerals. I am not trying to be rude or funny here, but come to think about it, how many of us actually make arrangement of our own funerals. We may purchase a niche in advance, we may tell our children the song we want to have during our funeral service (I want the song This is the day), and some may even have the funeral passage and message chosen (I may even record my funeral sermon and play it during my funeral).

As a person dies and buries, it is the end of his life. Of course, as Christian, I know that I will be going to a better place. But whatever instruction or preparation we make for our funeral, it ends there. Joseph did not only stop at his funeral, but he had faith that one day his people, the Israelites, will leave Egypt and he wanted them to bring his bones along.

When I think of it, this is more than a prophecy. It is a statement of faith to the generations after. Just imagine, before I pass away, I tell my daughter that one day her granddaughter will become a missionary to Inner Mongolia and I want my bones (or ashes) to be brought there and scattered there. What on earth am I talking about here? I am speaking in faith. I am making a statement of faith about my future generations.

For those who have children; may be you can pray and ask God for that statement of faith to be spoken to your children. Record it somewhere that your children and children’s children can read about. For those who have no children; may be you can pray and ask God how can you leave a legacy behind to benefit the advancement of the Kingdom of God.

I believe that my devotional blog will be a great blessing to many (though not many give me comments) and one day down in the future history, it will be compiled and be published into a book and bless many others who are in the future generations.

This is my statement of faith! What is yours?

HHS…
Abel…

Blessing and Worshipping Faith… (Hebrews 11:21) 200809

2009-08-20T09:19:00.001+08:00

I was having my off day on one of the Tuesdays. I was preparing a sermon in one of those café joints. A cup of ice-latte, a bible, and a laptop; I was happily immersing myself in the Word of God. Though there were many people around me, but my heart was only attending to the Presence of God. Though there were a sermon to prepare, but my soul was quiet, peaceful and rested. I literally enjoyed every moment of my time in such an experience.

Then a man came up to me. He was dirty, smelly and obviously, hungry. I saw him approaching other patrons in the café, but none gave him anything, needless to say attention. When he was at my table, I was in the middle of my most exciting moment of my sermon. He looked at me, so I looked at him. He tried to smile at me, and I also tried to smile back at him (I think I tried harder to smile at him). I wanted to get back to my work. I wanted to bet back into the Presence of God. I wanted him to leave me alone. But he asked if I could give him money to buy something to eat, for he had not been eating for a day and had no job as his hand was badly injured.

I was very tempted to give him $5 and got rid of him. But something within me burn. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get back into the Presence of God that day if I simply ignored him. I told him that I wouldn’t give him any money, but I could buy him something to eat. I closed my bible, turned off my laptop, packed up and brought him to a fast-food restaurant which was just next to the café I was in. I told him to order anything he wanted, and he did! That costs me more than $5. But I saw his face glowing and beaming with gratitude and joy. It was not that upsized-extra-value-meal that made this man happy (he didn’t order happy meal; that was cheaper). It was my attention to him, my willingness to be interrupted to bless him with this meal that made him happy.

Today as I meditate on Hebrews 11:21, the word ‘blessed’ and ‘worshiped’ grip my heart and remind me of that off day encounter. I am blessed because I obeyed the Lord prompting to bless that man. My heart was filled with joy that day and I couldn’t stop praising and worshipping God. And the Presence of God was even stronger after that.

I think blessing other people has such a power to draw us into a deep worship. But do you think blessing other people in such a manner is easy? At least not for me; I don’t going around buying upsized-extra-value-meal for people everyday. I don’t go around blessing other people. By nature, I am an inward person. I only care about my experience and my encounter with God. But God is concerned about other people too and wants to use His people to bless other people.

I have my reservation when comes to blessing others. I am bother about how other people see me, how other patrons in the café see me. I am self-conscious. It takes courage and faith to be a blessing to other. Jacob was old and weak; he couldn’t even stand by himself and needed a staff to support him (21), but he didn’t allow his weakness to hinder him to bless Joseph and his sons, even though he couldn’t see them (Gen 48:10). And of course, the result of that was worshiped in the Presence of God.

Is God prompting you to just go up to a stranger or a colleague whom you don’t really know and bless him with a cup of coffee or piece of nice chocolate? The next time when you encounter someone asking you for a meal, don’t just ignore or brush them aside (maybe you have bad experiences with conman), but ask God for that compassion to bless and take a step of faith to reach out to him with sincerity. You may receive the joy of a lifetime and an unforgettable experience of worship in the Presence of God.

Our faith is a faith that causes us to bless and worship.

HHS…
Abel…

Future Faith… (Hebrews 11:20) 190809

2009-08-19T09:41:00.007+08:00

Each night, as I stare into the face of my daughter, I wonder what will she be liked, when she grows up. Then, an old, old song comes to my mind (I believe before I tell you, you would guess what song I am referring to). Oh Sara Sara, whatever will be, will be, the future is not for us to see, Oh Sara Sara… (I hope I’ve gotten the lyrics correct).

Yes, the future of my daughter, I will not know; but I know I can commit her into the hand of my loving Father, God Almighty. As I read about how Isaac blessed his children, Jacob and Esau in regard of their future (Gen. 27:27-40). I pause and reflect on how I, as a father, can bless my daughter with a blessing in regard to her future. I will not know exactly how she will turn out to be in the future; but I can start blessing her with the blessing of the Lord.

As a father, I pray with my daughter from time to time, teaching her to fear the Lord. I also pray for her as and when the need arises. But I am reminded on Sunday during a young families’ fellowship that I can keep blessing her every night before she sleeps with the Lord’s benediction:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
(Num 6:24-26)

This will be the future of my daughter, a woman who will be blessed by the Lord, and be kept in Him. She will see and experience the light and the grace of the Lord in her life. She will also know the peace of the Lord as she faces the harsh reality of life in the future.

I still do not know about the future, but I have faith in the Lord, who is also the Lord of the future. Do you have faith for your future? Pray the benediction upon yourselves. Ask the Lord to bless you and keep you, to make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, and most importantly, to give you the peace you need in this noisy and harsh world.

Are you facing some uncertainty about your future? The Lord can give you that peace to face the future, He is there with you. Are you facing difficulty in making a decision? The Lord will also give you that peace in whatever decision you make, He will walk you through.

This is future faith, because God is there in the future for you and me.

HHS…

Abel…

Obeying and Doing Faith… (Hebrews 11:8-19) 140809

2009-08-14T10:08:00.001+08:00

I read a very good book by my favorite author, John Ortberg. It is called If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. This book is a life changing book for me. I have actually read it twice and each time it confirms and encourages me to step out of my ‘boat’. The main thrust of the book is that if you really want to experience the fullness of God’s purpose for our life, we’ve got to take a step of faith to get out of our comfort zone. It is not some kind of pop psychology or self-help motivational theology; the author never promise life out of the boat is without storm, but he assures us that Jesus is there and He is strong enough to pull us up if we get distracted and sink.

As I read and meditate on today’s scripture, it reminds me of my spiritual journey with God. I was called, just like Abraham (v8). I went in into full-time ministry, just like Abraham went to where he did not know where he was going (v8). I am not boasting about my faith in following God; just like Abraham, I have my doubts and discouragement and even depression. But I can see that God is faithful to help me to live by faith, even though I have no faith at times. I can also see that God is faithful in guiding me to move in faith as I simply obey.

To Abraham, faith is not about how bold and courageous he could be in trusting God. We know from the account in Genesis that Abraham lied and at times chicken out. But God remain faithful. To Abraham, faith is simply obeying and doing. When he was called, he obeyed and went (v8). When he was tested, he obeyed and sacrificed Isaac (v17).

Abraham obeyed and did what God led him to do. Faith is about obeying and doing. I think James’ understanding of faith in his epistle sums it up: Faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). The converse is true: Deeds without faith is also dead (Abel 1:1)!

Faith has to be translated into action, by this I will know I have obeyed. Well, it is not going to be easy. It is not easy to step out of our comfort zone. It is not easy to step out of my ‘boat’. But if I want to experience the inheritance and promise from God, I’ve got to get out of my boat. Is God calling you to get out of your boat? Is God calling you to bless a colleague or classmate, and it is weird to do so? You’ve got take the first step; you may not know how God can use you to be a great channel of blessing to that colleague or classmate. Is God calling you to reconcile a relationship, which you are still hurting because of it? You’ve got to take the first step to give that person a call or a message; you never know how God is going to bring about healing through that.

I am going to step out of my boat soon; because I want to walk on water and experience intimacy with my Lord and see where He is leading me to. Do you have faith that God is calling and prompting you to something bigger?

Obey and do it!

HHS…

Abel…

Fearful faith… (Hebrews 11:7) 130809

2009-08-13T12:32:00.001+08:00

I went to Telunas twice this year. One of which was with my Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades officers and helpers. As Telunas is kelong style resort, it has its own jetty and we are allowed to jump off the jetty into the sea. It even has a higher platform about 30 feet above the water for those who find jumping off a 10 feet high jetty is not thrilling enough to jump! It is a test of ones courage and faith.

I did the most unforgiveable thing there, at Telunas; which is to jump off the 30 feet high platform! I thought that is the ultimate expression of my faith in doing such a courageous and fearless thing! But it turned out to me that it was a silly thing to do.

In my tradition understanding of faith, to have faith is to be fearless about things we yet see. It is something like being bold in stepping forward and stepping into the unknown. Recently, I was reflecting about the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade ministry which the Lord has placed me. As I received and sensed that He wants us to grow beyond our existing boundary, I said yes without actually considered our resources carefully. When the opportunity came for us to take on new companies, we actually had not enough resources, but by faith, or rather by fearless courage, we went ahead and God, in His good time, sent forth the right resources. I called this faith! But today, I read how Noah responded to God’s warning; he was in ‘holy fear’.

The preacher of Hebrews tells us that Noah in holy fear built an ark to save his family (v7). As I meditate on this, I think I can identify with Noah. Noah was given a task which was utmost ridiculous and radical, and he was also given the insight of the future though he could not fully grasp the full extent of it. He stepped out in faith! He stepped out in fear too! But he stepped out in holy fear.

I am about to step into a new ministry in the near future, I am stepping in by faith. To be honest, I do not have all the necessary skills and networking for my new ministry, I am stepping into it in fear. I am not even sure if I can do a good enough job, but I respond to God and step into it by a holy fear. I am not going to do this ministry with my skills and giftedness; I want to do it in dependent of God’s power. I want to do it with a sense of holy fear.

There was Christian movie I watched at Telunas, it is called the Second Chance. In the ending of the movie, the senior pastor told his son and his associate pastor that we should be like the lightning rod, in the shape of a Cross, fears absolutely no one and nothing, except the God Almighty. This is holy fear.

A fearful faith is a faith with holy fear. I will step out into new ministry with absolutely fearless about anything and anyone, except in holy fear of the Lord God Almighty! Has God been asking you to step out of your comfort zone lately? Have a fearful faith, step out in holy fear of the Lord and do what He has asked you to do and watch what He is going to do through you! Our church is in the midst of 20K blessings, is God asking you to bless someone and you are fearful to do so? Have a fearful faith then, go in holy fear to bless that person and see how God continues the work from there.

Let’s have a fearful faith.

HHS…

Abel…

Impossible Faith… (Hebrews 11:5-6) 080809

2009-08-08T10:23:00.003+08:00

Whenever my daughter wants to have her milk or food, she will come to me and say, “Please! Pa Pa!” Sometimes, she will not look at me and simply going through the motion of saying, “Please! Pa Pa!” Of course as a good mother, my wife will insist my daughter to look at me and say, “Please! Pa Pa!” But as a not-so-good father, I will just quickly go and make the milk for my daughter; because I just want to get it done and over with, so that I can either rest or do other stuffs.

I think I am like God (please to do stone me for saying that), easily pleased; not because of how sincere my daughter will say her, “Please! Pa Pa!” But I am pleased by her ‘faith’, trust and confident in her father to provide what is good and necessary for her.

When I read of Enoch being found as a man of faith, I refer back to Gen. 5:18-24. Only seven verses about this man who is generally described as one who walked with God (Gen. 5:22, 24). The commentator of my NIV Study Bible for verse 6 says that Enoch pleased God is proof of his faith. What did Enoch exactly does that pleased God?

When I understand the context of Enoch’s life in Gen. 5 and here Hebrews 11, it is Enoch’s walk with God that pleased God. And his walk with God is the proof of his faith. In other words, Enoch’s faith is demonstrated by his daily and faithful walk with God. This pleased God.

And do you know that to walk with God daily and faithfully is impossible? How easy it is for us to go about life without God for a day? How easy it is for us to forget God in the midst of our busyness? How easy it is for us to walk away from God when things are not going in the way we want? Therefore, to walk with God daily and faithfully; it is impossible! The only with it can be done, by faith.

This is what I called the impossible faith. For me to please God by my effort, it is impossible. I can never able to achieve it. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we are not faithful in many areas of our life, at least one area; and that warrants a disqualification for please God. It is by the grace of God that we can by faith in Christ, please God. We can please God because God walk with us daily as the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Christ makes the impossible into possible.

As I continue to reflect and meditate on these two verses in Hebrews, I pray that I will continue to be in tune with the Holy Spirit and be sensitive to His leading and walk with Him. Though quite impossible, by faith I will do it. Will you?

HHS…

Abel…

Dead Faith Speaks (Hebrews 11:1-4) 060809

2009-08-06T12:15:00.002+08:00

It has been quite awhile that I have blogged my refection devotion on Hebrews. For past one month, I have been very busy with some family matters and coping with changes in my life. One of the changes is that I will again become a father. Today, I will begin the series on Hebrews 11, meditating upon some of the characters and events mentioned in it.

When I was a young Christian, I read a book by Dr. John White which explains that faith is our response to God’s love. This definition deeply ingrained in my subconscious, after all that book was probably the first Christian book I read. But as I grow in the Lord, I also understand that faith is actually the person, Jesus Christ. And Hebrews 11 gives the biblical definition as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (v1).

Sometimes, to understand faith can be very confusing. I was from a charismatic church whereby I was taught that if I have enough faith, I will be able to move mountains and do the impossible; my knee pain will be gone. But I always have this tinkling question within me: how do we measure faith? How much of faith is enough?

When I read verse 4 of Hebrews 11, I see my name – Abel! I chose this name as my baptism name because it starts with the letter ‘A’, and God had regard for Abel and for his offering (Gen. 4:4). I had no idea what Abel really means or what is the offering that made God had regard. Abel actually means vapor or short breath or meaningless! What a good name! But Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain (v4), simply by faith.

I am facing some ministry decision to be made lately which will affect me and my family drastically. I am not sure whether I have the ability to do it, but I say yes to God and by faith I step forward. I think, by faith is not simply doing what is right, but doing with a right attitude. I may not be successful in my new ministry, but it is alright. At least, I am right with God in regard to my obedience to Him. Anyway, Abel died. He is dead after he offered his offerings; killed by Cain. But Hebrews says that Abel still speaks.

Dead faith speaks. The faith of a dead person speaks. The faith of a dead person speaks of his faithfulness and righteousness with God. The faith of a parent who had failed in bringing up his child in the way of the Lord speaks of his earnest prayers for his child night after night. The faith of a student who fails his O or A level speaks of his willingness to love and help others out of his comfort zone. The faith of a retrenched manager speaks of his generosity and good leadership of the past.

No wonder Leon Morris, a commentator on the book of Hebrews says that “Faith is a present and continuing reality. It is not simply a virtue sometimes practiced in antiquity. It is a living thing, a way of life the writer wishes to see continued in the practice of his readers.”

HHS…Abel…

Going Deeper (Week 5)

2009-08-06T10:29:00.003+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 5 Day 2)

The author of Hebrews repeated some words and phrases in verses 7-19. Can you pick up those words and phrases that are repeated more than three times, and explain why, in your opinion, the author emphasizes them?

Word or phrase [Meaning]
Today (v7, 13, 15) [The author wants the readers to take heed of the warning immediately. Don’t wait.]
Hear, heard (v7, 15, 16) [The author wants the reader to listen to God.]
Angry or anger (v10, 11, 17) [God is serious and ‘angry’ with our sinfulness, rebellious, and unbelief!]
Heart(s) (v8, 10, 12, 15) [The key problem lies in the hearts of men.]

You may find some other words or phrases or even ideas which are repeated over and over again. This exercise is to help us to read the Bible in a more careful manner, so that we can pick up what the Lord really want to speak through the author of the Scripture.

Going Deeper (Week 5 Day 3)

There are basically three senses of the use of the word rest: 1) Promised Land rest (Temporal, earthly rest promised by God), 2) Sabbath rest (Physical rest from work on the seventh day), and 3) Eternal rest (Spiritual rest provided and sustained by Jesus).
Identify where the word rest appears in vv. 1-10 and explain is in its context.

Rest [Meaning]
V1 [Spiritual rest]
V3 (x2) [Spiritual rest]
V4 [Physical rest]
V5 [Spiritual rest]
V6 [Promise Land rest]
V8 [Promise Land rest]
V9 [Physical rest]
V10 [Spiritual and Physical rest]
V11 [Physical rest]

What is your conclusion from this observation?

Pastor Keith mentioned in his sermon that there are Past-rest, Future-rest and Present-rest. If we translate that to my terminology of Sabbath rest (Physical Rest), Eschatological rest (Promise Land Rest) and Soteriological rest (Spiritual Rest); it corresponds respectively.

My observation is that all these three kind of rests have to be kept in perspective. We cannot neglect physical rest, neither lost sight of the future-eschatological rest; and we cannot forget our Present-Spiritual rest which is available to us now through Christ.

Going Deeper (Week 5 Day 4)

There seems to be a disconnection of ideas between verse 12-13 and the previous verses. Verses 1-11 or even from 3:7 is talking about rest and verses 12-13 is seemed to be talking about the Word of God. What is the single idea that strings 3:7 to 4:13 together? How would you explain it? (You can start by studying Psalm 95, where the author quoted from).

I also find it interesting that the Preacher ends of his section of sermon on rest with the idea of the living word of God. I don’t think he is telling us that the place to really find rest (all three kinds) is in and through God’s Living Word!

Psalm 95 correlates creation and redemption, with a special emphasis on redemption. The Preacher uses the conduct of the Israelites as a means of challenging his audience to a closer walk with God. There was a promise in the OT that God's people would enter into rest. The Preacher sees this promise as fulfilled—not in anything in the OT—but in Christ. In drawing attention to this, he shows from another angle that Christ is God's final word to mankind.

You are welcome to share with me or leave your comment if you have other insight of this passage.

By God’s Faithfulness… (Hebrews 11) 160709

2009-07-16T11:59:00.001+08:00

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is a classic. When I was a young Christian, I was taught to call this chapter the “Hall of Faith” or the “Hall of the Faithful”. And all those names being mentioned in this chapter are to be called the “Heroes of Faith”. But as I learn and read more about the Bible, I know that some or most of those names are not perfect examples to be classified as “Heroes of Faith”, maybe except the one in verse 4 (just kidding).

George H. Guthrie commented that the general pattern followed with each example throughout chapter 11 is as follows: (a) The word pistei (“by faith”); (b) the name of the person who by his or her own faith or the faith of another is being used as an example; (c) the action or event by which faith is expressed; and (d) the positive outcome.

Sometimes the positive outcome is omitted, as in each of the examples at 11:20 – 22; at other times the author includes a concession (e.g., “even though” at 11:11) or a rationale for the act of faith (e.g., 11:10, 19, 23, 26).

The common denominator for all these names is the word “by faith”. In my own understanding of faith, it is not merely a hope or some kind of confident feeling or trust; it is Jesus Christ Himself. Faith is a Person. Faith is tangible. The KJV Bible translates verse one as: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. In other words, faith is something of substantial nature, essence, actual being, and reality (this range of meanings are taken from its Greek word, hypostasis.)

That is why Christian faith is more than just a belief system or having a hope. It is both factual and irrational. Factual because we know the facts about the one who we believe in and the one who put our trust in to follow. Irrational because we act and live our lives in accordance to a new reality, which is the spiritual reality; this is a life of faith. This is what we call, live by faith.

By faith, we do crazy stuffs. By faith, I married my wife; and I am loved. By faith, I left teaching profession and become a pastor; and I am enriched. By faith, I have a child; and I grateful. By faith, I love the people around me; and I am maturing in patience. Similarly, by faith, you give away one month of your salary to the church; and you have freedom. By faith, you give your child a hug after he has failed his Maths test; and you have multiplied love. By faith, you refuse to cheat at your parking coupons; your get to keep your car!

We do all these because we know God is faithful. It is because of His faithfulness; we can do all these crazy stuffs and still be blessed. As I say, many of those names mentioned in Hebrews 11 are not exactly heroes; they might be even “zeroes” like Gideon, Barak, Samson (v32). But the point is not about whom those people were or what had they done; it is all about God and His faithfulness. It is not by their faith that they are in Hebrews 11; it is by God’s faithfulness.

Maybe the next time when you read Hebrews 11, whenever you come across the phrase “by faith”, change it to “by God’s faithfulness”. Therefore, do whatever God has led you to do, it maybe crazy, do it by God’s faithfulness.

HHS…

Abel…

Going Deeper (Week 4)

2009-07-10T15:09:00.003+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 4 Day 2)
The word ‘confession’ today normally means ‘telling someone you did something you shouldn’t have’. It means ‘owning up’. But the early Christians gave the word a wider meaning: ‘telling people what’s really true about your belief’. This means ‘owning up’, not to having done something wrong, but to believing in the Christian message and to belonging to the Christian movement. In the light of the historical context of the first century, how would you paraphrase or explain verse 1 to a young person?

