The Gospel

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

[Paul, writing to Christians @ Corinth, 1 Cor. 15:1-4]

Friday, December 28, 2012

Matthew 6:9

Title:  Our Father

God is holy and powerful that we dare not speak to him unless he initiates the conversation.  In fact it is a communication that should never have been attempted had man taken into account the unapproachable glory of the Creator.

But by God’s mercy, our position was changed to that of sons through the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the Christ, when we repented of our sins and trusted in Jesus for our salvation, and with this standing came the privilege of pouring out our hearts to him, and the right to call God “Abba,” which corresponds to our “Papa.”

Neglect of prayer, for a Christian, is spiritual suicide and a demonstration of contempt for the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus which made it a possibility.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Matthew 1:21

Title:  Jesus

There is no God other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  There is no Savior other than the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus.  There is no way sins would be forgiven other than by the sinless life, death, and resurrection of the Lamb of God.

Can I prove these in order to convince people that Christianity is true?  No; not at all.  There is no evidence that will bring about belief to a soul that is indulging in sin and enjoying it.  Faith cannot be divorced from conviction of sin and a Godly sorrow that will lead to repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus.

When God appeared in a body to shine on those living in darkness, the secret of godliness, which is the pillar and ground of truth, was also manifested in the flesh, so the Christian would know how to conduct himself in the congregation of the righteous and in the world.

Holiness is the fruit of the existence of God in our lives; there is no other.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Isaiah 9:6

Title:  Unto us a child is born

God doesn’t want our empty celebrations for his Son.  He wants our faith!

And this faith, by His grace, would take us from a stable to a path of rejoicing and worship, on a road pockmarked with the hardships and trials of life, to the narrow streets leading to the gate of the city, and past the wall to a cross on a hill where the Lamb of God was sacrificed, next to a garden wherein he was laid in a cave no more than three days.

The reason for the season is sin, and the cause for celebration was the Lord Jesus’ victory over death, a triumph which is also our own by faith.

John 1:11

Title:  He came unto his own

The commercial atmosphere surrounding the commemoration of the birth of the Lord Jesus is reminiscent of the reception the Son of God received 2000 years ago.  Not only did the world not recognize him but they also did not receive him as the Creator and as the long-awaited Messiah.

In our days the Christmas season is the same non-recognition and rejection, only now there are glittering lights and festive music to hide the blasphemy and the unbelief.

We celebrate for the sake of celebrating and enjoying ourselves, that’s all, when we should be glorifying and praising God for all the things he has done.

And thus we celebrate with empty hearts.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Galatians 4:4

Title:  The fullness of the time
  
The date of the Lord Jesus’ birth should not be a subject of unprofitable debate when the Father had set to send his Son when the time had fully come, and also to signal the last days.

It is not for us to dwell on dates in view of a timeless eternity, but our attention should be riveted on the purpose of the Immanuel, who, being in very nature God was born of human flesh to redeem his people from their sins that they might share in his glory, and also at the proper time.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Luke 2:10

Title:  Good tidings of great joy

Not everyone would find a Savior in the promise of the birth of the Messiah.  Reactions to this obscure event during the reign of Caesar Augustus (31 B.C. – A.D. 14) ranged from worship, amazement, to outright fear and murder.

2000 years later, the reception would be that of apathy and a season designed to make a mockery of the virgin birth, satisfy the lust of the eyes, to indulge in gluttony, and to fulfill the cravings of the flesh for material baubles.

Only a remnant would come out of this commemoration glorifying and praising God, and only those who have experienced the new birth from above and have been raised to walk in newness of life.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Matthew 1:21

Title:  From their sins

The Lord Jesus was born a man in order to give eternal life to those who would repent of their sins and trust in him for their salvation.  Period.

Not included in the promise of his sacrificial death are prosperity and sublime health.  These matters are individual in nature and come between God and the person concerned.

