Support One Another

I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. 

—Philippians 4:2-3

Life can get messy with relationship struggles. 

This was the case in the Philippian church. Two faithful servants, Euodia and Syntyche, were in sharp disagreement. 

The apostle Paul wrote to the church to encourage them to work through their problems (Phil. 4:2). 

He also wanted another person to come alongside them with a spirit of gentleness. He wrote, “I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel”.

Realizing we have all made messes in life, we can trust the Lord to help us deal gently with others. 

God is in Control

The counsel of the LORD stands forever,

The plans of His heart to all generations. 

 —Psalm 33:11

We are not at the center of the universe. 
The world doesn’t revolve around us. 
It doesn’t move at our pace, in our terms, nor in accord with our preferences.

Though we might wish it to be otherwise, life is not all about us. 
Everything revolves around the Lord. 

All nature revolves around Him and His control. 
He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the ocean in vast reservoirs. 
Everything in nature operates in accordance with the laws He has set.

The nations also revolve around the Lord. 
No plan or scheme can stand up against God’s. 
Ultimately, it is the Lord’s plan that will stand forever. 
His intentions can never be shaken.

Finally, the lives of all humanity revolve around the Lord. 
God sees the whole human race. 
He made our hearts, and He understands everything we do. 
He has the power to intervene in our lives and deliver us from situations spinning out of control.

Our life is created to be centered on God, not self. 
How thankful we can be to serve such a powerful God.
He has every aspect of our lives under His control. 

Heaven Rejoice!

Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. —Luke 15:10

The Lord Jesus Christ told stories about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son.

He told them to the religious people of His day.

He wanted to show how He came to earth to pursue lost sinners. 

The Lord Jesus Christ said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents”. 

When we accept God’s gift of salvation, there is rejoicing both on earth and in heaven. 

How wonderful that the Lord Jesus Christ has reached down to us.

How heaven rejoices when we respond!

Angels rejoice when we repent!

Like the Lord Jesus Christ, We also are seeking the lost. 

When the rebellious repent and turn to God, we rejoice with them, and their change of heart is also celebrated in heaven. 

Wait for God

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. (Romans 12:9-13)

Romans 12:12 is an encouragement to us to pray and wait.

We are to continue steadfastly in prayer and we are to wait patiently.

We are to find hope in God.

With the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption (Psalm 130:7).

God does not depend on our time.

God will act at the fullness of His time.

Our prayer may not necessary rush God into action, but it places us before Him in fellowship.

What a privilege we have to fellowship with God in prayer and to wait for the answer in the fullness of His time.

We Are Christ-Ones

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18)

When Jesus renamed Simon as Peter, it wasn't a random choice.

Peter means "the rock".

But it took a while for Simon to live up to his new name.

The account of Simon's life reveals him as a fisherman known for his rash ways.

Simon was a shifting-sand kind of guy.

Simon disagreed with the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:22-23), struck a man with a sword (John 18:10-11), and even denied knowing the Lord Jesus Christ (John 18:15-27).

But in the Book of Acts, we read that God worked in and through Peter to establish His church.

Peter truly became a rock.

Like Peter, we have a new identity.

We are Christians.

The name "Christians" means "Christ-ones".

We are now one of the Christ-ones.

This title lifts up who we are and calls us to become what we are not yet.

God is faithful. He will complete His good work in us.

God's Strength in Weakness

"He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength." (Isaiah 40:29)

Personal tragedy often leaves us feeling powerless and in the dark.

During such times, God's Word assures us of His help.

At our lowest point, drained of emotional resources, we can place our hope in the Lord and find our strength in Him.

Justified by Christ

For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, (Galatians 2:19-20)

Salvation is by grace through faith.

We is made right with God by the work of Christ.

 

If we profess to be justified by Christ, 

Yet we continue to sin,   

We lie, and do not live by the truth.

Christ doesn't promote sin.

He has no part in our sinning.

He doesn't make us sin.

The reason we still sin is because we are transgressor of sin.

We are building again those things we had once destroyed!

As Christisns, we have died to the law so that we might live to God.

We have been crucified with Christ on the cross.

It is no longer we who live, but Christ live in us.

The life which we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us.

We do not set aside the grace of God by continue sinning.

We don't believe in salvation through the law.

If it is possible,

Then Christ died for nothing.

Nothing Else But Grace!

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7)

God the Father had called the Christians in Galatia in the grace of Christ. He was gracious to them and called them to follow His Son, who had come to save sinners.

The gospel of Christ is stated in Galatians 1:4: The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for our sinners. 