So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He’s the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. (Eugene Peterson, The Message)

Yo, my dearest buddies in Christ, together in this highest calling in following Jesus. Lock in your vision and thoughts on Jesus; for He is the Sent One and also the Representative of what we believe and whom we belong. (Abel Translation)

Going Deeper (Week 4 Day 3)
Verse 3 and 4 are highly structural in arguing the point that ‘God is the builder of everything’. The author employs parallelism in verse 3 and then leads his readers to his point by using important conjunctions in verse 4. Can you show how the parallelism is being used in verse 3 and how the conjunctions are being used in verse 4?

In verse 3, “He” (Jesus) is paralleled as “the builder of the house”; “more glory” in parallel with “more honor”; and “Moses” is paralleled and considered as part of the “house”. Commentator, George H. Guthrie, says that:
To look at a beautiful, artfully crafted building may inspire appreciation or wonder, but praise belongs to the craftsman rather than the craft. In this case the author of Hebrews considers Moses as part of the house that Jesus built. The inference to which the analogy points is that Jesus, as God, has made Moses, a member of the people of Israel, and as Creator is worthy of more honor and glory than one of his creatures. Thus, the author continues to point to Jesus as God.
In verse 4, the author does not want us to lose sight of this fact. So he points out that the existence of a house is an argument for a builder. Houses do not build themselves. "But" (the adversative de) introduces something different. There is, of course, similarity. A house argues for a builder, and all that is argues for God. There is also a difference, because God is not to be put on a level with any builder of a house.

Going Deeper (Week 4 Day 4)
NIV translates the if clause as ‘we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast’. But the NAS translation is closer to the original Greek sentence structure: ‘we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.’ Discuss what the differences between the 2 translations used and the relationship between the words “confidence”, “boast” and “hope”?

I think the NIV equivalent of “confidence” will be the word “courage”.
For NIV, we are told we can “boast” because we hold on to our “confidence” and “hope”; whereas, in NAS, we are told to hold on to our “confidence” and “boast” of our “hope”. But as I look into the original Greek text, the relationship between these words is as follow:

“Hold on” to “our hope” which we can have “confidence” and “boast” about.

Therefore, verse 6 as a conditional statement informs us that we are His house, “if” we hold on and persevere in “our hope”. Though it is of the future, but we can still have “confidence” and “boasting” in the present as our evident of this “hope”.

Going Deeper (Week 3)

2009-06-26T11:43:00.009+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 3 Day 2)
Verses 5 to 9 may be divided roughly into two parts: (1) an introduction followed by the quotation of Psalm 8:4 – 6 (vv. 5 – 8a), and (2) an interpretation of the psalm’s meaning (vv. 8b – 9). Again, there is a chiastic arrangement from verse 6 as the author states the quote and he interprets it in a reverse manner. Can you identify it?

A God’s grace to man (mindful and care for man, v6)
B Jesus’ humility & glory (made him a little lower than angels… crowned him with glory and honor, v7)
C Christ’s victory (put everything under his feet, v8a)
C’ Christ’s victory (left nothing that is not subject to him, v8b)
B’ Jesus’ humility & glory (made him a little lower than angels…crowned him with glory and honor, v9a)
A’ God’s grace to man (suffer death for everyone, v9b)

Some extra thoughts

The highlight of this section is found at the centre of this Chiastic structure: Christ’s victory. This seems to be overly triumphant view, implying we as Christian can also have victories like Christ. But the following phrase at the end of verse 8 (v8c) gives us the balance perspective of our understanding of victory in Christ: “Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” This is by no mean that Christian can have no victory at the present, it is only not everything we are having victory.

Therefore, our response should be not giving up praying for victory in life; pray for the sick, pray for deliverance, and pray for breakthrough. Though not everything we can see immediate result, we can be sure for two things: 1) we will surely have God’s victory in the end, and 2) there are still many things we will see victory over.

Going Deeper (Week 3 Day 3)
The author of Hebrews uses these two messianic passages (Ps. 22:22 and Isa. 8:17b – 18) in verses 12 and 13. There are actually three key reasons which help the author highlight the work of Christ in light of early Christian messianic interpretation.
Can you identify the three reasons?

1) to support the close family relationship established between the Son and the people of God;
2) referring Jesus as the Son’s living with God’s people.
3) to speak of the Son’s suffering as well as his posture of trust toward the Father.

Some extra thoughts
I am in favor that these two quotations are to help us to realize that we have a Messiah who understands us, with us and knows God. The author of Hebrew is probably building up to the truth of Suffering Christ or A High Priest who understands. These are important ground work for the author to lay before he plunges deep into these topics later in is message or letter.

Isn’t it comforting to know that we are not studying about a God who is unreachable, or too mysterious to be understood, or merely an object of worship? Jesus Christ is real, lives among you and I today, He is personal, He is closed beside you and I, and most importantly, He understands our struggles and able to eradicate it by dying on the Cross. He is both powerful and loving.

Going Deeper (Week 3 Day 4)
In the final two verses of this passage, the author sets up an effective transition to the central section of Hebrews on Jesus’ high priesthood, beginning with 4:14 and running through 10:25. Hebrews 2:17 – 18 shares no fewer than eight words or phrases with 4:14 – 5:3. Through these concepts the preacher introduces an expansion on his reasons for the Incarnation built around the high priest motif, which he expounds in 4:14 – 10:25. The Son had to become human because high priests are taken from among human beings (see 5:1), and he had to become a high priest in order to offer the ultimate sacrifice for sins (2:17).

Can you list down the list of words or phrases in 2:17-18 which will also be found in 4:14-5:3?

“Word/Phrase” (2:17-18 / 4:14-5:3)
“high priest” (2:17 / 4:14; 5:1)
“sin” (2:17 / 4:15; 5:1,3)
“merciful/mercy” (2:17 / 4:16)
“tempted” (2:18 / 4:15)
“help” (2:18 / 4:16)
“in service (matters related) to God” (2:17 / 5:1)
“the people” (2:17 / 5:3)
“he had to/he has to” - the obligation to do something (2:17 / 5:3)

Some extra thoughts

Watch out for how all these themes are being developed and explained in the later part of this letter. Maybe before we encounter these topics again, what is your understanding of these terms? What does high priest means to you? How about your understanding of sin? Journal them down, and as you study His word, may the Holy Spirit opens you mind, enlightens your heart and empowers you with strength to live in accordance to His word in Spirit.

HHS...
Abel...

Remember those earlier days… (Hebrews 10:26-39) 190609

2009-06-19T11:08:00.001+08:00

Recently a friend of mine started a group in Facebooks, which reminds us of our good old days. We were together when we were younger, composing songs, having gigs and performing. We had great fun and many fond memories together. When this group in the Facebook was formed, we saw many old photographs being uploaded and all those who joined the group and saw those pictures, we had a good laugh and warmth filled our hearts.

Things in the past can be either good or bad. We can either have fond memories of the past or bad experiences which we would not want to mention about it anymore. There are also things of the past we are really took pride and others which we feel ashamed of. Do you have such past too?

I think the author of Hebrews is issuing a harsh warning (10:26 – 31) — arguably the harshest in the book — with a gentler reminder of past success (10:32 – 34), then rounding out the whole by calling this struggling community back to a life lived in light of the Parousia , the end days (10:35 – 39).

As I meditate on this passage, I am convicted that the Lord will judge (v30). There is no way I can just forget about my sinful past, though it already has no effect on us because of what Christ has done; it is nonetheless a reality of the past. And the warning is not of the past, but of the future. We don’t warn what is already past; we warn what is ahead of us. Similarly, we are not to dwell in the past, but look out for the future carefully.

What do we do with our past? Remember those earlier days when we stood the ground in a great contest in the face of suffering (v32). Remember the good old days. Remember the past success and past victory. The author did not say: Remember the past glory. I think the author just want to remind his readers that the good things of the past are not those glorious things; it is those when they preserved and stood firm in the face of persecution.

The author knows that what will hold God’s people for the future is not those good old days, so to speak; but it is those good old suffering days whereby they go through it together. Therefore, suffering may not be a bad thing after all. It is a good opportunity for God’s power to be shown through our suffering.

I am writing this, as my church’s Sri Lankan pastor is undergoing brain tumor treatment, one of my small group member’s child still having a hole in his heart, and another member has some genetic disorder which cause him to have joint stiffness from time to time, and others. I know that there are others, who are suffering for Christ in one way or another, being mock by classmates or colleagues for not able to join them on Friday night outing or Sunday morning game. Stood your ground, you will be able to remember these good suffering days in the future.

HHS…
Abel…

Going Deeper (Week 2)

2009-06-13T10:53:00.008+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 2 Day 2)
From 1:5-14, the author stringed together seven Old Testament passages to support his argument that the Son of God is superior to the angels. Can you identify these seven quotations, the Old Testament references, and their key points?

Quotation in Hebrews (OT reference; Key Point)
Heb 1:5a (Ps 2:7; He is the Son)
Heb 1:5b (2 Sam 7:14; He is the Son)
Heb 1:6 (Ps 97:7; He is to be worshiped)
Heb 1:7 (Ps 104:4; He is to be served by angels)
Heb 1:8-9 (Ps 45:6-7; He is to rule with righteousness)
Heb 1:10-12 (Ps 102:25-27; He is the Creator)
Heb 1:13 (Ps 110:1; He has the Victory)

Some extra thoughts
The author of Hebrews or the preacher (if you like to call him this way) is deliberately building up the attributes of Jesus in an escalated manner whereby the audience or the readers will not miss the point. He skillfully begins by pounding the idea that Jesus is the Son of God, both from divine perspective and humanistic (the use of 2 Sam 7:14 quotation) perspective, so that we understand that the foundation of all His attributes builds upon His relationship with God, which is also the author central theme in Heb 1:2-3 (remember Week 1 Day 4 chiastic exercise?).

The author ‘quotes’ his way to the final result of Jesus, which is, His victory over Satan and sins (Ps 110:1). If your understanding of Jesus is only wanting the victory of Christ without accepting His relationship with God, your worship to Him, your service to Him and His people, your submission to His rule and acknowledge all things are from Him including your life; take some time to let all these truths sink in you.

Going deeper is not an intellectual exercise; but really understand what God is saying through His word (as in Bible) to us, specifically. May you enjoy your journey into the depth of His word.

Going Deeper (Week 2 Day 3)
Verses 10-12 is taken from Ps. 102:25-27. The author of Hebrews has been quoting almost directly from the Septuagint (LXX), which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. This psalm begins with “Hear my prayer, O Yahweh,” and it is “A prayer of an afflicted man, when he is faint, and pours out his lament before the LORD.” This is the superscription of this psalm. Take some time to read through Psalm 102 and explain why the author uses this quotation (Ps 102:25-27).

Commentator, Willem A. VanGemeren, classified Psalm 102 as one of the seven penitential psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143). Some of these psalms are so designated because of their confessional nature; others are classed in this category because of their use within the Christian community. Psalm 102 is an example of the latter. It emphasizes the suffering and discipline often associated with sin (cf. vv.10, 23-24). The psalm exemplifies the literary genre of an individual lament. This lament arises out of an exilic situation, when the godly together with the wicked had been exiled from the land. For other exilic psalms, see 42, 43, 74, 79 and 137.

The structure of this psalm reveals two basic literary elements: lament and prophetic-hymnic. Kraus explains the prophetic-hymnic section as a special exilic development. The godly felt that they too had been rejected by the Lord and that the fulfillment of all the prophetic promises was in doubt. The purpose of the prophetic-hymnic section was to set ablaze a fire of hope in the promises of the Lord within the hearts of the godly.

Though the author of Hebrews ends the quotation at Ps 102:27, but I believe that the conclusion thought of the Ps 102 which is echoed in verse 28: The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you; ring in the mind of his readers and audience. And of course, the author is also equating Jesus as the Lord described by the Psalmist here. This is an assurance for his readers that they are indeed the people who are living in the presence of the Lord and the Lord is Jesus.

Going Deeper (Week 2 Day 4)
"Salvation" is a general word, but among first-century Christians it was used to mean salvation in Christ, either in its present or, as in this passage, future aspect. The word "salvation" (soteria) is used in Hebrews seven times, the most in any NT book; so the concept clearly matters to the author. His use of it here without explanation or qualification shows that it was already accepted by the readers as well as the author as a technical term for the salvation Christ brought.
Can you explain what salvation in Christ means?

Salvation in Christ means to have confidence of his or hers destiny that he or she will finally be with God from now on until eternity. And such confidence comes from what a person knows and believes of what Jesus Christ has done on the Cross for them.

Can you also locate the other six times, the word “salvation”, is used in the book of Hebrews? What is the context for each?

Verses (Context)
Heb. 2:3a (We cannot be indifferent to the salvation of Christ.)
Heb 2:3b (How the salvation of Christ being brought to us.)
Heb 2:10 (Salvation of Christ is explained in the light of Christ suffering on the Cross)
Heb 5:9 (Jesus Christ is the source of this salvation)
Heb 6:9 (There are better things accompanying the salvation in Christ)
Heb 9:28 (Salvation is the effect of Christ work on the Cross as our sacrifice)

Some extra thoughts
I hope that this exercise of tracing the use of the word ‘salvation’ gives you a better understanding that salvation is not only a technical Christian terminology. It actually has very explicit and clear meaning to it. Our salvation in Christ is not an abstract idea whereby we embraced without thinking. Our salvation is concrete as it builds on our understanding of what Christ has done on the Cross, both historically and spiritually.

HHS...

Abel...

Going Deeper (Week 1)

2009-06-12T14:31:00.004+08:00

Going Deeper (Week 1 Day 3)
The author presented divine revelation in parallel contrasts between the “older” forms of communication during the time of the prophets and the “newer” form of communication through the Son. He contrasts four areas: the era of the revelation, the recipients, the agents, and the ways in which the revelation was manifested. Can you identify them?

Era In the past (Older Communication) In these last days(Newer Communication)
Recipients To our forefathers(Older Communication) To us (Newer Communication)
Agents Prophets (Older Communication) His Son(Newer Communication)
Ways Various ways (Older Communication) One way (implied) (Newer Communication)

As God has made a definite way to communicate to us, which is through His Son Jesus Christ; we can be assured that God doesn’t want us to miss His message. His message of the Cross is such a simple and clear one, which speaks of His love and grace, there is no way we can miss the point. Be encouraged that as we earnestly seek the Lord, we will surely be able to hear Him speaking to us.

Going Deeper (Week 1 Day 4)
The author does not use his ability with stylistic flair to impress but to rivet the hearers’ attention and center it on God’s act of communication, especially heard in the person, works, and status of the Son. He accomplishes this objective by presenting a theological framework he shares with other early Christian writers. This framework presents Christ in his preexistence (His relationship with God from the beginning), incarnation (cosmic action – became man and suffered for us), and exaltation (enthronement). The author presents this theology in a chiastic structure within verses 2 and 3.
Can you identify it?

Enthronement A He appointed heir of all things
Cosmic action B He made the universe
Relationship with God C Radiance of God’s glory
Relationship with God C’ Exact representation of His being
Cosmic action B’ Sustaining all things
Enthronement A’ Sat down at the right hand of the Majestic in heaven

For the author to make an effort to express these thoughts about Jesus in such a manner, they must be very important attribute of Christ. And these three attributes of Jesus do run through the entire book of Hebrews. To put it in another way, enthronement speaks of Christ position (where He is now), cosmic action definitely speaks of His action (what He does) and relationship with God of course speaks of His relation (who He is).

HHS...

Abel...

Apologize...

2009-06-12T13:32:00.003+08:00

Dear readers...

I am sorry that I have not been updating my blog, because I am being lazy and being distracted. I don't want to give any excuse to make myself feeling better. I can try to blame the workload, family demands, and even God-given-unforeseen-circumstances; but I think I have a part (great part) to play when coming to being distracted.

I was supposed to upload some going deeper materials for the Hebrews Bible Study, but I didn't. Of course I can blame my laptop being corrupted and needed to be reformatted, but I am the one who ignorantly introduced the virus into my own laptop! Sound absurd? So, I have not been working on my going deeper. (I am giving myself excuse.)

Anyway, I have now a temporary computer to work on. I should get it out by this Saturday, I hope. I hope I don't procrastinate.

You waiting for something you happen here? Coming soon...

HHS...
Abel...

Let us… (Hebrews 10:19-25) 080509

2009-05-08T10:06:00.002+08:00

My daughter doesn’t like to be ordered around. If I want to get her away from her mother so that she can do something else, it would work if I simply ask her to come to me. I will have to go to her and say to her, “Let’s go!” Then she will almost immediately get up and follow me. I don’t know where she learns it from, she doesn’t like to be told what to do, but like to be involved in making the decision to follow me.

The author of Hebrews seems to understand this aspect of human psychology and in today’s passage, after he has expounded on the necessity and sufficiency of the work of Jesus Christ, which is sacrificing His blood to enter the Most Holy Place as our High Priest (v19-20); he goes on to issue a call to his reader. He calls them to persevere.

In this short passage, he uses four “let us” phrases (v22, 23, 24 and 25). I don’t think we can miss them: 1) Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith (v21), 2) Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess (v22), 3) Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (v23) and 4) Let us not give up meeting together.

I think the call is simple: Let us stay together as we stay close to God. I want to stay close to God. I want to draw near to Him and be intimate with Him; but I can’t do it alone. I have to do it with you. I want to do the will of God and follow Him, but I can’t do it alone; I have to do it with you.

One of my gifts is the gift of encouragement; but I will never be able to exercise my gift if there is no one around me to let me encourage. My calling from God is to teach and preach; but I will never be able to fulfill my calling if there is no one wants to learn from my teaching and there is no congregation wanting to hear me preach. If I need to grow in my gifting and calling, I need you.

Likewise, you need me too. If your gifting is to be generous, you need me to receive your generosity. And if your calling is to be a good parent, you need your child or children to be there for you so that you can fulfill your calling. You do not only need me, you need others. We need one another.

Therefore, let us.

Don’t forget to go for your small group meeting, don’t neglect attending fellowship meeting, and don’t give up meeting each other for lunch or dinner. Shall we?

Let us.

HHS…
Abe…

No more shadow… (Hebrews 10:1-18) 070409

2009-05-07T10:28:00.002+08:00

I ride a bike, a motorbike. It is fun and very convenient. Whenever I travel on expressway with a traffic jam, I simply happily cruise through all those standstill vehicles. That is where George Orwell famous quotation comes to pass: two wheels good, four wheels bad (this is Abel’s twenty-first Century version of Animal Farm – Automobile Farm). But the only bad thing about motorbike is that it is not weather proof. Well, I don’t usually ride in the rain, but during the day, the sun can be sometime merciless. Therefore, I always try to go under some shades. I will stop my motorbike in the shadow of something, whatever it is. I thought that will be a good idea; but sometimes, the shadow which I am in, doesn’t provide the shade I need.

The author of Hebrews speaks of the law as “a shadow”, sharing similar idea with Paul. But Paul in Col. 2:17 has in mind the legal restrictions of Old Testament, whereas the author of Hebrews is thinking more of the law prescribing matters of priesthood and sacrifice in relation to the wilderness tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple. Though differ in details, both think of Christ and His new order as the perfect reality to which the earlier ordinances pointed forward. In other words, “shadow” is not used so much in Platonic sense of a copy of heavenly and eternal “idea”, but a foretaste of the reality of the good things to come.

In this passage, the author of Hebrews keeps reminding His readers that it is not that the Old Testament Law is bad, but the perfected Christ has come. That is all we need. His sacrifice is once for all (v10). There is no longer the need for any sacrifice for sin to ask for forgiveness (v18).

Are you still living in the shadow? Are you still living in the past glory or past hurts? The past is the shadow of today. I remember that I used to be able to work as a teacher during the day, attend prayer meeting on every Wednesday night, take up a part-time theological course on every Tuesday and Thursday evening, attend Bible Study group on every Friday night, take up another part-time counseling diploma on Saturday morning, go for Youth-fellowship in the afternoon, and involve in worship ministry on Sunday. Now, as I even try to recall what I did in the past, I feel tired. I wonder how I had done so for more than two years with such kind of lifestyle. And now? I can barely have enough energy to meet with more than 2 people a week. I feel that I am such a lazy and layback pastor.

I hardly go visitation, I hardly call up my members, I barely manage to organize ABFs, and I drag to go for extra meetings with other church pastors! I only read and write and preach and teach. This is the real and good thing God has for me. I don’t need to live in the shadow of those expectations of the past experiences. If I do so, I will not only living in the shadow, I will also miss out the real and good thing God has for me.

I am not the best preacher, and I don’t know what other think and learn from my preaching; but I know that I have learned a lot as I prepare my sermons, and the Lord speaks to me through my study of His Words. This is the real and good things.

No more shadow.

HHS…

Abel…

Not again… (Hebrews 9:23-28) 060509

2009-05-06T10:01:00.001+08:00

“I want to go back!” This is the common sentiment echoed all who went for Telunas retreat lately. Telunas Beach is a beautiful place for urban people like us to get away and have some time to be in touch with our inner self and also with God. What so special about this retreat is that it is not program driven, the only agenda we have – relax and enjoy. It is as if we are in heaven, except I still feel pain after I jumped off the jetty and landed on my butt (the sign of me being alive).

When we have experience something really good, we will want to go back to try it again. In the Old Testament, people know that God will forgive their sins when their high priests were to bring in the sacrifices into the holy place and offer it to God on their behalf. It was good to know that they were no under God’s wrath, they could also experience the grace of God. And they would do it again and again, year after year; because it was good for them.

Today’s passage reminds me of what Christ has done for me: He entered into heaven itself (v24). And this is the reason for us to celebrate and be happy about: our sins are forgiven because Christ has offered up Himself as the Sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. We are no longer under the wrath of God; we are in the grace of God. And the most important thing about this offering, it is once and for all. Christ will not need to do in again; He does not need to offer Himself again and again (v25). Yes, not again!

