Sunday, October 14, 2007

James 1:1-8

Hello, just thought that I would summarize what I taught in today's sun school here. =)

After finishing Psalms, we are starting on James today. Coincendentally which YF just finished reading.

Chapter 1:1-8

James, brother of Jesus, writing to the Christians dispersed throughout the Roman empire. To encourage them that through faith in Christ, evidently good actions will be borne out of it. And not to jsut be a hypocrite professing in name to be a Christian but actions show other wise.

v2. Trials of many kinds bring about perseverance. Perseverance -> though under trials, you continue to await upon the Lord's deliverance.

With perseverance comes (v3) maturity and completeness which we need no other quality.

v5. We can ask for wisdom if we ask in faith. Definition of wisdom? I would define it as "in all areas of your life, the decisions you make, the actions you make, the words you say, all are according to the teachings of God's Word in the Bible." In short, gloryfing God with our every move by doing it in accordance with the teachings in the bible.

K...here's my short summary...let's await 1:9-18 in the coming week! =D

Glory be to the Lord.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Contemporary Worship - The civil war in church today

Contemporary Worship - The civil war in church today

Main points that I can remember from John Macarthur regarding some principles on contemporary(modern) worship,

- Having something new in worship isn't wrong. New style of worship does not equate to wrong worship. Cultures together with man may evolved. But what is important is the below...

- Worship is worshipping God with your Spirit and truth. Earnestly praising the Lord.

- If any music (which is often contemporary) links itself to sex, drugs or other biblical condemned themes, we should seek to disassociate such music from worship.

- Music and its lyrics should aid us in bringing ourselves to a better state of worship. And doing so with an intellectual mind, as Jesus commanded, worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.

- Worship should purely be directed against God, not a means to entice non-believers to join the church. If worship was just to entice new people, and was associated with secular music, the non-believer would not feel the church much different from the world. We deprive him of an environment where we truly worship the Holy God.

- there can be times where we worship God informally, like when we are with friends, family for example. But there is a time where we call and congregate men together and worship God and listen to His Word where there is nothing more dignified and important than being in the presence of God. That's where we wear our best in the presence of the Lord, not some holey jeans or attire going to the beach. What we wear some times affect how we live our lifes and how we treat God.

To find out more about John MacArthur and his ministry, you can visit http://www.gtysg.org.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

The Christian Truth :: A Summary of the Bible

Recently, I have friends and colleagues asking me what the is bible all about? What is this thick book trying to say to me? Ths book which has been the international best-seller since the beginning of the printing press. This book which has been translated into 2,000 over languages. This book which have transformed lives, from the very depths of sin, to being renewed, changed persons.

For one, the bible contains the truths of Christianity. The two go hand in hand. If ever the bible is found to be in defect, false, heretical, so would Christianity. If the bible is attacked, it would be equivalent to be saying that Christianity is attacked. This is true conversely. Attacking Christianity would be tantamount to attacking the truths of the bible. One might argue that certain christian churches are performing acts that deviate from the bible, but we would not go into that in this entry. The theme in this entry is to bring out the truths in the bible and a broad summary of it, that we can have a overview of the bible. The statement can be similarly interpreted as to bring out the truths of Christianity and to have an overview of Christianity.

Let's begin with our overview of the bible and I sincerely hope that anyone who reads this entry would read it till its end though it may be a little long.

The bible first tells us that God created the heavens and the earths. In six days, he created everything, the galaxies, the stars, the mountains, the seas, the animals and of course the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. During then, everything was perfect as there was no sin the world.

Shortly after, Adam and Eve are tempted by the devil and as a result, sinned against God. They started to make clothes for themselves when they realized their shamefulness and initially hid from God about their sin. But the all knowing God was well aware of what they had done.

From then on, sin entered the world and man was struck with sickness, suffering and death. Calamaties, labour pains, ill intentions between man, crept into the world. But God had already a plan of salvation for man's sin. Indeed, the main theme of the bible is this, that man's salvation from sin lies in the redemption by Jesus Christ. We shall go into that later.

The descendants of Adam and Eve soon populated the world. Though they had sinned against God, God still loves man dearly and preserves them. However, in most cases, man did not reciprocrate this love. Time and again, man rebelled against God. Man worshipped other gods, indulged in immoral acts, harboured ill intentions against one another.

The genealogy of Adam thus continues as such, Adam, Cain ... Abraham. The father of the Jews or Israelites. God's chosen people.