In Adam we died. Adam and Eve were sentenced and expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their rebellion. As Adam's offspring, We have to suffer and die for our sins. But in Christ we live. We are welcomed back into God's grace. We are saved, forgiven, and accepted into the Kingdom of God. As Christ's disciples, we have joy and peace in believing. Christ has dealt with our sins with His blood. He had dealt with our sins by the cross at Calvary. He took our consequences and position so that we could take His position and consequences. Christ had delivered us from this present evil age. Our world is going from bad to worse. Sin and evil abound, temptations are numerous and powerful, and feelings of guilt, sadness, hopelessness, and fear predominate. The world is coming to an end. The Day of Judgment is approaching. The day of reckoning is at hand. But in Christ, we are saved from sin and death. We are saved from the judgment of God by the blood of the Passover Lamb! Christ had delivered us according to the will of our God and Father. The Gospel is the love of the Father, incarnate in His Son who came to the earth to save us by an undeserved death on a cross. Glory be to God for sending His Son to save us from a life of eternal death!

Even in Paul's time, there were those who perverted the Gospel. They claimed to preach the gospel, but it is no gospel at all! They preached a man-centered gospel, pleasing to the ears and eyes. But it would do us no good! Salvation is of God. It is God who in His mercy justifies us sinners! Salvation is by grace through faith all the way, and never by works! It is all of grace, nothing else but grace!

Thanks be to God who has deemed to save us and reveal Himself to us! All of grace, nothing else but grace!

The Gift of Offering

He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

Tithe and offering is a form of worship to God.

Giving tithe and offering demonstrates our dependence on God and our personal sacrifice.

Tithe and offering helps our church creates opportunities and possibilities for our brethren to grow spiritually.

Tithe and offering also helps to support church ministries and missions.

Offering must be out of a willing heart. 

We must be prepared to give. 

We must set aside the amount of money we are willing to give.

Offering must be out of generousity. 

We must not give grudgingly. 

We must not give because of our obligation to give.

Offering is not according to our means to give.

It is according to our love to our God and His Church.

Offering is according to our generous spirit to love God and His People,

And not because of any merit of ours.

God loves a cheerful giver.

God will recompense you for your generousity. 

He will make all grace abound toward you.

You will have all sufficiency in all things. 

You will lack nothing. 

You may have an abundance of every good work. 

You may have tremendous contentment, success, security, peace, joy and the comfort of His Presence.

2 Corinthians 9:10 is a good reminder: 

It is God who supplies seed to the sower; 

It is God who supplies bread for food. 

God is the Provider of all things to you!

As we seek to give generously, 

God may supply and multiply our means to give, 

He may increase our harvest of the fruits of righteousness! 

God may enrich you in everything for all liberality!

Tithe and offering not only helps our brethren, 

It brings many thanksgivings from our brethren to our God. 

The gift of offering glorifies our God and encourages our brethren in their Christ Walk!

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)

The only real Thirst-Quencher

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” 

—John 4:13-14

Jesus encountered a woman at Jacob’s well.

He talked to her about another source of water that would always satisfy. 

But He did not speak of a fountain, spring, river, or lake. 

He said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life”.

Far greater than any natural spring is the refreshment we have been offered in Christ Himself. 

We can be satisfied, for Jesus alone, the Water of Life, can quench our thirst. 

Praise God, for Jesus is the source that never runs dry. 

In Christ alone we find the water than can quench the thirst of our hearts and draw us ever closer to Him.

The only real thirst-quencher is Jesus the living water.

Sharing God's Love

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
—1 John 4:10

How to be a Christian leader?

It is not:
* How many people take you seriously?
**How much are you going to accomplish?
***Can you show some results?

But:
*Are you in love with Jesus?
**Do you experience His love?
***Do you want to share His love with others?

In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal.

John wrote, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)

Good Christian leaders are those who truly know the heart of God as it has become flesh in Jesus. In Christ, we discover and experience God’s unconditional, unlimited love.

We don't needn't to walk through life alone.
God loved us and had sent His Son to die for us.
We had experience it,
And we wanted to share it with the world.

God’s love in our heart gives us a heart for others.

Listen to Your Heart

Do not be rash with your mouth,
And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
Therefore let your words be few.
—Ecclesiastes 5:2

The ability to listen is an essential life skill.

We are to listen to one another.

We are to listen to God.

And we are to listen to ourselves before we speak.

We need to listen to ourselves in order to use the right words.

When we speak out rashly, we risk misunderstanding.

If we listen to ourselves before speaking out loud, we can judge our hearts before our careless words harm others or sadden our God.

Remember: Words spoken rashly do more harm than good.

An Ordinary Day

Everyday starts as an ordinary day.
People go about doing their routines, activities, businesses, eating and sleeping habits, experiences etc.
Nothing is out of ordinary;
Everything remains as before..