Jesus will not come again to suffer for our sins (v26). He died once; He is not going to die again! He came to die; He will come back to live and bring us life! It is just like marriage, we get married only once. The wedding experience is wonderful, beautiful, and even breath-taking; but it will only happen once and not again.

Many Christians long for another experience of Jesus to tell them that their sins are forgiven. Many are waiting for another encounter for Him to lift up their hurts and pains. But Christ has already done it all, once for all, and He will not do it again. He will not have to die again so that our sins are forgiven; we are forgiven. He will not suffer again so that our hurts and pains can be healed up by His Blood; we are healed. Jesus is to suffer and die? Not again!

HHS…
Abel…

The Bloody Covenant… (Hebrews 9:15-22) 050509

2009-05-05T11:09:00.003+08:00

I always ask myself this question: Do I love my wife or my daughter enough to die for them? I just came back from retreat, and I had a chance to watch a DVD called: John Q. It is about an African American father hijacked the Emergency Room of an hospital, wanting his son’s name to be put on the list of donor recipients as his son was very sick with his heart failing and would die without a heart transplant. John Q was desperate and he won the sympathy and respect of many who know of his situation. When he thought that there was no way that his son was going to get a heart transplant, he was ready to give up his own life and beg the doctor to take his heart to put it in his son. That was a very touching scene. I wept. I was moved by the love of John Q has for his son. Will I give up my life for my wife or my daughter? I don’t know, when the really hits, will I? But I know Jesus gave up His life on the Cross for me.

Today’s passage reminds me of the new Covenant which Jesus speaks about in Mark 14:24, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.’, and also recorded by Paul, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood.’ (1Cor. 11:25).

The new covenant involves blood. This is not a new idea; the author of Hebrews explains this idea from the Old Testament, what Moses did (v19-22). But this time, the blood is not from an animal, it is from a Person, it is from the Son of God, it is from Jesus Christ our Lord. When I think of it, I was so moved and thankful for what Christ did on the Cross; but why was death and blood necessary? I think it has to do with the understanding of covenant which comes from a Greek word diatheke. And there is problem with this Greek word too, most commentators will share the same sentiment as Leon Morris:

in English because we have no single word that is the precise equivalent of diatheke. This Greek word denotes something like an authoritative laying down of what is to be done and is the normal word for a last will and testament. But it is also suited to covenants God makes with people. These are not the result of a process of negotiation in which God talks things over with people and they come to a mutually acceptable arrangement. God lays down the terms. The result is a covenant characterized by the same kind of finality as we see in a testament. (One cannot dicker with a testator!) The author moves easily from the idea of covenant to that of testament. It might help us follow him if we render the first clause in v. 15 (with NEB) as "he is the mediator of a new covenant, or testament." This gives two translations for the one Greek word but helps us retain something of the continuity of thought. The death of the testator is necessary for a diatheke (taking the term in the sense "testament") to come into effect. The will may be perfectly valid but it does not operate till death takes place.

This is the way we have to understand covenant, it is God initiated, and it has to be fulfilled in His way, which is a bloody way. In the Old Testament, it was the blood of an animal; and in the New Testament, it is the blood of Christ and it has effect till eternity. That is why Jesus has to die, that is why He has to shed His blood. It is because the Covenant He has made with His people is a bloody one.

Will you shed your blood for someone you love? How about someone you don’t know? How about someone who is your enemy?

Take this covenant seriously, because it costs the blood of Jesus. And only by the shedding of His blood, there is forgiveness (v22).

Our forgiveness is only found in the bloody covenant…

HHS…
Abel…

Links...

2009-04-27T09:13:00.002+08:00

Good Bible Study tools weblink...

http://biblos.com/

HHS...
Abel...

The best is yet to come… (Hebrews 9:11-14) 170409

2009-04-17T10:48:00.002+08:00

I like to have dinner at home, especially my mother’s home cooked food. She is really a great cook, and as a typical Cantonese, our meal is not complete without a good soup. And a good soup is not the soup itself only; it is the ingredients found at bottom of the soup pot. That’s the real good stuffs; that’s what I have been taught. I will always, almost without fail, tuck in some of the soup’s ingredients, and I feel good. And of course, my figure (if there is any) is the best outward manifestation of those inward ingredients. To me, the best part of the meal at home is the soup and its ingredients.

The author of Hebrews has just described to his readers about the Tabernacle and the Temple, and tells them that these are not the real things; the best is yet to come, in the previous section. And now, he introduces or rather explains clearly why Jesus is ‘the best’ that is yet to come?

In today’s passage, the author of Hebrews paints a very mystical and beautiful picture of how the actual Holy Place is supposed to be like. Actually, he also doesn’t really know how it looks like; but he know for sure that it will be 1) a greater and more perfect, 2) not made with hands, and 3) not of this creation (v11).

I cannot get beyond this description of the new Holy Place. Maybe I shouldn’t say it is new, because this Holy Place could be already existed all these while. Anyway, the Holy Place where Jesus will enter as the High Priest through His own blood to obtain eternal redemption (v12), is greater and more perfect, not made with hands and not of this creation. I can imagine something which is greater and more perfect than the earthly Tabernacle and the Temple; but how will it looks like if it is not made with hands and not of this creation?

I wait for the Holy Spirit to show me how it will look like. Then I realize that I am already in this Holy Place. Now I understand what it means that I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. I am the Holy Place where Jesus enters so that I can have the eternal redemption. I am not made with hands, neither am I of this creation; I am a citizen of heaven, and I am a spiritual being as well.

But meanwhile, I am still living on this planet earth. The time will come for me to experience and enjoy the greater and more perfect Holy Place. The best is yet to come. Now I can have the foretaste of such Holy Place, where I can find the Presence of God because my sins have been forgiven.

Today is Friday; weekends are just round the corner. I think it will be good for us to prepare our hearts to meet God on Sunday together with other people. I believe you have your own encounter with God in your personal time with Him, but it will be awesome to stand in the presence of God together. You devotion is good for you, but the best is yet to come.

HHS…
Abel…

Until a time… (Hebrews 9:1-10) 160409

2009-04-16T10:59:00.002+08:00

My daughter likes to go into the kitchen and opens up the doors of my kitchen cabinets and pulls out drawers. We keep telling her not to do so, but she keeps doing it. She will happily walk into the kitchen and put her little hand on the handle of the door of my kitchen cabinet or a drawer and she will look around to see if anyone is watching her. Then she will open the door or pull the drawer and peep inside until we discover her doing that, we will tell her: No, No! She will turn around and shakes her hand and head and says: No, No! Then she will go out, and come back later to do it all over again!

I don’t know what so attractive about my kitchen cabinet and drawers, but I think it is because we keep telling her: No, No; she might be wonder what is inside the cabinets and drawers. The furniture and layout of the Tabernacle and the Temple was also a mystery to many. Though now we almost can reconstruct the entire Tabernacle or the Temple, but the readers of Hebrews might only have some faint idea of these structures. All they know for sure is that these were holy places whereby only the priests and the high priest can enter. I can imagine when the author of Hebrews delivers his sermon up to this point, his audiences must be suddenly sit up straight and become very attentive. He has successfully drawn the attention of his audience by using the Tabernacle and the Temple as illustration. And he brings up a mystery, and keeps the audience in suspense and curious and then says: but of these things we cannot now speak in detail (v5). George H. Guthrie comments that:

The author ends his description of the tabernacle tersely with the statement, “But we cannot discuss these things in detail now,” indicating a reticence to get sidetracked on matters outside his current focus. Rather, he wishes to move to the more significant issue of how this structure provided a context for the priests’ ministry.

Then the author carries on commenting on the priestly ministry of the Tabernacle and the Temple. At this point, he bridges into his current context, which he concludes that whatever that the Tabernacle and the Temple provides together with the priestly ministry, cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience (v9).

We can easily tell where is the author of Hebrews is leading his reader on by now, we can more or less guess that he is going to bring out the completeness of Christ’s priestly ministry as the perfect High Priest and the perfect Sacrifice. But the audience needs to know that it is until a time of reformation (v10). In other words, there is an appointed time for the perfect High Priest and Sacrifice to come, and it has come in the person of Jesus Christ.

The readers are living in a time where they only understand the priestly ministry of the Temple, they need a radical paradigm shift to accept that Jesus Christ has come to replace. Jesus is the ‘until a time’ fulfillment.

There are many things we cannot understand, but until a time will come we will understand. The problem is that, I don’t know when that time is, maybe when we see our Lord face to face. But the Lord will know the best time for us to understand the suffering we have gone through, the sickness we have suffered, the relationship that has turned bad, the examination which we have failed, the job which we have lost and the people whom have hurt us.

I will still not allow my daughter to open my kitchen cabinet’s doors and drawers, until a time.

HHS...
Abel…

No more… (Hebrews 8:7-13) 150409

2009-04-15T10:24:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I went to renew my road tax for my new second hand motorbike. It was only after an inspection of my motorbike, and then I was allowed to renew my road tax for one more year. After I renewed the road tax, my old road tax became obsolete. In other words, I will have to remove my old road tax certification and put on the new one. If I continue to displace my old road tax certification, I will be caught and fined.

This is the kind of illustration and commentary the author of Hebrews uses to explain Jeremiah 31:31-34 in today’s passage. According to many commentators, this Old Testament (OT) quotation is the longest in the whole letter of Hebrews, and the commentary or explanation given by the author is only a very short one, found in verse 13. This is how George H. Guthrie explains:

After such a long quote — indeed, the longest quote in the New Testament — one would expect extensive commentary. However, the author surprises with a brief comment on one word from Jeremiah: the word “new” (kainos).

But of course, as we continue to read Hebrews 9 through 10, we should bear this OT quotation and significance in mind, just like the author probably has it in mind as he writes this section of Hebrews.

Remember that the book of Hebrews is a book of ‘better’ (http://abelog-devotionaljournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/better-hebrews-711-25-080409.html)? In other words, are we as New Testament (NT) Christians totally ignore the OT? Why do we still bother to keep the OT in our Bible? Isn’t having NT is sufficient? I think the point here is that the author of Hebrews wants his readers to understand and appreciate the work and effect of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection, in the context of OT. He wants them to see the continuity of OT to NT, seeing how is it that Jesus is better than all that is mentioned in the OT. N.T. Wright phrases it this way:

What we have is good, but God is doing something better. What we have is true, but it isn’t the whole truth. What we know at the moment is important, but the most important thing we know is God is planning to do something more. And the whole letter is written in order to say: the ‘something more’, the ‘whole truth’, the ‘better thing’, has now arrived in Jesus; so whatever you do, don’t go back to the old things.

Do not go back to the old things, because the old things cannot give us what we can get from Jesus. And as I meditate upon this idea, I am drawn to verse 12 and the phrase: And I will remember their sins no more. God will remember my sins no more! This is it! No more. God doesn’t remember my sins; it is me who keep remembering my own sins. God has remembered your sins no more, and you also do not have to remember your own sins. And Leon Morris’ comment on verse 12 is that:

"For" shows the important point that it is God's forgiveness that is the basis of what has gone before. It is because sins are really dealt with that the blessings enumerated earlier become possible. And those sins really are dealt with. God's wrath no longer rests on the sinner and God does not bear his sins in mind. They are completely forgotten. We might get some of the force of all this by reflecting that the men of Qumran saw themselves as the men of the new covenant.

The problem with us is that, we believe and know that God remembers our sins no more, but because we remember our sins, either because of our good memory or some other people good memories, we think that God still remembers our sins. This is a lie. God has chosen not to remember our sins, so that He will not hold us guilty for our sins. God has only chosen to forgive all of our sins. This is the only reason for Jesus to be on the Cross.

Therefore, no more.

HHS…
Abel…

Copy… (Hebrews 8:1-7) 130409

2009-04-13T10:38:00.001+08:00

The author of Hebrews is going to present to his readers the ‘main point’ of his sermon in verse 1 of chapter 8. Though the original Greek word of it can also mean ‘summary’ or ‘to sum up’, I think he is really wanting only to highlight the ‘main point’. And as a preacher myself, I have learned that, in preaching, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. So, the main point here is to keep the main point the main point! So, what the main point? Jesus, the better high priest has something better to offer (v3).

As I read on today’s passage, I am puzzled by the ‘something’ which Jesus can offer better. What is this ‘something’? Then, I am being drawn to the word ‘copy’ in verse 5. Jesus is a not a copy, He is the real thing! But verses 4 and 5 inform us that what Jesus is doing in heaven can be seen also on earth. The author of Hebrews has a very clear picture of heaven reality being acted out on earth. Perhaps, this is what some commentators call it: Platonic idea. I think Leon Morris commentary on verse 5 will give us a good understanding:

The earthly priests serve in a sanctuary they value highly, though it is no more than "a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." There has been much discussion as to how "Platonic" this idea is. Some remind us that Plato thought of heavenly "ideas" as the archetypes of all things earthly. They think that the author has used the thought of an earthly sanctuary as no more than the imperfect actualization of a Platonic heavenly sanctuary. Others point out that the idea of heavenly counterparts of earthly objects was widespread. For example, we read of the heavenly temple in the Testament of Levi (T Levi 5:1) and in Wisdom 9:8, which says, "Thou hast given command to build a temple on thy holy mountain, and an altar in the city of thy habitation, a copy of the holy tent which thou didst prepare from the beginning."

There can be no question but that there is enough of the heavenly counterpart concept in Jewish sources for us to maintain that the author need not have been dependent on Plato. However, he does not say that the earthly was an exact copy of the heavenly, as the rabbis apparently did. There is a good deal to be said for the idea that his language is that of the Alexandrian modification of Platonism. This does not mean that he is using the distinction out of strong philosophic views but that he is using popular terminology with such associations. His main thought accords with the OT model, though he adds the idea that the earthly is but imperfect. It is the heavenly that is real. Inevitably the ministry of the Levitical priests was defective; they could serve only the "copy and shadow." So we are reminded of the Lord's words to Moses that he must make everything "according to the pattern shown [him] on the mountain" (Exod 25:40). The rabbis often appealed to the Mosaic example (see SBK pp. 702-4). For example, they said, "An ark of fire and a table of fire and a candlestick of fire came down from heaven; and these Moses saw and reproduced" (Tal Menahoth 29a; the passage goes on to affirm that Moses did this "after their pattern" and not merely "according to the fashion thereof").

But whatever it is, Jesus is the real thing; His ministry is more excellent (v6). And whatever we have in the past (referring to the Old Testament’s covenants, tabernacle and even high priest) are merely a copy of the real thing, Jesus who has come and done.

The copy can only give us a fore-taste of the real thing. I have some miniature kitchen set at home for my little girl to play with. She will pretend to cook, using a spoon to do some stir frying in a pan then she will bring the pan together with the spoon and give me to eat. For a long time, I am puzzle where she learns stir frying from? She does get into the kitchen when her grandmother is cooking. After awhile, I realize she is not mimicking stir frying; she is mimicking the way we bring out her porridge to feed her. We will stir the porridge to cool it, and then bring it to her to feed her. This is the real thing she is copying!

When we look at the copy, we may not fully understand the real thing; but now, we have the real thing! And yesterday, as we celebrated Easter Sunday, I was reminded of the real thing. I was reminded the real High Priest, I was reminded of the real Sacrifice on the Cross, and I was reminded of the real promise of God; that is the real deal! Do you copy that?

HHS…
Abel…

Once for all… (Hebrews 7:26-28) 090409

2009-04-09T10:45:00.001+08:00

Jesus is our High Priest! He is the One who will be presenting the sacrificial offering to God on our behalf. Jesus is also the Sacrificial Offering. He is the offering being sacrificed on the Cross by Himself the High Priest so that we are forgiven, once and for all.

The passage today is similar to the Hebrews 5:1-3, they are almost parallel in some sense. The author of Hebrews once again highlights the quality of Jesus as the High Priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens (v26, NASB). When I read through these qualities of Jesus, I have a problem: Jesus is not really separated from sinners, wasn’t He among the sinners?

When I check the NIV Bible, the translation there is ‘set apart from sinners’. A commentator, F. F. Bruce, commented that:

Although he came to earth “in the likeness of sinful flesh,” lived among sinners, received sinners, ate with sinners, was known as the friend of sinners, yet he is set apart from sinners, “in a different class from sinful men”; and is now exalted above all the heavens to share the throne of God.

The original Greek word will suggest ‘separated’ rather than ‘set apart’. But the context and the grammar of this sentence will give us a different understanding, because it has to be understood together with ‘exalted above the heaven’. In other words, the separation is not literal separation from sinners, but rather separation in accordance to Levitical ritual set apart for religious duty, which requires him to be purer and exalted above the rest. This is how Leon Morris explains,

There is probably another contrast in the words "set apart from sinners," for the Levitical high priest was required to leave his home seven days before the Day of Atonement and live in such a manner as to ensure that he avoided ritual defilement (M Yoma 1.1). But Jesus' separation was not ritual. Some think the words refer to his spotless character and think he is being contrasted with sinful men. It is more likely that we should take the words closely with the following. His work on earth is done. He has accomplished his sacrifice. He has been "exalted above the heavens." This makes him the perfect intercessor.

Therefore, Jesus is still able to sympathize and identify with us, the sinners. And because of He is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; the effect of His sacrifice is once for all (v27), and once and for all. In other words, the work of Christ is for all men across all times.

When I think of this, especially during this season of Lent, I have the confident that my sins of the past are forgiven, once for all. My sins of today are also forgiven, once for all. My sins in the future will surely be forgiven too. Do you also have such confidence too?

There is great implication, if we really believe that our sins are forgiven once for all because of the effect of the High Priest and the Sacrifice, then why are we still live in guilt? I am not saying that we can continue to sin because our sins will be forgiven anyway, but I am saying that when we sinned and having confessed to God of our sinful act, we do not need to live in guilty and condemnation. Feeling guilty and condemn is the lie of Devil.

When you sin, all you need is to confess, agreeing with God that what you have done is not pleasing in His sight, and you are forgiven. You may have committed adultery; you may have lied to your supervisor; you may have cheated in an examination; you may have even being gossiping and betrayed someone you love for sake of a promotion. But if you have confessed them to God, you are forgiven.

You are forgiven; once for all.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 43: Exhausted… (Luke 22:45-46) 08 Apr 09

2009-04-08T18:13:00.001+08:00

Jesus is exhausted from sorrow (v45), but His disciples are exhausted for trying to stay awake. They are exhausted for having traveled with Jesus for such a long time and such a long distance. The journey to the Cross is a long 40 over days; I am also exhausted following through it. Are you also exhausted too?

Some of us are exhausted because of the weight of the message of the Cross; some of us are exhausted because of the things Christ has revealed to you; and some of us are exhausted because we simply need to rest. We can be exhausted for many different reasons. The question we have to ask ourselves is: what are we exactly exhausted from?

For me, it is the weight of the message of the Cross. The more I get closer to the Cross, the heavier my heart becomes. I can almost literally feel it coming on me. I feel the grace and love of the Cross coming on me, and there is no way to escape from them. I know this journey is coming to an end in a few days time, but it is only the beginning of another new journey. This time, I will not be looking forward to the Cross, but carrying my cross to follow Him. This time, the cross will no longer be burdensome, but it will be light and delight. This time, I will not be exhausted because I have learned to rest when I need to, so that I can allow the message of the Cross to recharge and refresh me.

Are you still exhausted? Go to the Cross, and go beyond the Cross. The new journey is about to begin.

HHS…
Abel…

Better… (Hebrews 7:11-25) 080409

2009-04-08T12:46:00.003+08:00

I was taught in Bible College that the book of Hebrews is also known the book of the better. It is because the author of Hebrews presents the idea of ‘better’ 13 times:

1) Much better than the angels (1:4),
2) confident of better things in your case (6:9),
3) a better hope (7:19),
4) guarantee of a better covenant (7:22),
5) Mediator of a better covenant (8:6),
6) founded on better promises (8:6),
7) with better sacrifices (9:23),
8) better and lasting possessions (10:34),
9) Abel offered God a better sacrifice (11:4),
10) desire a better country (11:16),
11) better resurrection (11:35),
12) planned something better for us (11:40), and
13) speaks a better word (12:24).

From this quick survey, I gather that the author of Hebrews is trying to bring across to his readers a very simple and yet powerful message: whatever Jesus has done for us on the Cross is better than whatever we have tried to do in the past. When I read through today passage, I come across two ‘better’ verses in verses 19 and 22. The former informs me that there is a better hope for the future and a better covenant from the past because of who Jesus is and what He has done.

What does this imply to me? For me, the implication is simple but powerful. I am better today than yesterday, and my tomorrow will be better than today because of Christ. In other words, I have something positives to look forward to, because of Christ work on the Cross in the past.

Sometimes we don’t understand the implication of Jesus being the better High Priest, offering a better sacrifice and giving us a better hope. This means that the work of Christ is completed, once and for all, and there is no need for us to seek for another high priest, another sacrifice or another hope, because Christ is sufficient. And this means that we better recognize and remember our identity: we are the better children of God.

In the past, the children of God (as in Israelites) have to have their high priest to come into the sanctuary of God to make a sacrifice for their sins and ask for forgiveness. But now, we as the children of God have Jesus as our High Priest and Sacrifice, and all our sins have been forgiven since the day He died on the Cross. And today, we are better than the Israelites because we are forgiven children of God.

I am forgiven on the day I receive Jesus as my Savior, I am forgiven today, and I am forgiven tomorrow. Therefore, my tomorrow will be better. There is no need for me to keep asking for forgiveness, because forgiveness has been given to me. Though I still have to confess my sins, agreeing with God about what He thinks of me, and His willingness to forgive because I am His child. No matter what I have done can change my identity. I am a better child of God. All I need to do is to receive His forgiveness which has been given when He died on the Cross 2000 years ago.

Are you better?