Brought forth repeatedly in the bible is man's sins. The sins of God's chosen people, the Israelites, are especially brought out several times in the bible. Israel's rebellion against God, worshipping other idols, indulging in immoral acts like homosexuality, sacrificing babies to idols, orgies incurred the wrath of God who promised to bring judgement upon them. This message was brought to them through prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and more.

God's judgement indeed came, and Israel was punished. They were invaded by enemies and the population was dispersed till the ends of the earth. But God was faithful, He had promised a covenant with Abraham that Abraham's descendants' would be as plentiful as the sand in the beaches and the stars of the sky. Israel soon came back from exile, and returned to their homeland.

A central theme in the bible is the problem of sin. The bible is not a goody goody book that tells of sugar, spice and everything nice. Rather, it explicitly reflects the depths and downfalls of sin that man has committed so severly. Some examples include, Cain murdering his brother Abel, David lusting after Bathsheba and then plotting the murder of her husband Urius, Ananias and Sapphira deceiving the apostles just to name a few.

The bible teaches us that "For all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. All men have sinned. Sin is not restricted to murder, being jailed, rape, etc. When we lust, when we are full of pride, when we gossip, when we deceive, when we hate, we have sinned.

When I was young,a tuition teacher who was a christian asked me, "Have you ever told a lie?". I answered "No." She replied, "Now that is a lie." All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Now almost all religions recognize sin, and that sins have to be cleansed. And many teach that to cleanse sins, we have to do good. The onus is on us. A huge burden is placed on us. We are constantly reminded to do good, to do good. But how much good is considered enough? What is good? How much good should I do to hit the benchmark? While doing good, are we committing the sin of pride? Are we self deceiving ourselves?

The bible teaches us that the only to salvation is believing that Jesus Christ died for our sins. Romans 3:24 "and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
Reading Romans 3:23-24 together, "For all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

The only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ, that he died for you, for me, on the cross.

The above statement is the central theme in the New Testament of the bible, which contains the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Paul's epistles and other letters as written by close friends and disciples of Jesus.

Now why does it matter that we gain salvation? Its everything that matters. Without salvation, man is separated from God eternally. To be placed in a place where no one would like to be.

Philippians 3:20 "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Salvation through Jesus Christ bridges the gap between God and man. We are no longer separated from God by sin.

The gift of salvation by God incurred a heavy price. God did not spare His son even till the point of his death because he loved us too much. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whomever believed in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." The good news is that, by God's grace, this gift though bought at a heavy price, is freely available to you and me, "that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

Believing in our hearts, that Jesus is Lord, and that he resurrected, we will be saved. This is the salvation the bible teaches. Salvation is not gained by attending church, doing good, singing hymns, etc... but by (and I say again), "that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

I think that the above pretty much summarizes the main message of the bible. There are many other revelations recorded in the bible, prophecy regarding the end times, and a pretty big porton on how one should live his/her life according to God's will.

On a personal note, I would like to take this further...

When Fleming discovered penicillin, he wanted it to be used to saved lives. Similarly, one does not hesitate to recommend a medicine that cures another's sickness. The good news of Jesus's salvation have been repeatedly propagated over hundreds of years. Many lives have been martyred for this truth. All this in the sake to bring forth this good news to the lost. John Newton, wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace", with the lyrics, "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see." John was a christian and he wanted to share this wonderful news with you, that today, we are no longer burdened by sin. Jesus said "Come to me all who are burdened and weary, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11-28.

What would be your decision today? To go God's way or continue living in your way?
I invite you to say a simple prayer if you would like to receive Jesus's gift.

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for loving me and dying on the cross for my sins.
I have sinned and gone my own way. Please forgive me of my sins, come into my heart and be the Lord of my life today and forever.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

God promises to those who believes in Him, "Whoever comes to me, I will never drive away." John 6:37
"I am with you always." Matthew 28:20
"I will never leave you." Hebrews 13:5

It would be my greatest joy if you are introduced to this wonderful saviour today. Even if you might be still doubt, its ok. With warmest regards, I invite you to come into closer contact wth the bible. And I pray and hope that this entry has indeed helped you come closer to the Christian truth.

From the deepest of my heart,
Jason

p.s.: please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to know more.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

I think many would remember this day. This day, when the Straits Times index plunged by almost 4% in a single day in the process wiping the earnings that many have waited for months. Reason being? Splill over from the US market over news of exposure to sub-prime mortgages.