Then something happens,
Something spectacular and unforgettable;
Something extraordinary and unexplainable;
Something tragic and heartbreaking...
The day is no more ordinary.

Jesus told His disciples that He would return on a day when people are going about their business, sharing meals, having weddings, and etc.
They will have no idea of what is about to happen (Matt. 24:37).

As Christians, we are told to be watchful and prepared (Matt. 24:44).

Everyday maybe an ordinary day.
But it would be nice to be ready to welcome our Savior on this ordinary day!

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. (Matthew 24:42).
Perhaps today!

Patience in Waiting

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. —2 Peter 3:9

Waiting is part of our lives.

Like the ancient Israelites, we too are waiting for the Lord Jesus Christ. Though He already came as the long-awaited Messiah, we wait for Him to come as Ruler over all the earth. We wait for Christ's Second Coming.

God is also waiting. He waits for people to see His Glory; He waits for people to admit that they are lost without Him; He waits for people to say "Yes" to His love; He waits for people to receive His forgiveness; He waits for people to turn away from their sins. God is waiting for our Repentance and Faith in Him.

God is not slow in coming; He is patient in waiting. He is waiting to have a relationship with those He loves. He had made His first move when He sent Baby Jesus and the sacrificial Lamb. Now He waits for us to welcome Him into our lives as Lord and Savior.

God is waiting for us to make our move to Him. Come.

Perfect Timing

God's timing is perfect.

The coming of Christ was at the right time.

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son. —Galatians 4:4

Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known world, bringing with him the Greek culture and language. The Roman Empire then expanded the territory under the unifying influence of the culture and language of the Greeks. 

It was under the Roman rule that the crucifixion took place, where the blood of Christ was shed for us. It was under the Roman rule that conditions were made ready for the spread of the gospel across three continents: good roads, free passages, and a unifying language. 

God’s timing is perfect in everything. In His infinite wisdom and power, He works behind the scene to prepare all things for just the right time.

Wait well and trust Him. He knows when the fullness of time has come. Learn the disciplines of patience. 

The Need to Give

A certain poor widow donated her last 2 copper coins. —Mark 12:41-44

Sometimes we wondered why.

The poor widow had learnt a key to giving: It is more blessed to give than to receive. —Acts 20:35

Those in poverty may need financial help. But the need to give is as important as the need to receive.

The act of giving reminds us to live by the grace of God. Like the birds and the flowers, we should not worry about our future. 

Giving offers us a way to express our confidence in God that He will care for us just as He cares for the sparrow and lilies.—Matt. 6:25-34

Love is Everything

God requires of us to walk in all His ways

And to love Him.

The greatest commandment is to love,

To love God first and then others (Mark 12:29-31).

All love starts with God.

We love Him because He first loved us (1 john 4:19).

God chose to love us. 

We, in turn, are to love others, even strangers. 

Never expect to be loved in return.

Sometimes it doesn't happen.

Instead, people may revile and persecute you, 

And say all kinds of evil against you falsely 

For Christ's sake (Matt. 5:11-12).

Just love.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; 

And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8). 

Love is the fulfillment of the law,

The achievement of grace,

And the essence of eternity.

Love covers all.

Facing Life's Challenges

Each day we face many challenges.

There is no one solution to all problems.

Our first action is to pray.

God may help us through His miraculous intervention or through His guidance. 

It doesn't matter. What is important is God manifest His glory through us.

Never panic. Never try to plan on our own.

Spend time on your knee if you want to stand up to any challenge! 

“David inquired of the Lord” (Samuel 5:19), and God guided the king.

Talking about Simon Peter

Out of fear, Simon Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ 3 times. (Luke 22:57, 58, 60)

Simon Peter was broken by his spiritual failure. He went out from the courtyard, into the darkness, and wept bitterly.

But God loved Simon Peter despite his failures.

God restored Simon Peter and placed his focus back on the ministry to His sheep.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Even when we fail, God continues to come to us in mercy and compassion! God’s mercies never fail; our God is overflowing with compassion!

We may be imperfect but our God is perfect! Great is His faithfulness!

Going Home

Jesus emphasized the importance of every person to God with three stories about something lost: a sheep, a coin, and a son (Luke 15).

In each story, a person has lost something of great value. When it is found, friends and neighbors are called to celebrate and rejoice together.

The point is clear: We are all of great value to God, who offers us forgiveness and new life through Christ. And He faithfully pursues us with His love and grace.

We were the lost sheep that God found and brought back into His fold.

We were the lost coin that God searched for His treasure store.

We were the long lost son that God brought home again.

We are special to God because we belong to Him. Don't bring Him shame.