The remedy to sickness and poverty is an imperishable body at the resurrection; therefore the flesh shall be subject to all the ills that befall mankind, and yet we have a blessed hope, and those without a Savior have none.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Mark 9:35

Title: Who was the greatest?

Christian service is not about achieving greatness or prominence.  If that were so, we should have known the identity of the good Samaritan long ago.  The kingdom the Lord will establish will have only one foremost and essential figure in its economy, the Son of God.  In the presence of the majesty and awesomeness of the power of the Lord Jesus, we dare not yearn for any other position but that of a servant.

Luke 10:1

Title: To places where He would Himself go

The true master is also a servant, determined to the task before delegating it to his followers, and could be nameless, considering the proximity of this account to the narrative on the good Samaritan.

No lesson in leadership is more insightful than to rule by example, in every single detail, such as traveling light and not greeting anyone along the way for any lengthy exchange of pleasantries, in view of the urgency of the undertaking.  The Lord Jesus would not only carry out the same mission, but accomplish more than any of His disciples was willing to do, even to suffer on the cross.

1 Timothy 6:11

Title:  Man of God

A minister of the gospel must run away from and shun the pursuit of wealth, which is so uncertain and could lead a person astray from his moral convictions and to dejecting grief, and because it is actually his pledge before God and men to pursue, instead, the fruit of the Spirit, and having the basic necessities of life, must be content.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Luke 12:21

Title:  Rich toward God

We cannot store up riches for ourselves here on earth and at the same time store up treasures in heaven.

And, by the way, being rich toward God will not be a source of pride or influence in eternity, or a means of acquiring prominence in the kingdom of God.

Anyone who would be rich in this life must realize that God has a plan for our wealth, since God owns everything anyway.

We often speak of God’s plan for our lives, but seldom, sometimes never, of his plan for our money.  No, no, no, you can’t touch that.

God doesn’t want us to be greedy, to rely on our bank accounts for security, to send away a hungry brother when we have more than enough bread to eat, refuse a worthy borrower when we have the capacity to lend, to be proud of our wealth, to use our money to subvert the law, to bribe civil servants, etc.

The time we start using our money for the welfare and succor of the brethren according to the plan of God for our wealth, which we have inquired of Him by prayer, we begin to store up treasures in heaven.  And these eternal riches will gain for us the greater capacity to worship and serve God.

Luke 24:44

Title:  Written about me

The Bible is the only book authored by God and penned by men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit, to reveal himself to the world.

This revelation culminated with the advent of the Lord Jesus, the God who is with us, so that everyone who looks to the Son as he is lifted up outside the walls of the city, and believes in him shall have eternal life and will be raised imperishable by him who is the First and the Last upon his return on the holy mountain.

The Bible is the only Book about the one true God and eternal life, the Lord Jesus, the Christ.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

John 16:8

Title:  When he is come

The church, in its conduct and message, and as the repository of the Holy Spirit, must expose the guilt of the world in regard to sin.

In fact the Bible, which is its sole source of authority, is the record of man’s sinfulness and God’s provision for the covering and, ultimately, the taking away of sin by the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

We cannot soften the message and compromise the reality of man’s depravity in order not to offend the sensibilities of people and thereby sound politically correct, in view of Gods demand for purity by faith and the impending judgment of those who remain obstinate in their sinful lifestyle and their unbelief.

The exigency and intensity of preaching convicting of sin must be sustained as the judgment against it is unchanging.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Mark 9:35

Title:  Last of all

In the economy of God, there is no need to scuffle for the position of principal importance because it doesn’t exist!

The ministry needs men who are willing to waive all honor and accolade for the opportunity to be a servant, but never a slave, of all, in humility and of a gentle but equitable disposition.

By nature, no one wants to be counted last in benefits and worth, but the wise leader would covet that obscure spot, conscious that a cloud of witnesses had been in the same standing, and the Lord Jesus himself, and who are we to be numbered first?

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Luke 2:20

Title:  Glorifying and praising God

Title:  Glorifying and praising God

No one who has found God, or has been directed to his Son, should fail to worship him and to speak in praise of his amazing grace.