HHS…

Abel…

Day 42: Supper Time… (Luke 22:15-16) 07 Apr 09

2009-04-08T09:46:00.002+08:00

I know this blog is posted a day late. I was having a good supper with the Lord yesterday. The passage tells us that Jesus speaks of His earnest and eager desire to eat the Passover meal with His disciples again. The author of the article also explains the significant of Passover meal to the Jews. It is God’s fulfillment of His salvation plan to deliver His people from the power of darkness. In Moses’ time, it was delivering them out of Egypt in the Promise land.

Today, Christians no longer celebrate the Passover meals as it was celebrated only once a year, but we celebrate the Lord’s Supper as often as we meet, supposedly. The Lord’s Supper is a mean of grace; it is a demonstration of God’s love reaching out to His people. During the Lord’s Supper, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. During the Lord’s Supper, Judas went out to betray Jesus. During the Lord’s Supper, we remember that the body of Christ was broken and His blood was shed for us, today.

Jesus eagerly desires to eat with us. Jesus eagerly desires to be in fellowship with us. Jesus cannot bear to leave us and separate from us. This is the extent of His love and grace for us. Whenever I come before the table to receive the bread and the wine, I come in amazement, because I come as a sinner. I can’t remember a single time whereby I come before table finding myself completely sinless.

Yesterday, I was suffering from serious nose block until I have difficulty breathing. And because of that, I was lack of oxygen and I felt so tired the whole day (and it was my off day) which I cannot do anything much. I even felt weak to go out for lunch. I couldn’t sleep as I have to gasp for air from time to time and there was a renovation in one of the units in my neighborhood. But I took some bread (Bonjour 12 grains bread) and a cup of coffee and have communion with the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. I thank Him for His grace and sustaining my life, and ask Him to breathe in me once again. Yes, that was my supper time with the Jesus.

We are not ordain ministers or church leaders, we cannot serve communion to others, but we can serve communion to ourselves from time to time, so that we can enjoy the suppertime with Jesus. By the way, my suppertime was about 2pm in the afternoon. What time will be your suppertime?

HHS…

Abel…

Day 41: Weeping Jesus… (Luke 19:37-44)

2009-04-06T23:07:00.001+08:00

There is a myth that says: men don’t cry; but that’s not true, because real man cries. I am a real man, and I cry. I remember when I lost my first baby at its early stage of my wife’s pregnancy, I comforted my wife at hospital, swallowed all me tears; but I reached home, I just knelt before the Lord at my bedside, and cried. I cried till I have no more energy, I cried till I have no more tears, and I cried till I fell asleep. I have never cried so badly before, but I cried.

I have learned a very precious lesson when I went through my season of darkness, it is alright to cry. Crying is not a sign of weakness, but it is an outflow of trapped emotions. Crying is a release of hurts, disappointments, discouragement, and even anger. Recently, I again learn from my daughter’s Barney show that crying is a way to express our sad emotion; it’s healthy to cry when one needs to.

When Jesus wept, He must be very sad, because He knows that in 40 years time this city, Jerusalem will be almost completely destroyed. Jesus feels sad to see the spiritual condition of these people. Sometimes, when I look into my spiritual condition, I feel sad too. Sometimes, I cry for the sins I have committed. I feel that I have disappointed Jesus. But I also feel a sense of joy after my confession, because I know that Jesus will forgive me and help me to move on.

Jesus comes to Jerusalem not to simply weep, but to the Cross, so that though we are hopeless in our sins, He provides us with the hope at the Cross. Jesus wept, Jesus died, so that we can live. When was the last time you have wept for the sins you have committed? When was the last time you have wept because you are being confronted by your disobedience to the Word of God? When was the last time you wept for the Cross of Jesus that will bring you hopes at the cost of His life?

Take a few moments to ponder and reflect, if it is necessary, weep.

HHS…
Abel…

King-Priest-Messiah… (Hebrews 7:1-10) 060409

2009-04-06T11:23:00.001+08:00

I always have problem coming to understand and explain Melchizedek. I even have problem pronouncing this name. This name is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament, in Genesis 14 and Psalms 110. But the Jewish readers of Hebrews will have all sort of ideas and even theologies formed about Melchizedek; and Scripturally, he is only who he is described in Genesis 14, Psalms 110 and Hebrews. His appearance in Genesis 14 serves as foreshadow of a type of Christ even before Moses and greater than Abraham. In Psalms 110, King David uses this typology to indicate and foretell the coming a greater King-Priest-Christ.

N.T. Wright explains how the author of Hebrews comes to his translation of Melchizedek in verse 2:

Melech in Hebrew means ‘king’; zedek in Hebrew means ‘righteousness’ or ‘justice’. Well then, he is ‘king of righteousness’; and since he’s ‘king of Salem’ (that is, Jerusalem), and since shalom means ‘peace’, he is also ‘king of peace’.

Wright also says that ‘this is really just toying with possibilities. The real point is yet to come.’ So, what is the real point of mentioning Melchizedek here by the author of Hebrews?

Anyone who s familiar with Hebrew narrative, he will notice that the account recorded in Genesis 14:17-20 about Melchizedek has some major problem. The author of Hebrews points it out blankly here in verse 3: ‘Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.’

How can it be that someone who has a status of a King and role of a Priest not properly introduces with genealogy or mentions something about his birth or death? Furthermore, he is given the impression that he is even greater than Abraham. Any Jewish reader will understand it’s significant. Melchizedek a type of King-Priest-Messiah. And if Jesus follows the order of Melchizedek (6:20), Jesus is the King-Priest-Messiah!

I am imagining if I am one of the original readers of Hebrews, what does it mean to me? I can have the assurance that Jesus will do what Melchizedek does: a priest perpetually (v3). But even greater that being a priest perpetually, Jesus offers a sacrifice which has a perpetual effect; that is, the forgiveness of sins.

Melchizedek receives from Abraham to offer a sacrifice, but Jesus offers Himself as the sacrifice. Melchizedek continues to be a priest, but Jesus completes His duty as priest (so to speak) with an eternal effect. Melchizedek is a priest to the Most High God, but Jesus is the Most High God who is also the priest. Such is the comfort for me to realize that I have Jesus who is my Priest, my King and my Christ. I can be sure that as I come before Jesus to confess my sins, He can take it all and forgive; because He has the compassion of a Priest, the authority of a King and the mission of Christ.

Let’s approach Jesus as your King-Priest-Messiah.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 40: No longer I… (Galatians 2:20) 05 Apr 09

2009-04-05T23:57:00.001+08:00

There are times that I just feel like giving this. Day after day, I am writing, and not sure if anyone is really reading (I know you are reading). It can be so tiresome and cumbersome and troublesome, except being handsome (you can see that I am writing nonsense already). I feel like I am hitting a wall at this point. I think Jesus is also hitting a wall when He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Though people are welcoming Him, He knows that this will be the exact group of people who will be calling out: Crucify Him! No wonder He wept (Luke 19:41). But Christ continues His journey to the Cross. He continues what He has been called to accomplish. He continues on, He presses on, and He does not give up; because in His heart, it is not His will be done, by the Father’s will be done.

As I feel like giving up, because I am writing this almost close to the midnight and having nose block; I know that God is confronting me with my ‘I’ issue. I think that I have the right to give up, because I think that writing devotional blog is mine project. But writing blog is for God and a call from God, therefore I should not stop unless God says stop. Not my devotions being written, but my Father’s will be written in my devotional blogs.

It is no longer my devotional blog; this is God’s devotional blog. Are you going through some situation whereby you feel like giving it up? Maybe that situation is not yours, its God’s will for you to accomplish. It is no longer your situation, its God’s situation you are to live in and grow in. Don’t give up, just keep moving forward with what God has given you to do.

Remember: it’s no longer I.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 39: Q&A… (Luke 18:35-43) 04 Apr 09

2009-04-04T18:42:00.002+08:00

Someone said: all questions have an answer. Even when we don’t have a good answer, it is an answer itself. The beggar appeals to Jesus, and Jesus gives him a question: What do you want Me to do for you?

The beggar has an answer: he wants to see. Do you also want to see? Of course, but the question is: what do you want to see? Or what do you really want to see? Do you want to see Jesus? Or are you seeking to see the work of Jesus? Or do you want to see what Jesus wants you to see?

Today, I survive three hours of hiking with some boys and a good friend. I am still sick and nose still running, but I survive. I think that today will be a good day for me, as everything go according to what I have planned. But just before I want to go home after dismissing the boys in school, I discover that I lost my motorbike keys! I am so disappointed with my carelessness. I pray that God will show me where I have lost it, and He did; but it will be impossible for me to retrieve it back. In other words, I will have to leave my motorbike in the school and take public transport home. I have spared keys at home.

I pray a prayer for God to show me where my keys are, but I don’t like the answer. Do you have such experience too? But this is what Jesus wants me to see; He wants me to take public transport today. And as I am on my way home, I meet a cousin of my wife, and I help her with her direction and get to know her better. Such is a divine appointment. This is what Jesus wants me to see, lost soul who is closed to us whom I am not reaching out to.

Today, when you ask Jesus to give you sight to see, spiritual insight to understand the Scripture as you read, are you ready to see what He wants you to see? What is your answer? Is that your final answer?

HHS…
Abel…

Day 38: Don’t you understand??? (Luke 18:31-34) 03 Apr 09

2009-04-04T07:19:00.002+08:00

Why? Why? Why? This is the most common question asked when one is going through suffering. Single word, mono-syllabus; but it speaks of the deepest and most profound emotions of the sufferer. And often, in fact most of the time, we have no answer. Though we try to come out with a reasonable reason, the truth is that we are not really satisfied with our answer. We are merely satisfying our intellect, but there is still a void in our emotion.

Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem, He once again tells His disciples about His sufferings, but they cannot understand. Luke commented that they were prevented from understanding, and as Luke writes this, he and those disciples probably knows what has happened, and understand by then. It is on the hind sight they understand. It is also on the hind sight that we have a glimpse of understanding why we suffer at times.

This weekend is going to be busy for me. Friday, I have a combined meeting of the small groups designated under my care; Saturday, I have to bring a small group of boys for a hike at Bukit Timah Hill; but I am sick. I started to fall sick on Wednesday evening, having some irritation in the throat; by Thursday after I checked out the place for hiking, my voice get hoarse and nose get stuffy; and Friday, my nose just started to run and I started coughing. Now as I am writing, my nose still stuffy and throat still irritating. I still need to lead the boys to the top of the Hill later.

I ask God, why doesn’t He heal me now? I need to experience that power. It is suffering for me to keep clearing my nose as I hike. I still need to work on Sunday; I am on standby for my colleague. Why? Why? Why?

Of course my suffering here is small compared to many others, but the point is I questioned God for His purpose and His goodness, I questioned His character! I don’t understand Him now. I cannot comprehend what He is doing to me now! Though I can rationalize, theologicalize and even spiritualize my experience, but in reality I don’t understand fully what is happening here.

I just have to be patience and wait. I just have to believe that God is sure and stedfast, even though I don’t understand. It’s complicated right? I also don’t seem to have any answer here today. Are you confused of what I am writing?

It’s mystery. Don’t you understand?

HHS…
Abel…

Sure and Stedfast… (Hebrews 6:13-20) 030409

2009-04-03T10:30:00.001+08:00

I do not spell Stedfast incorrectly; this is simply some strange old English spelling, which the Boys’ Brigade uses in its motto: Sure and Stedfast. The author of Hebrews paints a picture of an anchor which is widely used in the ancient writing to bring out the idea of sureness and steadiness. And this is how George H. Guthrie puts it:

The word “anchor” (ankyra), used three times in Acts 27 of a literal anchor, here represents the idea of stability. Such a metaphorical use of this nautical image occurs broadly in ancient literature; authors such as Plato, Plutarch, and Lucian write of various institutions or faculties that give life steadiness.

But we also have to bear in mind that “while the metaphor of the anchor is widely used in antiquity, it occurs only here in the NT” (Leon Morris).

I have been asked many times, why the Boys’ Brigade uses an anchor to be its emblem? I have no idea. Is the founder of Boys’ Brigade a navy officer? But I think it have to do with Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19. I believe that as Boys’ Brigade seeks to instill good Christian values to the boys, it also wants to assure them that as Christ being our Captain of life, we can be very sure and stedfast in the hope of His promises to our soul. These are the two unchangeable things mentioned in verse 18: promise and oath.

I am reminded of my calling recently, and the promise God has given to me. I have almost given it up as I am currently led to this ministry. But God has never forgotten the passion and compassion He has placed within me when He first called me. He is now merely taking me through another route to have me better equip and to be more intimate with Him. I really don’t know how long will it takes for God to bring about the promise He has for me to come to pass, but surely it will as God is sure and stedfast of His promise and His word.

Have you lost hope of what God has laid upon your heart in the past? Do you still remember the calling or the promise God has made with you? What is the passion and compassion that God has put with you? Have you forgotten about them? Don’t lose hope, for the promise of God is like an anchor, sure and stedfast.

I am very encouraged by the example of Abraham, he waited for many years before he had his son Isaac, but he still clung on to the promise of God that he will surely be multiplied. I can imagine how hopeless he can feel when he had only Isaac when he was in his old age and was even ask to sacrifice him on Moriah (Gen 22). But he obeyed and still believed in the promise of God. And the author of Hebrews says that he, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise (v15).

I think the key is patient. As we are living in such a high speed society, we have lost the art of waiting patiently. We will complain and grumble if the checkout counter is too slow and the counter lady is chatting with the customer. But as long as you patiently wait, your turn will come to checkout your items, the supermarket will not let you leave without paying them!

If you have any promise yet to be fulfilled, wait patiently, He is sure and stedfast to fulfill what He has promised. This is the hope.

By the way, God has promised me that the BBGB ministry will be able to raise more than $15000 this year. I am now patiently waiting for you to donate.

Sure and Stedfast.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 37: One or many… (Luke 18:18-27) 02 Apr 09

2009-04-02T23:27:00.002+08:00

We have journeyed so far together till this point in this season of Lent, and we have reached a point whereby we are confronted with the choice: one or many? The rich young ruler has many things, in fact the author of the article says that he has many good things; but he lacks one thing. This ‘one thing’ phrase sound familiar? Yes, Jesus says to Martha in chapter 10.

But Jesus does not ask this rich young ruler to sell away that ‘one thing’, but He asks him to sell away everything to give them to the poor. That’s too many to exchange for that ‘one thing’. But this is what exactly Jesus wants from the rich young ruler, Martha, His disciples and us. So, what is the one thing?

I have many things in my life that is not pleasing to God. I have many things that hold me back from loving God and serving Him wholeheartedly. But God is not bothered by all these other things; He is only concerned about the ‘one thing’. So what is the ‘one thing’?

It is not my addiction to writing devotional blogs, it is also not your career, neither is it your family and other hobbies. It is to have faith in Christ. It is to accept the grace of God. It is to yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Though it seems that there are three things, but they are all actually the same ‘one thing’. I don’t know how phrase it better. It is not about us following Christ as His disciple, it is also not about us serving Him like a servant, it is definitely not seeking after the miracles and healing by the Holy Spirit. It is about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I am not too sure if I am clear about this, it is not about what we can give to God. It is about my obedience to God and gives whatever God asks. Many people give a lot to building funds and other ministry related funds, because they are being blessed by God with a big fat bonus. But seldom people will give in their poverty because they are obeying what God wants from them. It is easy to give what is not yours and what you have excess, but it is not easy to give when you don’t have, and God wants it. You need faith, you need grace and you need a miracle. This is the one thing.

Are you giving God that ‘one thing’, before it become too many to handle?

HHS…

Abel…

Day 36: Children… (Luke 18:9-17) 01 Apr 09

2009-04-01T22:13:00.001+08:00

Warning: The content of this devotion may cause some of us feel uncomfortable and may be even feel guilty or condemn. This is not targeted at anyone. If you feel that I am speaking about you, it’s only purely coincident. And if you feel guilty or angry after reading this, I am sorry. Maybe the Holy Spirit is saying something to you.

As I meditate upon today Scripture, I cannot help but being drawn to the phrase: for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (referring to the children) (v16). I think God is reminding me of an incident which upset me. The incident took place at special meeting a church held recently because of a special speaker who is supposed to be specially anointed with the Holy Spirit. I have no issue with the speaker, though I think she can do a better job in preaching and teaching; after all that’s not her gifting, her gifting is prophesying and healing. I was upset because I witnessed an unfriendly instruction to some children (really very young children between the ages of 2 to 4) to leave the place of meeting to another place to play, for he was concerned that these little children were disturbing others by their noise.

Of course I have to fair by stating that he was actually ushering them to another level of the meeting place whereby there is facility for children to play, but separated from the main congregation. I am sure that he was not intentional to be seemed unfriendly, but he had placed his concern for the congregation of adults who understand the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit and theologies over these little children who know nothing more than Jesus loves them. I know it is not you who did that, because you won’t mind children to be among you in a fellowship. I know you understand what it means by the kingdom of God belongs to the little children.

Maybe it is time for us to reflect the way we treat our little children in our church, do we allow them to join us in our main worship service, allow them to worship God together with us in the presence of God? Maybe it is time to allow some crying and laughter of our little children to accompany the almost perfect music and song. Maybe it is time to listen to these little children, for the Holy Spirit may speak to us through them.

I know you may think that I am writing about this because I have little girl too. But I can be fully honest that I write this out of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, just like that special speaker.

I am sorry if I have offended you, for I am but a little child too.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 35: Who’s Ruling??? (Luke 17:20-25) 31 Mar 09

2009-04-01T09:51:00.001+08:00

I didn’t write this devotion on 31st Mar, which is yesterday. I am simply too lazy to do so. I was having my off day, I brought my sick daughter to see a doctor, I played with her, I had my lunch, I watched Second World War documentaries by BBC, I slept, I played with Alethea, I had my dinner, I watched TV programs, I did some house chores, I put Alethea to bed together with my wife and I also slept. So I didn’t do my devotion. I felt uneasy, a sense of guilt, but I told myself: it’s my off day after all; I deserved to take a break. I decided what I should do, rather than seeking God for His direction.

As I read this devotion article, I know God is speaking to me about who is ruling in me; self or Christ? This is a constant struggle for many Christians, including myself. We claim to be Christian and claim that Christ lives and reigns in us; but in reality, we decide the area whereby Christ can rule and where He cannot. We choose the Scripture which we want to believe and reject those teachings which are simply not suitable to our personality. But aren’t we supposed to be ruled by Christ completely?

As a Presbyterian, our view of eschatology (the study of the end times) has to do with our view of when and where is the Kingdom of God. There are basically three views: Pre-millennium, Post-millennium, and A-millennium. I don’t think I want to explain this in detail, because it can be very complicated. The Presbyterian understanding will be a reformed one, that is generally going for A-millennium, which actually means the millennium rule of Christ is symbolic and as long we are called Christians, we are that Kingdom of God as He rules in us. In other words, the symbolic millennium rule of Christ is already now in us but not yet in its fullness.

I am to be ruled by Christ. I am a subject to Him. This is easier to say than done. Try to live a day asking God for everything He wants you to do, and submits to Him. It is not easy. It is easier for us to rule our lives and He rules our ‘spiritual’ lives.

As we look to the Cross, we realize that He has the right to rule in us. We have to deny and die to our ‘self’. If our ‘self’ is died, someone has to be ruling in us, and it has to be Christ. Are you ruled by Christ or by your died self? Maybe, today is a good day to do a simple self-check: Who’s ruling?

HHS…

Abel…

Day 34: He was a Samaritan… (Luke 17:11-19) 30 Mar 09

2009-03-30T23:57:00.001+08:00

Ten lepers pleaded Jesus to heal them, and Jesus did. Only one leper returned to thank Jesus and praise God, and he was a Samaritan. What does this imply? It implies that the other nine were not Samaritans, and probably Jews. I can’t help but to stop and think and ponder and ask: why?

Why when the ten lepers were suffering, they cried out to Jesus in unison: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”? But when they were healed, one the foreigner returned, and the other nine locals disappeared into the thin air? I am puzzled by this. I am disappointed with those nine Jewish lepers who were also healed. I am disappointed with myself who has been greatly blessed and gifted by God, but yet reserve my praises and thanksgivings. I am disappointed, because I am not a Samaritan.

I want to echo the words of the lepers before they were healed: “Jesus, Master, have pity on me!” I need His pity, I need His grace, I need His forgiveness and I need Him. That’s me. How about you? Maybe you are better, smarter, more talented, more gifted and more fervent; but you still need Jesus. You still need Him to have pity on you. This is the truth.

Unless we realize how sinful we are, we will not realize we need Jesus. Unless we realize how sick we are, we will not have the urgency to come to the Great Physician. Yesterday, Alethea was having a fever. It was only about 37.5 degrees Celsius. I was so calm and insisted only sponging and gave her plenty of fluid to cool her down, refused to administrate Panadol. When her temperature went up to 38 degrees Celsius, I panicked and gave her Panadol, but refused to bring her to a doctor yet. But if the fever persisted, I will bring her to see a doctor, because that might be dangerous, as sponging and Panadol can’t help to reduce her temperature. Similarly, unless we know that we are in danger and can’t help ourselves, we need someone else.

Jesus is there when we need Him; Jesus is there when we call out to Him to have pity on us, but where are we when He calls on us to acknowledge Him and praise His name? Are we like the Jewish lepers or the Samaritan leper?

I want to be a Samaritan leper.

HHS…

Abel…

Imitation… (Hebrews 6:9-12) 200309

2009-03-30T10:49:00.001+08:00

The author of Hebrews begins this section by addressing his readers as ‘beloved’ (v9, NASB) or ‘dear friends’ (NIV). The NASB has a better translation here, because the original Greek word used here is agapetoi. This word gives us a sense of tender endearment and genuine love from the author to the readers. This is the only time such expression is used in the Hebrews, and Leon Morris comments the following:

For the only time in the epistle the writer here addresses the readers as "beloved" (agapetoi; NIV, "dear friends"). He has a tender concern for his correspondents, even though he has had to say some critical things about them.