As we live today, many still depend on assets as the security needed in life. Had a chat with a colleague during lunch. He was sharing with me that he would like to have his finance firmly grounded with investments before he goes and does any more exotic things. Totally agree with him. But financial investments alone as spoken best by King Solomon himself, will lead to meaningless. Toiling so hard only to leave your fortune behind to someone who did not earn it. Jesus tells us that man does not live on bread alone. In today's context, man does not live on property, investments alone. But by God's Word.

For those who follow the church bible reading plan, Romans chapter 8, Paul tells us about life through the Spririt. Where the simple truth is that if you have believed in Jesus's salvation, though you are dead in sin, you gain life through Him. Our sins, are cleansed once and for all. Dead in sin. Sin, something which we keep reviving. But may God help us, the strength, the conviction to overcome.

I write all these with a reminder to myself that I have to walk the talk and I pray that I can do the same. Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matthew 4:4.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Our new hobby - Reading the Bible!

Dear Sun Sch students,

Let's all try to have a new hobby today. Reading the bible! This hobby will give you the strength needed when you are weary, the direction you need when you are lost, the comfort you need when everyone else seems untrustworthy.

Let's start our new hobby today! Oh forgot to mention today in class, next week we are going to ponder over Psalm 32, where David writes about the joy of being forgiven.

Glory to God,
Jason

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Praying for the South Korean Hostages

We are all aware of the situation now. A group of South Korean christians on a volunteer trip to Afganistan have been held captive by Islamist militants and one of the hostage's body have been found with 10 bullet wounds to the head, chest and abdomen.

Many would once ask the age old question, why does God allow all these to happen? True love and true worship from men to God can only mean giving man freewill. And sad to say, that the sin in these man is sometimes beyond our comprehension. From hatred bearing sin, the militants have kidnapped innocent people and even killed one of them which clearly contradicts what that is mentioned in the common faiths of Christianity and Islam.

So man has freewill and has decided to exercise it wrongly, but does God still allow these to happen? We earnestly pray that these Koreans can go back to safe hands. But we also pray that God's sovereignity and will be manifested in such a situation. The Koreans might die in the hands of these people. Jesus has died in the hands of persecutors though he had done nothing wrong.

God's assurance is that one day all suffering will be gone and He will reign eternally and will wipe away all tears. In the very worst case, the Koreans might be killed. But that is certainly not the end state. God has set and plan eternity in the hearts of man. Life after death continues and this life for the Koreans whom have by God's grace accepted Jesus's salvation shall live in a far better place now in which Jesus have prepared a place for them.

As we lead our normal lives now, let us not forget the Koreans and keep them in our prayers, for their safety, but also that God's will clearly manifested in this mishap.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Psalm 36-55; Acts 23 - 27

Coming week's sun sch lesson touches upon the rebellion of man towards God in Psalm 2. The theme is repeated throughout Psalms with one being Psalm 36 in this week's bible reading program.

Time and again, men have rebelled against God. From the Exodus from Egypt when they wished that God had not brought them out, to when the Kings of both Israel and Judea did not revere God, to the rejection of Jesus Christ, to now where Atheism is widely accepted as a norm, men has always sought to rebel against God even though He has manifested Himself through His creation and revelation.

But the Psalms state upon God's judgement will come upon those who constantly rebel against Him. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 over years when their journey to the promised land just takes over a few months. The rebellion by the Kings caused them to lose their empires and that became a reality when the empires of Assyria and Babylon invaded Israel and Judea and the Jews were exiled all over.

God's judgement will come again in His time. We have already witnessed several natural disasters (Tsunami, earthquakes), sicknesses (bird flu, dengue, SARS) and wars (Middle East conflict, Iraq-Afganistan war) all which points towards God's judgement coming soon.

The only way to turn away God's wrath is to keep to His Word, both in thoughs and actions as mentioned by the Psalmist.

Glory to God,
Jason

Monday, July 23, 2007

The First Step

Hi Sun sch students!

So let us encourage each other to stick to the church weekly's bible reading plan and share upon a verse or two that you come across over here in the comments.

The below picture is that of a chaff mentioned in last lesson in Psalm 1. When the wind blows, it will just fly away in the direction the wind...

but a tree planted in streams of water...
bear fruits timely, its leaves does not wither and whatever it does it prospers. Because it is deeply rooted in the streams of water that is God's word.

Continue to shine for the Lord in your own areas!

------
Jason