The birth of the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise of preservation of God’s people in the midst of warnings of judgment against those who have rejected the gentle call to repentance and salvation.

If for no other reason but his mercy, we must rejoice, glorify and praise God.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Luke 2:13

Title:  Praising God

The birth of the Lord Jesus was a celebration of worship in heaven and on earth.

The Son of God’s love was born a King, of royal heritage on both side of the bloodline, and whose rule will never be tainted by human frailty, or error in judgment, or injustice.

When the darkness of the shadow of death was most palpable there shone a light from heaven, the magnitude of which revealed the thoughts of men’s hearts and marked, from grace to grace, the narrow path to salvation and peace and service without fear, through the forgiveness of sins by God’s tender mercy.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Job 38:2

Title:  Who is this?

We are not privy and have no capacity to all the facts of life that even an explanation from God for all the ills and pain and suffering buffeting a Christian will only pose more mystery than it would bring to light.

The sovereign God does not owe us an explanation and we are unworthy to ask him for one, albeit we can cry out to him in our deepest moment of despair, and we should, for He has undergone a most bitter suffering and the greatest loss in giving his Son to die for our sins.

While answers to our questions may not be available to us now, there is more than enough reason to worship the Lord.  And we must.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Luke 9:17


Title:  Twelve basketfuls

A miracle from God will always produce a sweet aftertaste in further physical and spiritual nourishment for those partaking in its blessings and for eyewitnesses to an awesome display of power from on high.

The Lord Jesus did not endeavor to perform miracles to give evidence to his divinity, but to some degree they did reveal God to the eye of faith, and after His resurrection recalled those deeds that defied natural laws, and by faith were persuaded that the Lord Jesus was Messiah.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Luke 2:14


Title:  Glory to God

Enduring peace can only be attained if mankind would pursue the glory and pleasure of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus, in its worship, government, educational system, domestic affairs, entertainment, in cultures in particular.

We know this will never happen in this age, but the Lord is giving us an idea how lasting peace can be achieved: by faith that the Lord Jesus was the Immanuel whose death reconciled to the Father those who would come to him in repentance and would believe.

Peace always involves the Father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, the God who is One.  Without the Lord at the helm of power and authority, even external tranquility would , at best, be fleeting as the afternoon shadows.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Romans 1:16


Title:  I am not ashamed

In Canada and in the U.S.A., preaching against sin is now being labeled as “hate speech” and the Bible as “hate literature”.  In no time the preaching of the gospel will be forbidden outside the walls of a place of worship and the Bible banned in public places.

The assault against the gospel (1Cor. 15:1-4) is intensifying day by day.  Now it has become a political issue, just the same way abortion and same-sex (abomination) union have been legitimized in the halls of Congress, whereas these are spiritual and moral concerns that should have been decided upon by the church of the Lord Jesus in the light of Scriptures.

The church must stand its ground and call abortion and same-sex union as sins abominable, disgusting, repulsive, loathsome, indecent, shameful, and unnatural; that if self-serving politicians and sodomites will not repent, they will all likewise perish.

We must preach against sin in the face of imprisonment or even death.

That is our calling.  That is our blessing.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Romans 1:26,27

Title:  God gave them over

A nation/government condoning sodomy/same-sex union (abomination) will have to confront and answer to God who has defined homosexuality as:

VILE: infamous, disgraceful, shameful
AGAINST NATURE:  not inborn, unnatural
THAT WHICH IS UNSEEMLY: indecent
ERROR: fraudulent, a perversion

In any social order an act carrying these characteristics will be declared illegal and unacceptable. 

But far from being a social issue, homosexuality is a sin that has reached the face of God, and in judgment He has abandoned the sodomite/lesbian to the full course of their idolatry, for homosexuality is idolatry, to receive in themselves the due penalty of their perversion.

The same can be said of nations that sanction this abomination, foremost of which is the U.S.A.