In my opinion, the author’s sudden change of his tone has his purpose; and I think he wants his readers to take note of what he is about to say. In verse 10, he presents the justness of God, and encourages his readers to be diligent to realize the full assurance of hope in verse 11. How? By imitating those who have gone before them through faith and patience inherit the promises (v12).

To me, verse 12 is a very rich verse, but surprisingly, I don’t find much comment on this. There are a few words need to be unpacked with the help of the context. The promise in verse 12 will be discussed in the coming verses (v13-20). And those people who are to be imitated have to refer to later chapters. But nonetheless, verse 12 is an anchor point to switch the readers’ attention to what is needed to be done.

So, what is needed to be done? Imitation. In our modern society, this is a bad word. Imitation is the same as copying, it means the imitator has nothing original to offer, he is merely a follower. Imitation of branded products is illegal. But for Christian, imitation is the way to grow. We are to imitate those who have gone before us. The idea of imitation is prominent in the early days Christians. Paul urges his readers to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Therefore, Christ is our ultimate object of imitation.

Are you an imitator? Do you have someone to imitate after? You may think that imitation will cause you to lose your own unique identity. And this is the precise problem why imitation is so necessary in Christian growth: we are to lose ourselves so that we can gain more of Christ in us. As the saying goes: Christ increase and I decrease.

Actually, I am a great imitator! I imitate the way good preacher preaches, so that I can improve. I also imitate good authors, so that I can improve my writing. I am surely an imitator of Christ, but an incomplete one at this moment. But I am diligently imitating. How about you? Is there anyone whom you know is exhibiting good quality of Christ you want to imitate? It is alright to lose your own identity. After all, we are to die to self, so that Christ can live in us.

And again, I cannot help to reflect this in the context of this season of Lent. As we approach the Cross, we approach Christ. As we look at the Cross, we look at Christ. How can we be more Christ-like? How can we imitate Christ?

After all, we are an imitation of Christ.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 33: Cross love … (John 3:16, 1 John 4:19) 29 Mar 09

2009-03-29T23:27:00.001+08:00

A couple of my small group gives birth to their second child at home this morning. I am thrilled and happy for them. And it reminds me the moment Alethea was born. She was such a beautiful baby with her face full of wrinkles because having soaked in water for so many months. Nonetheless, she is beautiful but so fragile. I am not too sure how I have kept her alive till today? It must be by the grace of God.

And today, another couple brought their one month old son to church for his first service. I can’t help but to recall those days when Alethea was still an infant, always in my arm. And again, I wonder how I have not squeezed the live out of her? It must be by the grace of God.

Now Alethea is going to 16 months old soon. And today she is having a fever. My heart just feels so sorry for her. I am not sure why she is having her fever, and by faith, my wife and I just sponge her and give her a Panadol and pray that God will bring comfort and healing onto her. Indeed, her temperature has gone down and she is able to sleep now.

I am only a father for 16 months and I can feel such pain when my daughter is sick; I can be sure that God feels really hurting when He sees His creation in sin, and His only begotten Son to go to the Cross for their sins. This is the grace of God.

By the grace of God, He creates lives, just like a beautiful new born Alethea then. By the grace of God, He preserves lives, just like how Alethea grows up without being squashed by me. And by the grace of God, He heals, just like what He is doing with Alethea.

This is love. This is the expression of love. Love creates, love preserves, and love heals. The Cross is the best expression of God’s love, because the Cross creates a way for us to walk in, so that we can be saved and become a new creation. It is also because the Cross preserves those who follow Christ, and it is also because the Cross heals my inner most sinful natural. This it power of the Cross, this is the power of love.

In this Lent season, when we keep talking about the Cross, we are also talking about the love of God, being expressed by the Cross. It’s a Cross love.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 32: Home at last… (Luke 15:11-32) 28 Mar 09

2009-03-28T22:23:00.001+08:00

The journey can be long and tiring, but we have a goal, we have a home to go to at the end of our journey. This is the strength and comfort of many who have traveled the same road before us. I can imagine, it must have not been easy for them. I don’t find it easy myself.

One thing about journey is that we meet many people along the way and we play different role along the way. Today, I am reminded of the Pharisees and Scribes. They are the holier-than-thou people whom we read about today don’t like. They are merciless to the tax-collectors and sinners, just like we are merciless to them in our critics and sermons. This is a very strong reminder, that we are just like them at times; critical, judgmental, and self-righteous; but all in the name of Jesus.

I know very well that I am a hypocrite, as I don’t really show forth my inner most feelings and thoughts, in the name of having a good boundary. But the truth is that, I am simply not perfect and still in need of God’s grace to complete the journey to reach home.

Do you need any grace to carry on this journey? If you need, here is the good news: there are plenty and more than enough grace for you to go home. And I am sure that no matter how screw up I am today or yesterday or even tomorrow, there are enough grace for me to go home, at last.

Let’s press on to go home together, see you at home.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 31: Home… (Luke 15:18-20) 27 Mar 09

2009-03-27T23:17:00.002+08:00

When I read today article, one of the national day songs comes to my mind; it is the song: Home. Home is a very interesting concept. It is not a merely a house, I can have a home without a house; and there are so many empty houses without a single home.

Home is a place of bonding, it is a place of love, it is also a place of acceptance, and it is surely a place whereby I can go back to whenever I need to. The younger son knows it; the elder son is in it but not realizing it. The younger son comes home after a long and fruitless journey out there; but the elder son who stays in the house has his heart far away from the owner it.

Are you at home or in a house? Are you building your home with your family or merely a house for your family? If you are not at home now, make your way home now. The journey to the Cross is long and difficult; I almost want to give up. But I know that my Father is waiting for me at the Cross with Jesus welcoming me home. I will press on, will you?

Let’s go home.

HHS…
Abel…

Tasted… (Hebrews 6:1-8) 27 Mar 09

2009-03-27T10:24:00.003+08:00

I love to eat, though I don’t live just to eat. I enjoy good food, because it makes me happy. And God is a joyful God; He wants me to be happy. Therefore, the best proof of the existence of God is there is good food!

The author of Hebrews starts chapter 6 by continuing his agony about his readers’ immaturity for not able to take solid food, by exhorting them to ‘press on to maturity’ (v1). And to do so, they have to start from the foundation, but not laying it again. I think the author means that there is no need to re-confess Jesus as Lord again, which also means that the previous time they accepted the Lord, it is done and their salvation is still intact.

I think this gives me a great assurance of our reform faith as Presbyterian, for we believe the doctrine of Perseveration of the saints. But what is the author referring to when he says the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God (v1)? George H. Guthrie suggests that the structure of verses 1 and 2 would imply the following:

the foundation of repentance and faith = instruction about
· baptisms
· laying on of hands
· resurrection
· eternal judgment

The “repentance from dead works” and “faith toward God” (NRSV) constitute a summing up of the initial step of Christian commitment. The former refers to the turning away from acts of immorality committed by those apart from God (cf. Rom. 6:21), and the latter the basic orientation for those who have turned to God in belief and obedience.

Although the “baptisms” has been understood by many commentators to refer to specifically Christian baptism, the plural makes this interpretation problematic. It may be that the word refers instead to the internal spiritual cleansing from sins found in the new covenant, which was associated with the outward rite of baptism. Or the author may be referring to repeated ceremonial washings as found in expressions of first-century Judaism.

The “laying on of hands” was also a practice associated with the beginning of Christian commitment, specifically having to do with the coming of the Holy Spirit or anointing for ministry.

If these two “instructions” have to do with the beginning stages of Christian commitment, “resurrection of the dead” and “eternal judgment” provide theological cornerstones related to the end of the age.

Having this backdrop in mind, we can then understand verses 4 to 6. The author reminds his readers of what they have ‘tasted’ in the past: heavenly gift (v4) and the good word of God (v5). Of course, they are also the partakers of the Holy Spirit (v4) which is an expression of tasting the heavenly gift, and the powers of the age to come (v5) through the tasting of the good word of God. And he makes it very clear that, if anyone tasted all these and fall away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and pit Him to open shame (v6).

This has great implication. Does it mean that if we fall away from God after experiencing and tasting the goodness of God such as heavenly gift and good word of God, we will be doomed? Is there no more hope for us? Is there no way for us to repent and go back to God? Is there an unforgivable sin?

I believe such questions bother you as they bother me for years. But the good news is that God is so gracious. The idea about the impossibility to renew is an impossibility to renounce the work of Christ on the Cross. There is no need to re-crucify Christ. His work on the Cross is complete. No matter what we do, we cannot get Him to be crucified again for us, because what Christ did on the Cross is sufficient. This is it. Go ahead and taste the goodness of God, and do not worry that we may fall away and then impossible to come back. There is no such thing. We do not need to live in fear and worry and refrain ourselves to experience God and His grace and taste His goodness.

As the church has opened up to the work of the Holy Spirit, do not restrict ourselves to certain understanding and experience. Let us not be weary and fearful to taste God’s goodness. There will be always sufficient grace following out from the Cross for you and for me.

Let’s go, taste and see that God is good.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 30: Coming out… (Luke 15:20-24; 29-32) 26 Mar 09

2009-03-26T23:43:00.002+08:00

Today I go back to Singapore Bible College for class, and I take opportunity to attend its combined chapel. I have always enjoyed the combined chapel. It is a heavenly experience to me, whereby people of different nations and different languages and also different cultural backgrounds come together to worship God together in one voice. The message today is good, and I guess it sums up my personal experience before I graduate and enter into ministry work.

My season of darkness allows me to really slow down, and in fact, comes to a complete stop to reflect and ponder about my life, my calling, my ministry, and most important, my relationship with God. As a person, my life is rotten, if I am to face it honestly; I will not even dare to approach the Holy God, but He comes out to me. To my calling, I have failed and denied it with spiritualized excuses; I am only but a slaves waiting to be called upon by God, but He comes out for me. For my ministry, I think I am merely a employee and God is my boss; I will simply avoid more jobs and hoping for better salary from the gracious God, but He comes out through me. And for my relationship with God, we are friend when I feel like it and He is my strength only when I am weak; it is a I and Him relationship, but He comes out in me.

My Father in heaven comes out to reach out to me and for me, He also reaches deep within me so that He can reach others through me. I know I don’t deserve all these, but He comes out in me. Why? Is it because I am theologically sharp and having good grades in Bible College? No. Is it because I am zealous and gifted in ministry? No. It is simply because I am His child. He is proud of me because I am His child. He comes out to me because I am His child. Just like I will go all out to Alethea, because she is my child, and I am proud of her.

I am coming out (or rather going out) of my study to her.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 29: How old are you??? (Luke 15:25-32) 25 Mar 09

2009-03-25T22:11:00.002+08:00

There are two brothers in this parable, Jesus intended it this way. It is because His Jewish audiences were very familiar with story of two siblings. There will be a good one, and a bad one; a wise one, and a foolish one; an accepted one, and a rejected one. Actually, I am not too sure why Jesus makes the older brother looks bad, foolish and rejected.

The older brother is bad because he is jealous of his younger brother. The older brother is foolish because he doesn’t know how to enjoy himself in the presence of his father’s house. The older brother is rejected because he has rejected the love and grace of his father. But why the older brother? Will the parable be the same if the older brother is the prodigal and the younger brother is the one who stays home and treats himself like a slave to his father? I think you might have an answer in your heart. So do I.

We expect that the older we are, the better we become; the older we are, the wiser we become; and the older we are, the more acceptable we become. But sadly, in this parable the older brother did exactly the opposite. As I ponder upon this, I have a question for myself: as I grow ‘older’ in the Lord, have I become better, wiser and acceptable before God?

I may be more skillful in ministry, but do I really know God better? I may be very knowledgeable about the Word of God and theology, but do I really have the wisdom of God? I may be well liked by many church members because of my preaching and teaching and other ministry performances, but have I accepted my ‘self’ as God has accepted me? You may have the answer too in your heart.

As we grow older, let us carefully examine our hearts. By the way, how old are you?

HHS…

Abel…

Hey Babe… (Hebrews 5:11-14) 250309

2009-03-25T10:22:00.003+08:00

I went into the room with trembling and fear. I was about to conduct a class for three small groups which has indicated that they are ready to move on from a Basic Accountability Group (BAG) to become an Ongoing Accountability Group (OAG). In our church, small groups are formed according to their spiritual maturity phase. As the name of BAG suggests, it is for Christians who need to develop and cultivate their basic spiritual disciplines and habits. And OAG will be for those who already have the basic in place and desire to dig deep into the Word of God to develop Christ-like character traits and qualities. So, members of an OAG need to know how to study the Word of God for themselves. That is why, I am teaching such a class on Sunday.

The reason I entered the room with trembling and fear was because these members whom I was teaching were almost all older than me, not only in term of age, but also in term of their years as a Christian. I humbly come before them just to offer a model of Inductive Bible Study which I compiled from various sources. I was surprised by their humility too, a heart of willingness to learn.

Today, as I read Hebrews 5:11-14, I can’t help, but to think of them. Many of them ought to be teachers, but still need again someone to teach them (v12). Of course they are not learning elementary stuffs, they are ready for real solid food as the author of Hebrews describes. The question I have, and the feedback I have received, is that our church has been neglecting this area of ministry for many years. Well, I wouldn’t say we have neglected the ministry of Christian Education; it is just that there has been no one anchoring such ministry to equip our members. Therefore, some turn elsewhere for such feeding.

I like the illustration of “milk” and “solid food” (v12-14). Leon Morris defines “milk” and “solid food” as follow:

“Milk” stands for elementary instruction in the Christian way. “Solid food” is, of course, more advanced instruction, the kind of teaching beginners cannot make much of but which is invaluable to those who have made some progress. What is appropriate at the early stages of the Christian life may cease to be suitable as time goes on.

It is not a differentiation of the word of God as “milk” or “solid food”. I am a firm believer that the Word of God is the same whether it is the form of “milk” or “solid food”. But it is the maturity of the listeners or Christians in this case which makes the difference.

I am a father of a 15 months old girl. I have witness how she grew from an infant who totally dependent on feeding of the caregivers to eating semi-solid food like cereal and porridge, and now she will ask for food, solid food, when she sees us eating. She loves to eat. She has an appetite for food. She wants to grow.

I hope that we are no longer a babe, but a hungry adult who desires to grow. If you desire to grow, you need to eat good and solid food. You need to constantly meditate on the Word of God and also study the Word of God. Maybe you long to study and understand the Word of God, but not knowing how to, go and ask someone who know.

Don’t let people call you babe, you can handle solid food. You have to grow. I was preaching in the Chinese ministry on Sunday, and I ended my sermon with this illustration to help the congregation to realize the need to grow:

My daughter is very cute. She sucks her finger; that’s cute. She blabbers her words; that’s funny. She tumbles and stumbles as she walks; that’s cute and funny. She is only 15 months old. But when she is 15 years old and still sucks her finger; that’s not cute. If she still blabbers her words when she speaks; that’s not funny. And if she continues to tumble and stumble as she walks; that’s dangerous! To stretch our imagination further; when she is 35 years old and still sucking her finger, blabbing her words and tumbling and stumbling as she walks; that’s horrifying! A person who is not growing is horrifying.

Hey Babe! Grow up!

HHS…
Abel…

Day 28: Prodigal… (Luke 15:11-19) 24 Mar 09

2009-03-24T22:05:00.002+08:00

My daughter is disturbing me when I am writing this. She comes into my messy study room and trying to get my attention. I think she is not trying to get my attention; it is me being drawn to look at what she is doing in my room. I am afraid that she might pull a book off a table stack with books, unpack, and fall on her. I am concerned for her safety. I am also afraid that she might trip over some books or other stuff and fall to the ground (and she did). I have to pick her up and get her to go to her mother.

She is not a prodigal, yet I look out for her; because she is my precious child. I was a prodigal, and yet God looks out for me; because I am His precious child too. Now I understand the heart of the Father, a little bit. Now I know how much God loves me and concerns for me.

You and I was a prodigal before, far away from God, roaming around, squandering everything. But by the grace of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit, we have made our way back to the Father. Jesus was never a prodigal, but yet He had to make His way back to the Father, through the Cross.

Today, we can go straight back to the Father is because of what Jesus has done on the Cross. He has led the way, all we have to do is the follow Him. Prodigal makes his way to far away and comes back to the Father following the sign of the Cross. Which journey are you on?

Look to the Cross, and go back to the Father; for this is the right way to go.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 27: Grumbler… (Luke 15:1-2) 23 Mar 09

2009-03-23T18:35:00.001+08:00

So called sinners were there to listen to Jesus, but the holier-than-thou Pharisees were there to grumble. I have checked out the word ‘grumble’, it can be traced all the way back to the exodus event, whereby the Israelites grumbled about God in the wilderness. And God caused them to wander around in the wilderness for forty years, so that they might learn to listen to God.

As a Singaporean, we like to complain. It is not much different from grumbling. We complain about almost everything. We complain about the ERP, we complain about the traffic jam, we complain about the church air condition too cold, we complain about the worship music too loud, we complain about no fellowship and we also complain about too much fellowship. Sometimes, I am also confused about what we really want. I think God is also confused! Or maybe He is concerned.

He is concerned about our grumbling, which is in the form of complain. He is concerned that we don’t know what we what. He is concerned that we do not take time to listen to Him to tell us what we really need. Maybe He has to bring us through a season of wilderness before we start to listen. I think this season of Lent can give us an opportunity to be in a wilderness, wandering towards the Cross and learn to listen.

Be a listener, not a grumbler.

Stop saying or making any comment which is negative. Instead, quiet down your heart and mind to listen to what God is say about those situations. It can be refrained from complaining to God about your spouse of his or her bad habits, listen to what God is saying about your love and patience. It can also be refraining from complaining to your colleague about your seemingly unreasonable boss who gives you extra work, listen to what God is saying about your self-control and graciousness.

Stop being a grumbler or complainer, be a listener.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 26: Lost and Found… (Luke 15) 22 Mar 09

2009-03-22T22:01:00.001+08:00

Today is the Lord’s Day of rest, but as a pastor, today is a day of work; I preached at the Chinese Ministry, and I conducted training for three small groups for them to get ready for their next phase of small group journey. I discovered that I have lost my voice at the end of the day.
I remember there was once I lost my voice and could not speak for a few days, but God spoke to me and I began the journey with Him till today. I lost my voice, but God found me.

When I read today’s passage, Luke 15, there are three stories of lost and found. I realize that it is not a bad thing to be lost at times. Unless we lost ourselves, we might never been found. And unless we realize that we are lost, we will not start to find our ways back to where we should go.

The journey to the Cross during this season of Lent is a long one, and I will not be surprised if some of us are lost along the way. And perhaps we are already lost at the beginning of the journey. As you meditate on Luke 15, which areas of your life are lost? Is God speaking to you about those areas? I think God has found you, have you found God?

If you are lost in this economic crisis, find your security in Christ. If you are lost in a relationship, find your identity and worth in Christ. If you are lost in your journey with God, find the direction of the Cross and look to it and start taking a small step toward the Cross. It is never too late to start your journey; Christ has already found you while you are still far away from the Cross.

I am found, a lost soul.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 25: People matters… (Psalm 121) 20 Mar 09

2009-03-21T22:18:00.003+08:00

I am not too sure how the author of On The Cross Road links Psalm 121 and his Day 22 article. But I guess his central message is that we need to be like Jesus, actively contemplating about God. Jesus is constantly in communication with God. He is always take time to retreat and spend it with God. It is not that He does not hear from God as He is busy ministering to people, He is just demonstrating to His disciples the need of spending time with God; letting Him to tell us how much He loves us.

Jesus also demonstrates His love for people. He always has time for people. He is busy but never hurried. He walks around to meet the needs of people, He never runs. He not only sits among the people to listen to them, He takes time to eat with them. He not only sympathizes with people’s suffering by seeing and living among them, He actually goes all the way to the Cross to experience it. He even goes beyond he Cross to the grave and then to the throne.

This is the extent of Jesus’ love for me, also for you. He is always with us, whether or not we know or acknowledge it. He listens to all my complaints, He bears with all my nonsense, and He forgives all my sins. You can also love other people like Jesus does. Just be there to listen to your spouse when he or she is talking, refrain from talking back if he or she says anything negative about you. You can just give your children a hug and tell them you love them. You can also lend your listening ears to a complaining colleague. Don’t hurry off to finish your dishes or your work or your lunch, give people around you some of your time. People matter to Jesus, as you are.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 24: Space… (Luke 10:42) 20 Mar 09

2009-03-20T23:56:00.001+08:00

I am a bit spaced out when I am writing this. It is closed to midnight, and I still have to go to office tomorrow. I am not complaining, but I am just tired. Pastoral ministry can be very draining; I can spend the entire day immersing myself in preparing this Sunday sermon, and then listen to some other people problem. These are energy zappers. I am not complaining, but this is the reality of a pastor.

I don’t know how other pastors always seem to be so full of energy without recharging, they just tell me that they are on fire for God and can keep going. They also tell me that I have overcome my desire to rest because that is not from God; God’s servant cannot be lazy! Sometimes I really feel guilty when I am in the midst of those very efficient pastors. That is why I don’t particularly like to go for pastor conference or networking, talking to those pastors there makes me feels like I am a lazy bum! And networking means more work!

I need space. I need silence and solitude so that I can have space within myself to let God occupy me. Though I am tired and sleepy now, I am glad that I spend sometimes in silence and giving God space in my heart to let Him fill me. I think I am happier like this than going for another meeting.

I think I will have a sweet dream, because I have created some space for God to be there in my dream tonight. Do you have space for God too? Maybe this is the one thing Jesus wants Martha to have. Maybe it is also for you.

Let’s spaced out.