Romans 1:26,27

Title:  What is against nature

Sodomy is unnatural in the sense that it is not inborn, meaning nothing in our physiological, our biological and chemical makeup is designed in support of a homosexual lifestyle.

Consider this:  if animals practiced homosexuality, they would produce no offspring, and we will have nothing to eat.

One has to directly challenge God in order to justify the abominable, loathsome, repulsive, and disgusting act of sodomy, for even the beasts of the field, the birds in the air, the fishes of the great seas by their instincts seek the opposite sex.  That is the reason why the average life expectancy of sodomites is just thirty-nine (39) years.

Homosexuality is death.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Luke 3:16

Title:  I am not worthy

The greatest among the prophets considered himself not having arrived in season and insufficient in his person and unfit in his character to perform even the most menial of tasks for the Messiah.

In Christianity everything is God’s: the honor, the glory, the centrality of attention; and he is clothed in unapproachable light that our worship and service contribute nothing to the splendor of his awesome power.

We have not the right to approach him but for our faith in his Son, and our greatest accomplishments add up to nothing and fall short of the act of untying the thongs of the Lord’s sandals.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Luke 1:17

Title:  To make ready

Are we leading the church to get the most out of life or are we preparing it for the destruction of the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus?

Do our friends and neighbors suspect that we are building an ark in our backyards?

A Christian possesses a life hidden with the Lord Jesus in God; for purposes of understanding, a Christian is in heaven looking down to earth.  Nothing on earth can bring him joy except those things and opportunities which he can use to edify the church and proclaim the gospel.

Everything we see in this world will be destroyed by fire.  This world is condemned.  Not a thing can be done to save the economy, to bring peace between nations, to alleviate poverty and hunger, to stem the spread of disease.

What remains for us to do is to declare the gospel, so that those who had been chosen before the foundation of the world might hear and believe.

And then the end will come.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Matthew 5:14


Title:  Light of the world

Light signifies the presence of life.  Wherever there is light, there is life.

We may also appreciate light for its speed, which, at 186,000 M/S, is the limit in the universe.  Uniting these properties into a single influence and attributing it to the Christian shows the remarkable position and scope of responsibility a believer has been charged with in the struggle between good and evil, life and death, particularly in the area of representing God and the love he offers through the Lord Jesus.

The Christian message and testimony, by the influence of the Holy Spirit, should be able to break and overcome the darkness prevailing in the hearts of men, so those who are lost or groping about in ignorance may come within the influence of a follower of the Lord Jesus, and see the reality of sin and judgment, and the only way to the Father and redemption, the Son of his love.

Without your light and mine, all is lost.

Monday, November 5, 2012

James 2:1


Title:  Partiality

When we expect or demand recognition and the best seat in an assembly, are we not distinguishing ourselves as a class above the rest?

Although at the receiving end of the distinction and the attention, we still stand guilty of favoritism because we have encouraged and allowed it to be bestowed on us.

What separates us from other believers?  Nothing!  We know almost nothing about God; even the corporate understanding of the church about God is of no consequence compared to what has not been revealed by his mercy.

Only God has the right to recognition and the best seat in our midst.

Philippians 1:21


Title:  To die is gain

Death is best for the Christian considering the utmost joy and blessedness of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus, if not for the propagation of the gospel and the edification of the church for the glory of God.

Simply put, the Christian is alive to be like the Lord Jesus, and this is manifested by a life dedicated to the announcement of the gospel and the nurture of believers.  There is no other meaning to life that would identify a believer with this earth which is perishing; we are no longer of this world.

Life goes on for the gospel, the spiritual growth of the brethren, to the praise of God.  Once the task appointed to us by the Father has been completed, it would be time to leave, and with much rejoicing.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

James 5:14

Title:  Anoint him with oil

A Christian who is sick should call the elders of his congregation for prayer, and he must also visit a physician.

Oil here is considered for its therapeutic properties and translates to modern/herbal medicines and medical procedures.

With much powerful and effective prayer, medication should be administered in the name of the Lord Jesus because physical treatment even calls for the cleansing of the soul from every transgression, in order to receive complete healing, God willing.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Matthew 6:10

Title:  Your will be done

In prayer we cannot force God to give us what we want and when we want it.

Prayer is for the glory of God, whether it is an entreaty for a need or healing or simply a quiet communion with the Father.

God is sovereign in prayer.  Before his awesome presence, in petitions that cannot be uttered with words, we seek to know his will for our lives that he may be praised in the testimony of our deeds and words in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Revelation 2:10


Title:  Be faithful

We have always understood faithfulness as regular attendance of worship services and consistent giving of offerings, mostly revolving around congregational activities, but the truth is it goes beyond the four corners of a place of worship; faithfulness, in its purest sense, demands the sacrifice of our lives, and merely for being identified as a Christian.

A Christian is willing and ready, by the grace of God, to die for his faith.  A commitment that falls short of putting our lives on the line for the testimony of our belief in the truthfulness of God’s promises is not faithfulness.

It is not even Christianity, for the Scriptures bear witness that a Christian will stand firm to the end.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Matthew 6:10

Title:  Your will be done

God is sovereign: we cannot order him around and tell him what to do and when to do it.

If prayer is anything, it is an acknowledgment that the will of God is everything, and we come to him with all humility and brokenness and dependence because the Lord alone knows what is good for us, to prepare us for his eternal rule and in view also of his righteousness which is the basis of his plan for our lives.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Matthew 24:25

Title:  I have told you ahead of time


Do not fight against a Christian, he will always win!

A child of God is like a man playing the lottery, knowing what combination of numbers will land the jackpot prize.

A Christian knows what will transpire into the future, where this material universe is headed, not to mention the circumstances of life and death, and by this knowledge so orders his life as to have the advantage of organizing his affairs in view of the culmination of human history, when the day finally arrives when the Lord will devastate and lay waste the earth, ruin its face, and scatter its inhabitants, and very few will be left alive.

What an advantage, but, sad to say, we have become like the world in scandalous unbelief.  Our lives no longer reflect the urgency of the times.  We have squandered a knowledge the majority of the population would die for had they the opportunity.

Friday, September 21, 2012

John 3:16

Title:  Eternal life

This assurance overshadows all other promises and rightly so because for this very reason the Lord Jesus came to world, linking it directly to his life, death, and resurrection.

The gospel doesn’t guarantee blessed health or healing or economic prosperity, but it does assure an ageless eternity in the service of and in fellowship with God, when there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

In this life death must have its way, diseases and hardships must run their due course because we live in a cursed world and we are just reaping what our sins deserve.

Eternal life was never a safeguard against the ills of life on earth, although incorporated in it are an imperishable body and an unimaginable inheritance, but all looking forward to the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus at the end of the age.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Ezekiel 38:11

Title:  Without walls

A city/nation with a high security of military protection is utterly defenseless unless God himself is the wall of fire around it and its glory within.

To deny the absolute rule of God in the family, in government, in education, in accordance to the Bible, is to reject his protection also from natural calamities and from hordes of invading armies.

Arrogant governments rely on what they see rather than on the power of God’s Spirit which is invisible but is mighty to the destruction of strongholds, whether spiritual or physical.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

1 Peter 3:17

Title:  To suffer for being good

If we knew we were suffering for being good, would that stop us from doing what is upright and proper and moral in the sight of God and of man?

Of course not!  Never!

Quite the opposite, we must welcome suffering if it is God’s will because it identifies us with our Savior and it has a purifying and maturing effect on the Christian, and so he yearns nothing more in this life and deems himself lacking nothing but to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Mark 10:43


Title:  Whoever wants to become great

We must aim to be exceedingly great in the service of and obedience to God by having a servant attitude even among the lowliest part of the body of the Lord Jesus, but obscurity when it comes to prominence or fame.