HHS…
Abel…

Higher Priest… (Hebrews 5:5-10) 200309

2009-03-20T10:24:00.002+08:00

Jesus is our High Priest. He fulfills the qualifications and requirements to be our High Priest. He is surely divinely appointed by God (v5-6). He is also able to empathize and sympathize with us as He has gone through sufferings and even death (v7-8). Furthermore, Jesus has been made perfect through His suffering, as in completed the work on the Cross and becomes the source of eternal salvation (v9). Jesus is more than a high priest, He is our Higher Priest.

The idea that Jesus was sent by God to earth to walk the path of suffering, it is unthinkable. Knowing that Jesus is our Higher or even the Highest Priest is comforting, but His journey to the Cross is also something worthwhile pondering upon. As I read this passage, technically I can write a paper on how come Jesus qualifies as our High Priest, but the point is not about Jesus role as our High Priest. This is a fact; this is predestined before the foundation of the world. The more personal question will be: what does it mean for me that Jesus has to go through sufferings and death on the Cross, just to be my High Priest?

I am especially amazed and amused as I am walking with Jesus on this journey in this season of Lent. As a pastor, I love my members and I try to empathize and sympathize with them. To a certain extent, I suffer for them, but I do not have to die for them. Even I have to die for them; I don’t need to die on the Cross. Jesus does not only qualify Himself to be our High Priest, He even goes an extra mile to the Cross and beyond, so that we can have a Higher Priest.

When I think of Jesus having to go through sufferings and death on the Cross, I am grateful. I am also remorseful for the things I have done and hopeful that my sins are forgiven because of His work on the Cross. How about you?

Today is Friday, and the weekends will be a good time for us to once again to slow down and meditate on the Cross, especially we are in the season of Lent. You may be busy with ministry service or with your family, and even your work; but I hope you will craft some time out to simply reflect on Jesus as being our Higher Priest. He is no longer on that Cross, He has gone beyond that Cross. What does that mean to you?

TGIF: Thank God It’s Friday.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 23: A loud silence… (Luke 10:38-42) 19 Mar 09

2009-03-19T22:05:00.001+08:00

I realize that many who are in the pastoral ministry are a changed person. Many of them whom I know are formally an introvert. Most of them are quiet, shy, preferred to be alone; but because of what the nature of pastoral ministry, they have become more extrovert and outgoing.

I also have changed. My wife says that I used to be very rowdy, loud and outgoing; but I have become more and more introvert lately. I have become more and more contemplative. I rather stay away from people than be with people. I have grown to become very comfortable being alone with God. I have mellowed. I have become silence.

I think my wife assessment of me is true. I don’t hate meeting people, but I treasure my time meditating the Word of God and dwelling in His Presence. I prefer reading than running program. I prefer waiting than walking around and look for things to do. I prefer practice solitude than praying louder and louder. I see value in my quietness and silence. I hear a loud ‘Amen’ in my silence prayer.

I am not against praying out loud, I pray out loud too. I am not against being sensitive to the needs of others and get things done; I am sensing the needs of others too. I am also not against programs, for I am running some programs to help people too. But I see the power of silence which cannot be found in doing things. I found that silence can be very loud. I found that I can drown in silence.

What do you do when you are silence? Maybe the next time you drive, turn off your radio or player, and listen to the silence, what do you hear? I have written a lot, let me go and be silence.

HHS…

Abel…

High Priest… (Hebrews 5:1-4) 190309

2009-03-19T10:37:00.003+08:00

I am so glad that the qualification and job description of a high priest stipulated in the Scripture includes personal weaknesses (v2). F. F. Bruce suggests that there are only two qualifications, namely: a) able to sympathize with those whom he represents, and b) divinely appointed to his office. Whereas George H. Guthrie proposes that the author of Hebrews outlines four main principles related to the office of high priest as described in the Old Testament:

The high priest originates from among people (v1).
The role of the high priest is to represent people in matters related to God, especially through offering gifts and sacrifices (v1–2).
The high priest’s weakness enables him to deal gently with people, and he is required to offer sacrifices for himself as well as for the people (v2-3).
God is the One who confers the office of high priest by appointment (v1, 4).

Whatever it is, high priest is God ordained, and he comes from among the people of God. A high priest is no different from any other people; he is also succumbed to temptation and sin. And a pastor in modern day context has the role of a high priest too. I am so glad that I am not expected to be superhuman, but at the same time, God has ordained me and will help me to fulfill the role and responsibilities He has entrusted me.

Of course, we Christians are also called to the royal priesthood according to Peter in 1 Pet. 2:9. Therefore, in some sense we have a divine calling and yet having the human tendency to sin. But at the same time, God has also given us the assurance that He will be with us to help us as we are called by Him. And because when we understand that we are also a sinner (redeemed one), we can empathize with others.

There is a Greek word in verse 2 that interests me. It is metriopathein which generally translates as ‘deal gently’. Even commentator like Leon Morris thinks that:

It is not easy to translate metriopathein (NIV, "to deal gently with"). It refers to taking the middle course between apathy and anger. A true high priest is not indifferent to moral lapses; neither is he harsh. He "is able" to take this position only because he himself shares in the same "weakness" as the sinners on whom he has compassion. The word may denote physical or moral frailty, and the following words show that in the case of the usual run of high priests the latter is included. The earthly high priest is at one with his people in their need for atonement and forgiveness.

But this word gives me a sense of comfort. As a pastor, I don’t have to be perfect. I will never be perfect, and I don’t have to pretend to be perfect. I don’t need to be even better than others. All I need, and very importantly, is to know that I am no different from others and others are no different from me.

If I have struggles with pornography and lust in the past, my members will also struggle. I am called to pray for them and help them. If I have the problem of pride, even now, I am sure that my members are prideful too. I am called to remind them and myself to be humble. If I have difficulty managing my anger at times, I believe that my members’ outburst and rudeness are understandable. I have to direct their anger to the Lord rather to anything or anyone else. If I have been dishonest in the past and not willing to be opened to share my thoughts and feeling, I am sure that the walls which my members have must have their reasons. I have to help them to bring down the bricks of the wall one by one, rather than merely crush down the entire wall at once, leaving them expose and vulnerable.

My point is: be understanding. Be in the shoes of others. But first, take off our own shoes, for we are high priest before the holy God.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 22: Martha, Martha… (Luke 10:38-42) 18 Mar 09

2009-03-18T21:54:00.001+08:00

Jesus called Martha twice. There is endearment. Jesus wants Martha’s attention. Today, Jesus is calling your name twice too. He wants your attention. Are you giving Him your attention? Are you willing to put aside what you are doing and just listen to Him?

I am supposed to write my sermon for this Sunday, Chinese Ministry. But when I read this, I stop. I pack and go. I come home and wait for Jesus to speak to me. I don’t know what is He trying to say, but I am sure it is never wrong to listen to God. It is never a waste of time to wait upon the Lord.

Sometime, I feel that I am too busy with doing things, but forgotten to slow down and even pause to reflect if what I am doing is what God wants me to do. I can be busy writing devotions, but is it what God wants me to do? Are there any people out there reading? I can be busy organizing Adult Bible Fellowship groups, but is it what God wants me to do? Do our people really need this kind of fellowship? I can be busy running the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades matter, but is it what God wants me to do? How many of these children actually benefitted through our programs?

Sometime, all these ministries, activities and programs can drive me weary and dry. I know these are good things to be done. I know my blog has encouraged some, I know there are people who want to have fellowship, and I know that there are children being blessed. But I also need to be at where Mary is, at the feet of Jesus.

Between Martha and Mary is not an either or, it is both. I need to be like Martha, serve with joy and out of my giftedness. But when Jesus calls me with endearment, I need to response and be there to listen. I also need to be like Mary, drawing close to Jesus and simply be in His presence. But when Jesus calls me to give a cup of cold water to the thirsty, I need to response and go out to the thirsty with a cup of cold water.

Today, Jesus is calling you and I again. He is calling your name twice. Listen to Him. Wait as He speaks.

HHS…
Abel…

Yet without sin… (Hebrews 4:14-16) 180309

2009-03-18T10:16:00.002+08:00

This passage is loaded with theological terms, highly religious. As George H. Guthrie writes in “Bridging Contexts” in The NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews, he points out the following:

With Hebrews 4:14 – 16 we move into a section of the book highly dependent on religious language from the Old Testament. For modern readers — especially those whose association with church and church culture is limited — the concepts of high priesthood, faith, temptation, sin, the throne of grace, and mercy may seem obscure at best. One can imagine a secular, hard-edged businesswoman sitting in on a church service in which this passage is being preached. She might stare ahead glassy-eyed as the minister delights in the intricacies of old covenant worship; she might be awed at his obvious education or cringe at her own stark ignorance; and she might not come back — if he does not help her see the phenomenal relevance of this text for her life, work, and relationships.

But at the same time, for me who has been a Christian for many years, this passage speaks of the divine reaching down to earth. The high priest here refers to Jesus, the Son of God. He is not a selected human agent who is given the honor to represent humanity as a high priest, but He is the One who ought to receive the sin offerings from human high priest, comes down to be that high priest. This blows the mind of many, including mine.

Jesus did not come as an invincible or know-it-all being. He came as a son of a carpenter in a Jewish family. He came and was tempted to sin in every way, but yet without sin (v15). In the Gospel accounts, we read only three temptations issued by the devil, but all scholars will agree that Jesus was tempted in every way during the forty days in the wilderness. Leon Morris writes in The Expositor's Bible Commentary that:

The main point is that, though Jesus did not sin, we must not infer that life was easy for him. His sinlessness was, at least in part, an earned sinlessness as he gained victory after victory in the constant battle with temptation that life in this world entails. Many have pointed out that the Sinless One knows the force of temptation in a way that we who sin do not. We give in before the temptation has fully spent itself; only he who does not yield knows its full force.

Whenever I read this passage, I know that I have failed my Lord Jesus. I have circum to temptation and fall into sins way too many times. The only comfort I have is that I know Jesus really understand and can sympathize with my weaknesses (v15). It is like one drug addict seeking help from an ex-drug addict, having the confident and comfort that he has been there, done that, and fully understands his struggles.

And by the grace of God, there is hope. I can always draw near to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace (v16). It is like a criminal coming before the judge, pleading guilty and the sentence is acquitted because I am the son of the judge. But the story doesn’t end like this, the judge who pronounces me not guilty, has to bear the sentence of my crime. This is the story of the Cross.

The season of Lent is the season of the Cross. Drawing near to the throne of grace is drawing near to the Cross. It is because what Jesus has done on the Cross; there is the throne of grace.

Are you feeling guilty today? Is there any temptation you are facing right now? A colleague who has been flirting with you, a click away from entering a pornography site, a cheque to your account which you do not deserve, a cheat in exam to get you a grade higher, or a clever idea to win at the expense of another person. Temptation is everywhere. Temptation is here. Jesus is tempted too, but yet without sin.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 21: Practical discipleship… (Luke 10:38-42) 17 Mar 09

2009-03-17T22:23:00.001+08:00

Being contemplative is being quiet. Being devoted is being attentive. Being hospitable is being warm and busy. Being a disciple is being servant. Can I be a disciple and yet be a listener? Can I be a disciple and yet silence? Can I be disciple and be hospitable? Can I be a disciple who is practical and yet spiritual?

Recently, my denomination is having its Annual General Meeting. It is to sort out some issues and have agreement and consensus so that we can go about another year of our business. The meeting, which I have attended before as an observer, is like a business meeting. But we are a religious body and the things we discuss are spiritual! But how can spiritual things be business like? How can a disciple be practical?

The account of Martha and Mary is a battle of many Christians of today: being practical like Martha, preparing and serving to honor Jesus the Lord; and being a disciple like Mary, sitting and meditating at the feet of Jesus. I don’t think it is a battle, neither is it a tight rope for us to walk on. It is possible to practice practical discipleship.

How? I don’t know. But we have to. We are living in a real world; we are also living in a spiritual world. We are called to be the light of the world, and salt of the earth; not light to the sun, salt to the sea. We are to be useful and practical, but at the same time retain our identity by being with our Creator.

This journey to the Cross came to a house; a house with a hospitable Martha and contemplative Mary. They are not enemies, they are sisters. They both love the Lord Jesus. They both want to give their best to Jesus. Martha gives of her service and Mary gives of her devotion. Both are equally important, and Jesus is not in favor of one over another. It is not Mary’s devotion that Jesus is commenting over Martha’s distraction. It is Mary’s humility of accepting who she is in Christ and not trying to be someone else or asking someone else to be liked her.

In church, when we see other not serving, we will think that this person is not as spiritual as us. Or when we see other not participating in prayer meetings, we will think that this person doesn’t pray as much as you. We often think that our form of spiritual discipline in the only form.

Practical discipleship is to accept that we are all practicing spiritual discipline differently as the Lord has gifted us. And each of our unique way of practicing spiritual discipline neatly forms the complete picture of practical discipleship. Are you one of them?

HHS…
Abel…

Naked Truth… (Hebrews 4:12-13) 170309

2009-03-17T10:34:00.002+08:00

This is not going to be an article with adult content, and it doesn’t require parental guidance to read. But I still have to issue a warning to the readers: you might find yourselves naked and vulnerable, if you are honest with yourself.

Verse 12 of Hebrews chapter 4 is a very rich verse. There are many truths and theological views we can glean from it. Firstly, the word of God is living and active. This informs the readers that the word of God is more than words; neither is it a magical book with some mystical power. It is living as in alive, and not death. It is active rather than passive. The word of God is at work even when we don’t see it at work. It has life, just like you and I as the word of God is God-breathed or inspired (2 Tim. 3:16), similar language used in Genesis 2:7.

Secondly, the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. The word of God is not a defensive shield, but an offensive sword. The armor imagery illustrated by Paul in Ephesians 6: 14-17, tells us that it is a weapon of the Spirit. The word of God is more than logos, but also rhema, the kairos or timely word of God. The sharpness of the Sword cannot be compared with any other sword. This reminds me of those martial arts movies I have watched in the past, whereby those swordmen go all the way out to seek for the most powerful and sharpest sword. And the word of God is that kind of sword, I have one, do you have one?

Thirdly, the word of God divides the soul and spirit. This points us to the theology of human makeup: Dichotomy (only two parts) or Trichotomy (three parts). Dichotomism views that the soul and spirit are one in human being, and the Trichotomism views that the body, spirit and soul are different. The Dichotomist will say that this verse supports their view because the soul and spirit are so enmeshed that it needs the supernatural mean of God’s word to divide them. But the Trichotomist will also say that this verse clearly shows that spirit and soul are two separate-able entities. What do I say? I view that the spirit and soul are distinct but enmeshed and only the word of God can differentiate them.

And fourthly, the word of God judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The word of God convicts the sins of our hearts. It knows the thoughts of our minds and the intentions of our hearts so that it can actively reveal to us as we read and convicts us to transform. This is the power of the word of God. That is why the author of Hebrews concludes in verse 13 that no creatures hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him. In other words, we lay naked before the word of God. We stand naked before the truth.

If the word of God is living and active, if the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, if the word of God can divide the soul and spirit, and if the word of God is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart; how else can we escape from the sight of God? Have you ever try hiding away from God? I did. Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). But with no avail. There is no way we can hide, at least I can’t hide. The word of God keeps exposing me.

Maybe God is calling you to serve in some areas but you are not willing and try to evade the issue. But you find yourself reading the Bible telling you to serve, listening to the sermon telling you to serve, studying the Bible which the conclusion is that you are to serve. You can run, but you cannot hide.

When you open the word of God today, be prepared to be naked, as you face the naked truth. I am naked now, in truth.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 20: No Hurry… (Luke 10:38-42) 16 Mar 09

2009-03-16T22:15:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, the Oikos (Young families with young children) fellowship was learning from John Ortberg about the spiritual discipline of slowing down and celebration. He has a very interesting way of diagnosing the problem of our modern society and gives very creative suggestions to help us to cultivate these spiritual disciplines. And today, as I read the article by Ser Choon; I can’t help but to acknowledge that God is speaking to me about a sickness I have (maybe you also have it): the hurried sickness.

I hurried my wife to shop, when I was supposed to spend an undisturbed and uninterrupted date with her today. But we remind each other of what we learnt yesterday and decide to slow down. We stroll along Orchard Road. We eat the food that we like, though we discover that those were really unhealthy food at the evening, we ate them anyway. We buy the things we like, because we want to be happy today without rush. No hurry when come to being happy, else it will go off very soon.

We really enjoy our date. We do house chores together in the morning (I think I did more), we eat oily prata together (which my wife really enjoys), we watch an Oscar movie (Slumdog Millionaire) with popcorns and chilly aircons, we shop (my wife favorite), we eat KFC for lunch (that’s my favorite), and we shop again till we go home to play with our daughter. It is an enjoyable date, with no hurry.

I think God also want us to enjoy Him with no hurry. We can have very different styles of getting intimate with God, but the goal is to enjoy God with no hurry. If you can enjoy God by serving others, by all means take your time to serve with the best you know of with no hurry. If you can enjoy God by read His word, by all means read it slowly and enjoy the articulation of every words from your lip with no hurry. If you can enjoy God by being alone with Him, by all means be alone and have no hurry to return. And if you can enjoy God by doing a lot of things, by all means just do it with no hurry.

Maybe you can try actually chewing the food you eat slowly and enjoy God’s providence, especially with a plate of good fried kway teow. Maybe you can also try queuing behind the longest checkout counter when you next visit the supermarket and enjoy the grace of God.

If you don’t do it today or yesterday, don’t worry, there is no hurry. Try it again tomorrow.

As a father, I learn that I have to enjoy every moment of my daughter growing up. She might be a nuisance when she didn’t know how to walk and needed me to carry her everywhere she went; now she doesn’t want me to carry her because she has learnt how to walk. Now she is learning how to talk and expressing herself, I want to enjoy her frustration and expressing her feeling so directly, because one day she may not want to talk to me anymore. There is really no hurry, enjoy the moment of life now.

I am going off now to enjoy the rest of my night. You should go and enjoy yours too, with no hurry.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 19: Three Persons… (Luke 10:21-22) 15 Mar 09

2009-03-15T23:11:00.002+08:00

The doctrine of Trinity is a complex one. No one can fully understand it or clearly explain it. I am not going to attempt the impossible. But I accept the incomprehensible. I am reminded today when I conduct the baptism class, when we cannot understand certain things or when it is difficult to be explained or understand; it does not mean that it is not true. It only shows the greatness of God’s wisdom which is beyond our mental and intellectual capacity.

When this passage brings out the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God the Father, I bet the first century readers will be lost. I don’t think even Apostle Paul has a full understanding. But nonetheless, we can clearly see that he too have the concept of Trinity permeating through his epistles.

But why does God bother to reveal Himself in three Persons? Won’t it be easier and cleaner to be One? I don’t know. Will it really be easier? Will we have a better relationship with God if He only reveals Himself as God, the only God? I really don’t know.

I have been thinking of how the Muslims fear God and are so fervent for God. Because in their monotheist faith. God is God. And we Christians have one True God, but three Persons; and we can’t figure out how to worship God. We either over-honor one or neglect the other.

As we approach the Cross this season, let us be sure that God the Father has planned all these before the foundation of the world, and Jesus the Son takes one step at time to approach and fulfill the plan of God, which is the Cross. And the Holy Spirit simply weaves Himself in and through the entire plan and demonstrates the plan even beyond the Cross.

How do you understand God today? Are you praying to God the Father more or to Jesus the Son more or to the Holy Spirit more? Unless we really know them well, we will have bias and slant towards one against another.

Be fair, to the three Persons.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 18: Name… (Luke 10:17-20) 14 Mar 09

2009-03-14T22:05:00.001+08:00

My name is Abel. In Hebrews, it means shortness, brief like a vapor, or vanity (used in Ecclesiastes). The Biblical Abel lived short life, killed by his brother Cain. That is the name I chose for myself when I was baptized, not knowing the full meaning of this name. All I want is a Christian name to start with ‘A’. But it is also my name which I confirm my calling as a pastor; Abel is probably the first shepherd or keeper of flocks (Gen. 4:2); and I know that God has placed in me a holy discontent to shepherd His people.

So much about my name; but my name is meaningless with the Name: Jesus. Jesus is a very common name among the Jewish community at His time. This is the intention of God: Jesus is as common as He can be so that we can trust that He understands our common struggles and pains. But the name of Jesus is being lifted up high with authority which can summon the power of God, is because of what Jesus has done on the Cross. It is because of His simple obedience. It is not an easy one; it is a painful and cruel one. But Jesus goes through it, step by step moving towards the Cross, because He loves those names which He has written in His hands.

I know my name is in His hand. I am secured, I am saved. Are you?

My name has no value at all if it is not written in Jesus’ hand. My name has no meaning if I do not live in the name of Jesus. My life is powerless and hopeless without Jesus’ name. We know it and we even teach it our children. When we say grace or a prayer, we end with: In Jesus’ Name, Amen! Why? Jesus never teaches such formula to His disciples, but His disciples know that whatever they do in Jesus’ name, there is power follows; but if they do it not in the name of Jesus, powerless. Even non-followers of Jesus using Jesus’ name has power.

Do you want to have power in your life? Power here does not refer to supernatural power only, but it has more to do with authority. Your authority to live a life which is pleasing to God lies in the name of Jesus. You authority to love other people like God would do so also lies in the name of Jesus. If living a life pleasing to God and loving other people is what you want, know the name of Jesus.

The name of Jesus is more than a sign off phrase for prayer. It is a marker of my identity in God. Acknowledgement of the name of Jesus is acknowledging His work on the Cross. If Jesus never goes to the Cross, I am hopeless. Jesus’ work on the Cross is the bridge for me to be the child of God, and my identity is a child of God because of Jesus’ name being established on the Cross. Therefore, my name has meaning and value. Therefore, even my name is Abel, it is for eternity.

What is your name?

HHS…
Abel…

Day 17: Give up… (Luke 9:57-62) 13 Mar 09

2009-03-14T00:16:00.002+08:00

I almost want to give up and skip this devotion. So I will keep it really short. If I give up, I will be breaking a promise to myself, I will feel that I am useless and cannot even keep up to what I have committed to do. If I give up; I will be seen as not as ‘spiritual’ as I should be, not able to keep up with my own devotion. Then how to lead others?

But as I take a little time to meditate and reflect my motive of wanting to write, it is not because I have a reputation to live for, or an expectation to live up to. In the first place, no one knows expect me to write, the church does pay me to write. I am also not a well-know writer whereby people are looking forward to read my devotions, not many people actually read. Am I writing out of a sense of legalistic spirit or a sense of joy because God is speaking to me in my writing? I think the answer is the later one: I do have a sense of joy as I write because God speaks to me as I write.

God impresses in my heart and through my fingers, He reveals to me my deep desires and also His timely word for me. I really want to give up tonight. But I am glad I write, because God has revealed to me my motive of writing. Then when the day comes whereby God demands me to giving up writing, I will have to face the challenge of choosing between God and what God has given me.

Just like my family which God has given me, it will be very painful for me to give up on them or rather for them to leave me. But ultimately I have to choose God over them. It is easier to say than done. I only pray that I will keep remembering that all I have is given by God, I am merely a steward, I am to give them up and back to God anything as He wants them back for good.

Are you ready to give up too? I am very sleepy now. I have to stop. I give up.

HHS…
Abel…

Diligent rest… (Hebrews 4:6-11) 130309

2009-03-13T10:13:00.004+08:00

This is the third time the author of Hebrews quotes: Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts (3:7b-8a; 3:15; 4:7). I think this is it! The message is so clear! There must be people among the original audience of Hebrews are either not listening to God’s voice or hardening their hearts even if they hear it.

As I survey through the book of Hebrews up till this point, I can sense that people in those days are making almost the same mistake of their forefathers. And the author of Hebrews is issuing a set of warnings and reminders to them. He reminds them of the finished work of Christ which can enable them to enter rest. May it be Sabbath rest, or soteriological rest, or eschatological rest; Christ death on the Cross demands us to rest. And the warning for me will be: Today if I hear His voice, do not harden my heart! How can I miss such warning if it is repeated three times?

Therefore, the question will remain: what have I heard from the Lord which I need to listen and not harden my heart?

Rest.

Diligent rest.

When I read this phrase: Let us therefore be diligent to enter rest (v11), I think that it is an oxymoron. How can one be diligent while resting? And how can a restful person engage in diligent work? Most scholars will argue that the ‘rest’ here most like is referring to eschatological rest, which is in line with Paul’s idea of working out our salvation with fear and trembling in Philippians 2:12. But I will view the ‘rest’ also includes the soteriological rest and hope and assurance in Christ that one does not require to perform to please God.

As I meditate, I begin to realize what the author of Hebrews is trying to say. In the entire context of Hebrews up till this point, he is warning and reminding his readers for their lack of faith in Christ completed work on the Cross, not believing the rest which is promised by God. The author wants his readers to be diligent in listening to the voice of God, which is why he repeats this three times. And remember to rest.

As a pastor, this is the most difficult thing to do. There are so many needs out there; people need counseling, patients need to be visited at hospital, preaching and teaching need to be prepared, events and programs need to be organized, and family members need to be taken care of. What is left for a pastor? No time to rest. I already experienced burnout even before I come back to ministry last year, I have told myself and I will have to ruthlessly eliminate all obstacles for me to have time to rest.

I plan my rest day. I plan my day alone with God. I diligently guard it and not to receive any phone calls or ministry related assignment. I don’t even read theological book or prepare my sermons and teaching. I only do things which I enjoy and have extended time to soak in God’s presence. And it is not easy to do so. I have to diligently find rest.

I discover that only when I have enough rest, I can be more diligent in what God has for me to do. Have you been resting lately? Or you are resting late? Diligently find time to rest. Ruthlessly rest. Diligent rest.

I will be very busy this week end, in fact after I finish this devotion; I will be running around. I will be checking out Sungei Buloh, and then meeting an young adult for lunch, and then visit a Boys’ Brigade Company, and then prepare for small group Bible Study tonight, and then run Boys’ Brigade program tomorrow, and then teach Baptism class on Sunday morning, and then coordinate Adult Bible Fellowship in the afternoon, and then family dinner. But I will be having my Day Alone with God on Monday and off day on Tuesday. So, let me rest.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 16: Touching Persons… (Luke 9:51-56) 12 Mar 09

2009-03-12T22:15:00.002+08:00

I remember the song I like to sing when I was leading youth ministry: Touching Heaven, Changing Earth. It is a song of inspiration, a song that motivates. It is catchy and upbeat. It is about the power of God which able to touch the heaven and change the earth. I hope that my youth ministry will be able to move in God’s power to touch the heaven and change the earth. But today, I am reminded, Jesus primary task for me is to touch persons; one at the time; person after person.

Jesus has touched my life, and I am to touch other people life. Today, I have a conversation with a friend and I was challenging him to put aside the management and organization, but to really love the people he is serving and people who are serving alongside with him. Yes, ministry is about people, it is not about program, it is also not about power being demonstrated. It is about how God by His grace touch another person’s life through you and me.

Have you tell someone that God care and love? Maybe you can tell it to your spouse by giving him or her a kiss and a hug. Maybe you can tell your children or siblings about it by giving them your listening ear. Maybe you can also tell it to your boss and colleague by writing them a thank you card for being gracious to you and pray a prayer of blessing for them. Maybe you can tell anyone on the street by giving them your broad sunny smile.

You never know how much your hug and kiss can mean to your spouse, and warm up his or her heart which has been cold for days or perhaps months. You never know how valuable your time to listen to your children or siblings means, and how it opens up the closed can of hurts and bitterness to exchange for God’s forgiveness and grace. You never know how appreciative your boss and your colleagues will be, knowing that there is someone who still cares and values them in this competitive and harsh society. You also never know how your smile can be the only sign of hope they have in such a gloomy economic atmosphere.

Go and touch persons. Smile. :)

HHS…
Abel…

Rest… (Hebrews 4:3-5) 120309

2009-03-12T09:50:00.002+08:00

Are you very busy when you are reading this? Are you trying to think of where are you going to have your lunch while reading this? Are you trying to figure out what will be your boss announcing to you after lunch in this time of economic downturn while reading this? Are you trying to plan your study schedule and at the same time squeezing some time for your love one while reading this? Take a break; you can even stop reading this. You can simply go to window (if you manage to find one) and take a deep breath and be silence and rest.

Today’s text has a lot to talk about ‘rest’. Many different scholars had many different views of what is this ‘rest’ here refers to. Some says that it is referring to an eschatological rest of the future when Christ final kingdom comes (P. E. Hughes), and some says that this rest refers to God’s rest on the seventh day (G. Theissen). Whether this ‘rest’ has a future orientation or a present and now reality; we are not to take rest lightly.

As my personal style in biblical interpretation, I will hold on both suggestions. I believe that the author of Hebrews has an eschatological view of a rest which is permanent at the end of days as he contrasts it with the foundation of the world (v3). On the other hand, when the author quotes an Old Testament Scripture to substantiate his argument, he also brings in the idea of a rest on a particular day, just as God rested on the seventh day from all His works (v4). The text also repeats the phrase: They shall not enter My rest, in verse 3 and 5. To me, this has great implication: the rest can also mean soteriological rest. This is a the kind of rest whereby we enter in now by faith in Christ and continue the process until we enter the eschatological rest when Christ comes again. Harold Attridge articulates this position well:

Thus the imagery of rest is best understood as a complex symbol for the whole soteriological process that Hebrews never fully articulates, but which involves both personal and corporate dimensions. It is the process of entry into God’s presence, the heavenly homeland (11:16), the unshakeable kingdom (12:28), begun at baptism (10:22) and consummated as a whole eschatologically.

So, my question will be: which part of rest you are in? Have you enter the soteriological rest already? Have you put your faith in Christ for such rest? Are you aware of the need to rest now as God is at work while you rest? Do you have any time of your day or day in a month to really rest in the presence of God, to enjoy Him at work? Do you look forward for the eschatological rest whereby you and I will be completely perfected in Christ because of what He has done for us on the Cross?

What does rest mean to us as we are traveling together to the Cross on this journey of Lent? Do you have an assurance of eternal rest? Do you have periodical rest to reflect and re-orientate and refresh as you continue the journey? Do you look forward to the final rest in Christ?

So, start learning to rest.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 15: In His Name… (Luke 9:47-50) 11 Mar 09

2009-03-11T20:10:00.001+08:00

My wife and I have been teaching my daughter to pray and give thanks. Whenever we feed her, we will ask her to pray, and she will put her two little hands together. After we have finished giving thanks, we will say: “In Jesus’ name…” then she will finish for us by saying: “Ah… Meh”!

I am grateful that God is placing in the little heart of this little child a sense of knowledge of Him. Even as a pastor, I do not know how I can be sure that she will grow up knowing God and live in His name. The point here is not about how clever my daughter is, or how spiritual I am to teach her to say grace and pray; it is about the name of Jesus. It is about the grace of Jesus that my daughter can be saved even at this young age.

I have no idea and cannot explain how this can happen, but it is the grace of God whereby my little girl is in the arm of a BIG God. That is what makes that little child in today’s text prominent. It is not because this little child has anything special, it is because he is to be received and welcomed in the name of Jesus (v48). And again, just like the guy who cast out demons in Jesus name whom the disciples tried to stop (v49). It is not what that guy did that Jesus commented; it is His name that Jesus was pointing to His disciples.

I have been ministering to people of obscurity lately. People who are not prominent in church, people who can disappear and no one will notice, and people who are out there in an obscure corner of our community. I don’t usually share about my ministering to others, this is exceptional. And you also don’t know who they are, because even if I tell you, you probably don’t know them too. Anyway, I do find it difficult and a struggle to do so. I want to be seen ‘working’, I want to be seen as effective and fruitful. But I know that this ministry of mine will be unnoticed and unrewarded. But this is the ministry of Jesus; this is the grace and power of His name.

When was the last time you proclaim the name of Jesus to the taxi driver who has complained to you the whole of your journey with him? Or to a hawker who overcharged you your plate of chicken rice? Or to the little children at the play ground when you bring your child to play? Or to the old folks who sit at your void deck starring at the ceiling?

The name of Jesus has power and grace.

HHS…

Abel…

Promise of Rest… (Hebrews 4:1-2) 110309

2009-03-11T10:28:00.001+08:00

I agree with George H. Guthrie, that the author of Hebrews is a master of effective transitions. He begins chapter 4 by weaving his concern that the hearers not “fall short” (the emphasis in his commentary on Ps. 95 in Heb. 3) with an introduction to the promised rest that still exists for God’s people. Hebrews 4:1 offers an exhortation to spiritual caution, and 4:2 provides a basis for this exhortation: Hearing God’s word is not enough; it must be combined with faith. These two verses, therefore, serve as a transition and summarize the content of both 3:7 – 19 and 4:3 – 13, by which they are sandwiched. Further, 4:1 – 2 exhorts the hearers to take action on the basis of the author’s discussion. (Taken from The NIV Application Commentary: Hebrews, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998.)

Yes, hearing the word of God is insufficient to have salvation. The word of God has to be combined and acted upon by faith so that we can experience the rest God has promised. Similarly, faith alone without the word of God, will not give us the full assurance of the rest God has promised. Word and faith goes hand in hand. And F. F. Bruce states that ‘it is not the hearing of the gospel by itself that brings final salvation, but its appropriation by faith; and if that faith is a genuine faith, it will be a persistent faith.’

The word salvation is implied by the word ‘rest’ in today’s text. The promise of such rest is something that we all looking forward to. I have been meeting up some young working adults lately and also my financial planner who is trying to convince my wife to join him in his business. They all have something in common, and I believe you too also find this familiar. They are all very busy. They have the perception that unless they work really hard, making themselves busy and effective, they are not going to enter ‘rest’ in the future.

I have nothing against being hardworking and planning for the future. We are all looking forward for some kind of ‘rest’ in the future. For my financial planner friend, he believes that unless he has sufficient amount of money, he will not be able to enjoy the ‘rest’ of his life. But he already has a lot of money! Some young working adults whom I know, they want to give their best shot in their career now and bury themselves in work, and hopefully that their bosses will recognize their effort and promote them accordingly. But in doing so, they have neglected what they also believe as important: the time of ‘rest’ with God.

I am in a life stage whereby I am really stretched all direction. My parents need my care as I am the only child living in Singapore with them (both my sisters are overseas), my family will need my love and attention as my daughter is only fifteen months old and my wife is a working mom, and my ministry is new to me and I have plenty to learn. I can be very busy if I allow myself to be busy. But I have also learnt from my personal experience that I will not last long if I don’t find my rest in God regularly. In fact, I often find strength and encouragement from the promise of rest.

When I rest, God is at work. When I rest, God is taking care of my parents and my siblings. When I rest, God is lovingly caring and attending to my wife and my daughter. When I rest, God is ministering to the people better than me, and refreshing my spirit, soul, mind and body to serve Him and His people in my ministry. When I rest, God is at work.

Are you tired today? Are you weary of pursuing your career by sacrificing your time with God and also your family? Are you tired of spending hours on studies and preparing for your examination but neglect 10 to 20 minutes of time of rest with God? Are you weary of serving and being asked to serve more when you don’t even have time to rest and listen to what God have to say about you? Take a break, take a rest.

There is a promise of rest. You have to rest to know what is that promise. You have to do it by faith, not by merely hearing the word of God. Today you read about the promise of rest in the word of God, by faith, take some time to rest. Especially when we are in this season of Lent, as our desire is to hear what God has to speak to us and response to Him, we need to rest by faith.

I am done for this devotion. I am going to rest now.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 14: Spiritual De-formation… (Luke 9:46) 100309

2009-03-10T23:25:00.002+08:00

I have learnt a term called textual deconstruction in Bible College. What some scholars will do is to try to tear the entire text (usually the Gospels) apart and examine its historicity and authenticity. And then piece them all back together with some theories in mind.

Today, as I look at spiritual formation; I realize that there is a need to first to do a spiritual de-formation. I come into this season of Lent with many presuppositions and past experiences. I have to learn to leave all these things behind and seek to listen to what God have to speak to me today.

I also have to de-form my ‘self’, so that Christ can be formed in me. I have to de-form my ego, so that the Cross can be formed within me. I have to de-form my mind and my thinking, so that the Spirit can form His thoughts and words in my life.

Is there anything that you have to de-form, so that God can reform? Maybe you have to de-form the way you serve; being busy may not what God wants. Maybe you have to de-form the amount of time you spend to make more money; store up your treasure in heaven. Maybe you have to de-form your mentality of church; being like other churches may not be fulfilling God’s purpose.

Be humble to listen to God. There is no ‘I’ in humble, but it is in the middle of pride. It is really not about me. It is about God and His word for the life He wants me to live for Him. I cannot live such live unless I listen to Him. And most often, I will not ask God how He wants me to live, because I know that I will get the answer I do not want. I dare not to ask, but I have to ask. Even I dare to ask, I must dare to live it out.

It’s the season of Lent; it’s a season of spiritual de-formation and reformation.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 13: Anticlimax… (Luke 9:43-45) 09 Mar 09

2009-03-09T22:39:00.002+08:00

I don’t take my off day on Monday; reason being I could be experiencing spiritual high on Sunday, and a sudden break or stop of the momentum may lead me into an uneasy quietness and even temptation to contemplate on my ‘spiritual highness’ rather than a day to contemplate on God. Well this is only my personal preference, I have no intention to mean that other pastoral staffs are contemplating on their ‘spiritual highness’ rather than God.

I do not want to be caught off guard with an anticlimax. I may not be able to handle it well. I may fall into my own trap of wanting more ‘spiritual highness’, this is greed; spiritual greed. I may fall into my sense of being ‘spiritually higher’ than others, this is pride; spiritual pride. I think I need to get back to reality of going back to the office to get down to work, to be humble to learn from others through listening to a sermon or reading a book.

I still need time to digest what the Lord has spoken to me the day before and process it and let my spirit embraces it. If not, it will be merely head knowledge, without my heart in it. Yesterday, the Lord was dealing with my prejudice and today the Lord reconfirms it with a message on forgiveness. It is not about being forgiven, but to forgive those who have offended me. And I remember suddenly; yesterday, this issue was also being brought up, but I may have unintentionally ignored it. I am thankful that the Lord doesn’t stop speaking after Sunday, He continues to speak until I hear it and process it and obey it.

Actually, I understand why God is speaking to me about forgiveness; but my challenge will be to go and apologize and forgive those who may not even know they have offended me. My question will be: why now? I really don’t understand fully. It is just a small thing, there is no hurry about it, and it is not hurting anyone. I have even confessed it to God, for Him to forgive me about it; do I still need to forgive others even they may not be aware?

I can’t understand, maybe I choose or pretend not able to understand. But deep within me, I know; God want this root of bitterness to be out of my life, so that I can live freely and serve without being tied to the ground. It is not going to be easy for me; I will have to deal with my pride. I pray that God will give me enough grace to obey Him.

I know it is an anticlimax, but necessary for me to carry on the journey to the Cross. I cannot carry my pride and bitterness to the Cross. What about you?

HHS…

Abel…

Until the end… (Hebrews 3:14-19) 090309

2009-03-09T09:56:00.002+08:00

Jack Neo joked about ITE being “It’s The End” in his movie I Not Stupid. The idea of being the end has a connotation of helplessness; there is nothing much one can do anymore if the end comes. The study of the end time, which is called eschatology, interests not only the Biblical scholars, but also the non-believers. Many movies have been made with the end days as their theme. We can more all less see the Biblical images of the end days in The Matrix (especially the last one), The Legend, Terminator, and more.

As a Christian, as a partaker of Christ, I also need to hold fast of my assurance firm until the end (v14). And today’s passage reminds me that Christian faith is really a journey; it is not a point event, or a standalone experience that will change the entire destiny of a person forever. There is no living happily ever after. Christian life is not a fairy tale. It is a journey; a journey for me to travel on, but not alone.

Again the author of Hebrews advocates Scripture, saying: Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me (v15). This is the anchoring verse before the author presents his stylistic rhetorical questions from verse 16 to 19. When I read verse 15, I was immediately drawn to the phrase until the end in verse 14. The end begins with today! What is important for today is to hear the voice of God.

There are many things we can start doing today; we can read the newspaper and feel depressed about the economic situation, we can plan to work hard and save wisely for our future retirement with nothing to do but waiting to die, we can also simply happy-go-lucky and leave the worries at the end of our life which maybe tomorrow, and we can seek some sort of religious experiences or modern day pop psychologies to tell us nothing at the end of the days. Today text reminds me that the most important things to do for today is to hear the voice of God, and obey.
Yes, obey! Do not harden my heart, but to obey. The author goes on by giving the example of Israel coming out for Egypt into the wilderness in verses 16-19. Commentator, George H. Guthrie, writes the following:

In 3:16 – 19 the author follows a stylistic pattern of asking a question and then providing an answer. The questions at the beginning of each verse are taken directly from the quote of Psalm 95:7c – 11. The answers provided, however, derive from other Old Testament passages that have to do with the desert wanderings. That those who came out of Egypt with Moses were the same as those who rebelled against the Lord (Heb. 3:16) may be concluded from Deuteronomy 9; Numbers 14:1 – 38; or Psalm 106. That “those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert,” were the same as those with whom God was upset (Heb. 3:17) also derives from either Numbers 14:1 – 38 or Psalm 106. The concept of the disobedient ones as those to whom God swore they would not enter his rest (Heb. 3:18) finds expression in Deuteronomy 9:7, 24.

He concludes that unbelief and disobedience are closely linked! Therefore, today, listen to the voice of God and obey. Then we can endure until the end.

In this season of Lent, we are on the journey to the Cross with Jesus. When we meditate on the Cross, Jesus will speak to us. You will hear His voice, obey until the end.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 12: Grace triumph… (Luke 9:36) 08 Mar 09

2009-03-08T22:51:00.002+08:00

I am so touched by today’s message. It is a simple one, but power message of the Cross. It is a message of grace. It is a message of Christ death on the Cross so that we can have the power to live. It is a message of grace triumph over all, including self and even the Law and Prophets.

I know I don’t deserve what Christ has done on the Cross. I may not be as bad as those bad guys you watch in the movies, but my pride and prejudice against people don’t deserve God’s grace; He gives it to me anyway. This is the power of the Cross that moves and touches me deeply this morning.

I preach about repentance and challenge people to have a lifestyle pleasing to God, just like the Prophets of the Old Testament. In the same way, I teach about the Word of God as the authority of our life, just as the Old Testament Law to the people. But I don’t often reach out to people with the grace Jesus has demonstrated on the Cross and given me. There are times I live in jealousy, in pride, and even in prejudice. But there are also times; I dwell in self pity, false humility, and even hypocrisy.

The message of the Cross is grace, and grace is triumphant over Laws and Prophets. Grace is greater that knowing the right interpretation of the Scripture, grace is larger than being a pastor and doing the so-called right things, and grace is more important than the right doctrine.

I cannot just simply remember that grace triumph, I have to allow it to live within me. Grace lives in me, so that I can have the triumph over legalism, pride, prejudice and self. Grace lives in me and I in grace just like Christ in me and I in Christ.

To have a victorious lifestyle is not about trying to live victoriously, it is to be completely surrendered to Christ and to grace, so that I can experience the fullness of the power of the Cross and hence live a triumphant life in grace.

Grace triumph.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 11: Listen and Obey… (Luke 9:35-36) 07 Mar 09

2009-03-07T21:51:00.003+08:00

I consider myself to be a quite a good listener. As a counselor, I listen well; I attend to what is said and what is unsaid of my client. As a pastor, I also listen well; I observe the little things in life and sensitive to the need of my members. As a husband and father, I think I listen relatively well; I know the needs of my wife and the cue of my daughter’s routines. But the question remains: do I obey?

Do I follow through what I have heard? Do I help my client as a counselor to deal with his issue which I hear from the unspoken words? Do I minister to my members as a pastor after knowing the struggles through my observation and God-given sensitivity? Or do I meet the needs of my wife as a husband and response according to my daughter’s routines as a father? And most importantly, as I am trained theologically and able to exegete the Scriptures and give a rather author-intend interpretation of the Scripture; do I do what the Scripture is telling me? Do I obey the word of God which I hear?

Keeping silence is only the beginning of listening to God. Keeping silence about what God has spoken into my life is surely not what God wants. Listen and obey. Keeping silence helps to listen to what God has to say to me, but I need to obey and act upon what God is speaking about my life, then such listening is complete.

This is the beauty of Lectio. It is listening to God through reading His word and it demands us to meditate on what God is speaking to us in particular situation; this is called Meditatio. And knowing what God is saying requires us to pray back to God; this is called Oratio. And Lectio is not complete without a time of Contemplatio; a time to allow the spoken word of God to dwell and soak into our heart and life and response in living it out.

Do you hear what God is saying to you today? Listen and Obey.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 10: Arrest my attention… (Luke 9:34-35) 06 Mar 09

2009-03-06T16:41:00.001+08:00

What would I do when I am in the Presence of God? Or what would the Presence of God do to me? I think I will be arrested; the Presence of God will arrest my attention. It is going to be captivating, I am going to be captive of the majesty and glory and awesomeness of His Presence. I will be at my attention; I will be in the posture of listening to the next word coming out from that Presence of God.

God’s Presence is everywhere, but as a busy Singaporean, I am nowhere near or in the Presence of God. Is it the same for you? That is why we need reminder; we need symbol that would draw our attention to God’s Presence. For the Scriptures, clouds are often used as a symbol of God’s Presence. For me, the sheer beauty of the nature and the Bible itself reminds me of God’s Presence. For you, what is it that will remind you of God’s Presence?

To be in the Presence of God is not sometime mystical. There is no need to go to the mountain or monastery to be alone to experience and encounter God’s Presence. But to be able to enjoy and be aware of His Presence, there is a need for us to make time and space for it. Isn’t it an irony that God makes time and we live in His time but not giving Him time to dwell in His Presence? Maybe it will be good for us to really set aside other agenda and intentionally take time to meditate on God and dwell in His Presence. He has words to speak to us. He has declaration about us. Can you hear it?

Unless we take time to be in His Presence and listen, we cannot hear anything. Be still and be at attention. Let His love and grace capture our heart. Let His Presence make us hold our breath. Let Him arrest our attention!

HHS…
Abel…

Today… (Hebrews 3:12-13) 060309

2009-03-06T10:40:00.002+08:00

I know that Hebrews 3:12-19 is a complete unit, and most commentators will give their comments in consideration of the entire section. I am not a scholar, and I agree with the commentators, but when I meditate and ponder, I cannot get myself through verses 12 and 13. I have mentioned many times, that Bible reading is more than Bible study, and Spirit led reading of Scriptures is neither ignoring the Biblical scholarship and research and commentaries.

The author of Hebrews issues two in imperatives in verses 12 and 13: ‘take care’ (v12) and ‘encourage’ (v13). When someone gives an imperative advice in his letters or sermons, it is not to be taken lightly, and this can gives us a sense of the real issue the author is dealing with. In this case, the author is warning his readers to watch out for anyone to develop an evil, unbelieving heart, and falling away from the living God (v12); and encourage one another daily to guard against hardening of heart by deceitfulness of sin (v13).

When I read such warning issue in the Scripture, my heart is heavy. Yes, the author is trying to be positive about it by asking his readers to take care and encourage; but the fact of the actual reality is alarming to me. And when I actually reflect and search my heart with all honestly, this may be true to me.

Though I am not evil and unbelieving at all times, I do have evil thoughts passing through my mind and doubt about God. Though my heart is not completely hardened by deceitfulness of sins, I can be quite indifference at times, especially when I occasionally harbor some sins. Maybe, if you are honest with yourself, you are not much different from me, but I think you should be better. But the author points out that we are all the same and we need to ‘take care’ and encourage’ one another. We need each other, we need the community, and I need you just as you need me; to take care and to encourage.

My heart continues to be burdensome by these two verses. My spirit is stirred up to ask God to search and purify my heart. And I cannot wait till tomorrow; I have to do it today. The author makes it so clear and the Holy Spirit illuminates even clearer for me to realize that I have to seize the day. I have to do it today. I have to learn to ‘take care’ and ‘encourage’ today.

As a pastor, I have been hiding behind my books and laptop, and sometime the pulpit. I use my writings and preaching to take care and to encourage the members of the church; but today, the Holy Spirit stirred up in me to take care and encourage my members today, daily, day after day; in a personal way.

I can still write and preach, but God wants me to visit one another, eat with one another, walk with one another, and laugh and cry with one another. I have been hesitant to do so, but as my wife gives me the permission to own a motorbike, I know straight away that God wants me to move around, into the lives of others, to be with them: take care and encourage them.

Do you have someone or a small group of believer friends whom you are called to take care and encourage? Have you been taking care of them and encouraging them? Maybe your presence in a small group is an encouragement to the others. Maybe your SMS message to a brother or sister (or to me) is seen as a caring act. Take some time to scroll down the phone list in your mobile phone, give someone a call, a message or even a prayer; meet someone for lunch next week; buy someone a small gift; or take time to listen to someone. Don’t wait till tomorrow to do it; if you are reading this now, do it now, do it today.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 9: Don’t be too presumptuous… (Luke 9:33-34) 05 Mar 09

2009-03-05T23:30:00.001+08:00

Have you ever over spiritualize what is happening in your life? Or have you been ignoring the reality of work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Both happened because we are too presumptuous. We all approach a situation or issue with a presupposition, or presumption. It simply means that we have some preconceived ideas which govern the way we see things and understand them. And to put it simple: presumption is pre – assumption. We make assumption base on our upbringing and past experience.

It is the same when we approach God. Peter saw Jesus transfigured, and his presumption led him to say to wrong thing. When we encounter Jesus, our presumption will more or less lead us to response in a certain way. And as we travel on this journey to the Cross, I am sure that the Lord will meet us along the way. How will you response? Will you say the wrong thing like Peter too?

I have some burning question to ask Jesus, I have some sins need to be forgiven, and I have some request which I am too shy to ask when Jesus is not there. But when I encounter Jesus, I may just ask that burning question and burn away the strange warm feeling He is placing in my heart; I may only keep confessing my sins and miss out the amazing grace He is communicating to me; and I may fervently make my request know to Him by fasting and praying, and forgotten the hope and not recognizing His power already at work.

Maybe it is a good idea to simply put away all our presumption and presupposition, and only do nothing, but to keep quiet and wait to listen. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, … and the follow Me.” (John 10:27).

Jesus wants to lead us, He will speak to us and tell us where to go; but we must first hear and listen to His voice. Don’t listen to our past experience, don’t be too presumptuous.

HHS…
Abel…

Heart matter… (Hebrews 3:7-11) 050309

2009-03-05T12:28:00.001+08:00

Sometimes, I wonder how the New Testament writers understand the Old Testament Scriptures; it is just some tradition writings or boring law books? Today, I am fully convinced that the OT Scriptures are the word of the Holy Spirit (v7). It is so clear to me that the Bible we read is not merely printed words, but spoken words of God, inspired through the Holy Spirit, lived out by Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. And when God speaks, when we read His words, we cannot be a passive listener, we need to response.

The author of Hebrews reminds His readers: Do not harden your hearts (v8). God is speaking to the heart, and we need to response with our heart. I am not too sure how you would understand this, but I am thrilled and fearful at the same time. I know God loves me so much that He speaks to the most crucial part of me, my heart. But at the same time, I realize that my heart is deceitful, and often rebel against the word of God. No wonder the author of Hebrews brings out the exodus events to remind his readers of the waywardness of their forefathers. He points out that they were people who test God (v9) and always go astray in their heart (v10). The consequence is that they do not enter into God’s rest (v11).

The author of Hebrews intentionally put together a string of Scriptures which gives his readers a motif of journey. He concludes that the Israelites did not know God’s ways and will not enter in God’s rest (v10b-11). They are lost. Their hearts are lost in the midst of the wilderness. And today our hearts can be lost in the challenges and demands of our daily living. Where is your heart? What is the condition of your heart? Our hearts matter to God.

As we are in the season of Lent, look to the Cross, that’s our landmark. I know that there are so many things around us will distract us and even cause us to lose our way. Your studies can be like a knowledge maze, and you can be lost in it without even knowing it. Your families can be an entanglement of relationships, and you can be lost in it as you try to disentangle it. Your career and the office politics are complicated highways which will lead you to all the places whereby you do not need to be there and lost your way to you vocation and calling. And even your ministry in church can be some form of spiritual smoke screen which prevents you to see what is ahead and lead you to left and right, but not towards Christ.

Are you lost? Is your heart going astray? Today is a good opportunity to look far ahead and fix your eyes and heart again on the Cross. I remember the importance of fixing your eyes on far away object when you ride a motorbike. I still remember the accident which occurs to be almost one year ago; when I lose control of my bike, instead of look far ahead to regain my balance and control, I look to a tree at the side of the road. And therefore, I landed less than a foot away from that tree.

What is your heart fixed on? Your hearts matter to God. Spirituality is not about what we do or how we do, it is about the matter of our heart – heart’s matter. Can you feel your heart beat? Is the rhythm driving you towards God or somewhere else? Listen to your heart beat today, Heart matter.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 8: Freeze the moment… (Luke 9:32-33) 04 Mar 09

2009-03-04T23:32:00.001+08:00

Today, I am being sent back in time to a Christian camp experience during my university days. After being backslidden for a few years, I was being invited to that camp while I was having a throat infection which caused me not able to talk; but the Lord spoke to me during that camp, and my life was not the same from that day onward. It was a mountain top experience, I wanted it to remain that way; but the reality is that it didn’t.

Peter saw the glory of Jesus when he was fully awake, it was not a vision, neither was it a hallucination; it is real! Peter saw Jesus transfigured before He went to the Cross to be disfigured. This is the power of the Cross, God’s love for us: from transfiguration to disfiguration.

Peter wanted to freeze the moment; he wanted to make a tabernacle to capture the moment. If transfiguration takes place in our modern day, Peter will take out his mobile-phone with camera function and snap it! Probably he will post it on his blog later. Can we freeze the moment? Can Jesus be captured by us desire? Can God be frozen to suit our theological framework? Probably not. Interestingly, the word tabernacle is more than just a tent, it has the connotation of God’s dwelling (John 1:14 – the word ‘dwelt’ is the same as ‘tabernacled’).

Jesus took a long journey to travel from transfiguration on the mountain to disfiguration on the Cross on another mountain. He is asking me to go on this journey with Him. It is going to be painful, it is going to blow my mind, and it is going to disfigure my own image of ‘self’ so that I can be fully awake to see His glory.

Are you also prepared to be fully awake too? When you are fully awake, you may see your disfigured image of ‘self’, but you will see the full glory of God. But don’t try to freeze that moment, because God is going to show you His greater glory, if you keep going with Him. Don’t stop there, keep on moving, it’s going to be painful and tough, but greater glory is waiting for you.

HHS…
Abel…

Oikos… (Hebrews 3:2-6) 040309

2009-03-04T10:02:00.001+08:00

Jesus is compared with Moses; or rather Jesus is being elevated by comparing with Moses. Jesus is surely more faithful than Moses (v2) and more glory than Moses (v3). It is because Jesus is the builder of the house which Moses was in (v2-4).

The Greek word of house is called ‘oikos’, the same name I have given to the fellowship group of young families. Of course this word is not strictly and particularly used for Christian, it is just a normal common Greek. But in today’s text, the author is particularly referring the family of God’s people as ‘oikos’ and refers Jesus as the builder of this ‘oikos’. And Jesus is faithful and gloried by this ‘oikos’.

As I ponder and pray, my heart is drawn to the faithfulness and the glory of Jesus, for the sake of the ‘oikos’. I am in this ‘oikos’, you are also in this ‘oikos’, and we are together in this ‘oikos’. And Jesus is faithful to us, not because He is one of us like Moses (v2), but rather He is the builder of this ‘oikos’; He is the builder of my life and yours too. And Jesus receives more glory than Moses, not because of the ‘oikos’, but rather He is the builder of this ‘oikos’ (v3). He builds us up from scratch. He builds us up by His faithfulness, and shares with us His glory when the ‘oikos’ is completed, if we hold fast until the end (v6).

Do you belong to this ‘oikos’ too? If you are in this ‘oikos’, do you have doubt at times whereby the exterior is being bombarded by financial crisis and people having terminal diseases? Do you have doubt at times whereby the interior is full of hypocrites and strives among church people? Do you have doubt at times whereby the foundation is shaken by strange doctrines and practices? Remember that Jesus is faithful, His glory with prevail.

As a pastor, I have seen how this ‘oikos’ can be affected by the financial crisis whereby we have to cut down expenses and be shrewd in our management of funds, rather than trusting God to provide if we are doing God’s work. I also see how internal strives and misunderstanding has split churches and hinder the advancement of ministry. And I also see how careless we can be by neglecting our foundation by neglecting the study of the Word of God to seek the will of God for the church and go after popular theology or practices or programs in hope to grow the church. But Jesus is faithful.

Again, in this season of Lent, I am being drawn back to Christ and His Cross. Christ’s work on the Cross is not a point event, but rather a continuous process of His complete work for us until the end. And because of Christ faithfulness to the ‘oikos’, I can have hope that this ‘oikos’ will be built up in the way whereby Christ will be glorified.

If you have any frustration about the ‘oikos’, remember Jesus is faithful, He has not done with us who make up the ‘oikos’. He is not done with me yet, He is surely not done with you too. You plus me equals to the ‘oikos’.

Let’s keep building each other up as Christ builds us up.

HHS…

Abel…

Day 7: Wait to be encountered… (Luke 9:30-31) 03 Mar 09

2009-03-03T12:13:00.003+08:00

I have been writing my own devotions and Bible study and even post them online as blog. My aim is not to show people that I know a lot about the Bible or I am a more spiritual species; but it is a simple way whereby I can monitor my own walk with God in my knowledge and my intimacy with Him. My in depth study of the Word can be tough and mind boggling at time; but as the Holy Spirit illuminates my mind and heart to zoom in to a particular issue and grip my heart to grapple with it, I know the Lord is speaking deep into my being. And that is so refreshing! I agree with the author, Ser Choon, that Exegetical work need not be dry as dust. But the key to a refreshing and transforming devotions and Bible study is a posture: wait to be encountered.

This is the key. We can do Lectio Divina, we can also do Ignatius Contemplation; but if the heart is not waiting upon the Holy Spirit to have that encounter, it is only an exercise of the mind, perhaps an exercise of the emotion too. Whereas a seemingly rigorous intellectual study of the Bible but with the expectancy to wait for have an encounter with God through the study, that will be refreshing and transforming.

As we are on this season of Lent, practicing Lectio Divina, take time to wait to be encountered by our reading and even studying of the text given each day.

Just like today reading, I find myself in my ‘Jerusalem’, a place whereby the Lord wants me to be in to face my cross, just as He faced His Cross. The Holy Spirit simply but powerfully reminds me of my calling and gently reminds me to act upon it. I will face rejection, I will have to deal with my disappointment, and I will have to take up my cross. I can only weep in gratefulness for His assurance and love and the privilege to carry the cross He assigns to me.

What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you today? Do you have a Jerusalem to go to? You can carry your cross and go elsewhere, because you won’t be crucified there. But if you carry your cross to Jerusalem, there is where you will face the force of the cross: Crucifixion. Are you ready for it?

If you have not heard from the Holy Spirit, wait to be encountered.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 6: Commune with God… (Luke 9:28-33) 02 Mar 09

2009-03-02T22:27:00.002+08:00

The purpose of observing the season of Lent is not merely to fill in the gap of curriculum for small group, but it really an opportunity for individual to slow down and reflect, so that we may encounter God through His Living Word as we commune with Him. Communicating with God is more than just praying or doing Bible study, it is a combination of both and integration of both.

Lectio Divina is one of the ancient methods of reading the Bible commonly used by the early church Christians. This form of spiritual discipline helps them to really grow, not only deep in the Word of God, but also the reality of the Presence of God. For me, as a modern day Christian, I am blessed with many Evangelical and even Catholic scholars, that I can have a more complete understanding of the Word of God. But I may not have the experience of communicating with God in His holy and glorious presence.

It is not easy to intentionally and even ruthlessly to set aside time to dwell in the presence of God. The demands of our family, our work and even our church may be a hindrance to this. When there is no proper communication, the relationship breaks down. I am reminded of this truth in a marriage preparation facilitator course, and I am sure this applies to our relationship with God too. If I need to have quality and quantity time to communication with my earthly lover to maintain a good and strong relationship; how much more I need to commune with God in order for me to experience His transforming love for me, if I call Him – the Lover of my soul.

Have you communicate with the Lover of your soul today?

HHS…
Abel…

Consider Jesus… (Hebrews 3:1) 020309

2009-03-02T10:11:00.003+08:00

Hebrews 3:1-6 should be one unit for discussion, but as I read and meditate, I would rather focus on verse one of Hebrews chapter 3. I am led to fix my thought on the phrase: consider Jesus (NASB).

NIV translates is as fix your thoughts on Jesus. The Greek word for this is in imperative form and directs to second person which means the author of Hebrews is giving a command (whereby some will see it as strong suggestion) to his readers (which is us today). This word has a range of semantic meanings: to observe, to notice, to consider, to fix thoughts and even to contemplate. And I gather from another Greek linguistic book, the word expresses attention and continuous observation and regard (by Rogers and Rogers).

I am not here to show off my Greek, instead as I meditate and contemplate on scriptures, I am allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me to words and phrases which He wants to speak to me. And plunging into the original language and reading up commentaries helps me to appreciate the depths and widths of it.

This morning, God just wants my thoughts to be fixed on Jesus. He wants me to consider, to observe, to contemplate, to give attention and regard to Jesus. What about Jesus He wants me to consider?

The author of Hebrews highlights two roles: Apostle and High Priest.

Leaving the technical meaning aside, Apostle and High Priest are the two most important figures in the New Testament and the Old Testament. The Hebrews’ author is clearly suggesting to us that Jesus fulfils the role of an OT High Priest and NT Apostle.

As a High Priest, Jesus offers sacrifice for our redemption, and the ultimate offering is Himself on the Cross. And as an Apostle, Jesus is the one being commissioned as an authoritative representation, and He is the exact representation of God with full authority being sent by God.

There is no one else in the history of humanity have the capacity to fulfill these two roles as one, only Jesus. Consider Jesus; consider His sacrifice on the Cross. Consider Jesus; consider His humility to step down into humanity as the sent one. On earth, He represents God; in heaven now, He is our representation, interceding at the right hand of the throne.

Consider Jesus; consider your life, is it pleasing to Him? Consider Jesus; consider your work, is it honoring to Him? Consider Jesus; consider your service, is it devoted to Him? Consider Jesus; consider your family, is it glorifying His name? Consider Jesus; consider your relationship with others, is it a reflection of His love and grace? Consider Jesus; consider the Cross, especially during this season of Lent, what does the Cross means to you?

As I consider Jesus, my heart is heavy, because I know that I am not fully yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit. As I consider Jesus, my soul is stirred to notice my selfish desires and needs. As I consider Jesus, I am led to the Cross to weep and to confess. As I consider Jesus, I am rest assured that Jesus is the Apostle and the High Priest of my confession; I am redeemed!

Consider Jesus.

HHS…
Abel…

Day 5: Other then self… (Luke 3:22) 01 Mar 09

2009-03-01T17:54:00.005+08:00

I have been pretty disturbed by our self-parading culture. I know that I live in a society whereby I have to prove myself before others, and this culture has also found its way into the church. We will parade their busy schedule, appointment and meeting to proof our importance. If we are too shy to publicize to others, we will quietly present them before God, and well-pleased with our ‘self’.

The author challenges us to consider the ‘other’ before ‘self’, just like the three persons in the Trinity does it. How can we put the ‘other’ before ‘self’? Maybe we can start with a word of affirmation, instead of giving our ‘self’ praises, give other praise if we find him/her doing good. Maybe we can also give a gift, instead of reward our ‘self’ with things we buy, buy something for ‘other’ we know who need it as a reward for his/her good work. Maybe we can spend time with and for ‘other’, instead of spend time doing things we like, spend some extended time with ‘other’ who need a listening ear for him/her to express his/her joy. Maybe we can help ‘other’ to do some simple task, instead of only doing things for our ‘self’, do it for ‘other’ as he/she has been doing for others. Maybe we can give ‘other’ a hug or a pat on the shoulder, that touch may warm the heart of ‘other’ to compensate his/her late cold night hard works.

These are the five languages of love we can use to honor ‘other’. Who is this ‘other’? Anyone who deserves the honor, maybe start from our family members (especially your spouse if you are married), our colleagues, our church members, and anyone. When do we start? Start now.

Even start with people who did not do good or work hard, not even to mention about success. There are people in our church whereby nobody talks to on Sunday, no one to have lunch with after service, no small group to attend, and maybe the name is not even known to other people. Look out for them and honor them. These people are just like you and me, made in the image of God, loved and well-pleased by God. If we do not know how to love them, we do not really know our true ‘self’, we do not know our true identity.

Christian faith is a communal faith; we cannot know our ‘self’ unless we love ‘other’ and know God. Therefore, ‘other’ first, then ‘self’.

HHS…
Abel…