If we are determined to bring the gospel, the word of truth, to the unbelieving world and to fruition among the brethren, even at the risk of losing all, including our very lives, we shall attain to a most subservient ministry and yet inherit the fullness of eminence in the age to come, eternal life.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Mark 4:39

Title:  Quiet!  Be still!

The Lord Jesus might as well have rebuked the disciples for their unfounded fear in the middle of the furious squall they dreaded was threatening their lives.

Did they really think their Master would allow them to perish, he who could heal all manner of diseases, cast out evil spirits, even raise the dead?

Many times it is the same way with us whenever it escapes our thoughts who is was that promised, “he would never leave nor forsake us”.

The Lord is in us, be still; he is with us in all the storms of life, to see us through victorious whether we live of die.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Romans 8:26


Title:  The Spirit

The Holy Spirit compels and helps us to pray, much in the same way atmospheric pressure forces us to breathe.

We have to admit that prayer is a weak spot in the Christian’s walk, and much is to be desired in this area where there is so much room to grow.  This must not be so.  In our weakness we have to ask God for strength to be sensitive to the call to prayer, so our petitions would produce results in accordance to his will.

Know that the Spirit of God in us is that prayer that awaits utterance in the soul, in groaning that cannot be spoken by the lips or expressed in human language.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Psalm 23:2


Title:  Green pastures

It is the comforting guidance and protection of the Good Shepherd that make the life of the Christian thrive in every given situation, amidst the waters of resting places.

Whenever and wherever a child of God heeds to the voice of the Lord Jesus, he shall find only goodness and love chasing him with the intent of fulfilling God’s will for his life, needless to say, righteousness and victory over death and sin into everlasting life.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Psalm 14:1

Title:  The fool says in his heart

The great experiment to rid society of God has failed.

In his pompous confidence, the wise of this era – but morons in the sight of God – have buried the memory of God, and they have declared him dead, if not irrelevant.

So God abandoned them to the full force of sin, and sin at the apex of degradation will surely reap the whirlwind of God’s judgment.  Now the world is beginning to feel the initial gusts of that terrible storm that will strike the pride of unbelievers and at the same time put to the test the faith of those who have professed faith in the Lord Jesus, to reveal those who would share in the praise, glory and honor of the Lord Jesus at his appearing.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Ecclesiastes 5:15


Title:  As he comes, so he departs

Life without God is an exercise in futility.

Man was created in the image of God, and we know, by faith, that in all things God works in the lives of those who love him, that they be conformed to the likeness of Jesus, the Christ.

If we live only for the sake of living and being happy, and our hope is in this world alone, we’ve surely wasted the present as well as our future destiny.

Life is spiritual.  It is to be conducted in conjunction with the life of the Lord Jesus, from the moment of renewal in repentance and belief in God and faith in the Lord Jesus.

And that is the only thing we can take with us, the record of our transformation as new creations.

The rest can expect only judgment and condemnation.


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Hebrews 13:5


Title:  The love of money

Money is neutral.

It is man who places spiritual value to money.  At this point his entire existence is poised to the acquisition of wealth.

A man who has no highest authority to whom he has yielded control of all that he possesses really owns nothing that would bring him contentment and joy and fulfillment.  He who derives only his own good out of what he owns is being his own god over what is God’s property.

God owns everything.  All things were created for his pleasure.  Our pleasure is God, to know him and to serve and worship him.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ecclesiastes 1:11

Title:  Those who are yet to come

Who was the fastest man on earth in 1968?
Who won the Best Actor award in the Oscars in 1972?

Who was Mary Slessor?
Who was Solomon L. Ginsburg?

Here we are in 2012, and who cares?

A generation will wipe out the glory of man and no one will remember, whether he was serving God or serving himself.

But a Christian should strive to serve God and diminish in significance at the same time; he should aim to be a mere afterthought or nothing at all on the trail leading to the cross, to the empty tomb, to the resurrected Savior who is all in all.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Matthew 6:9


Title:  Our Father

When does prayer occur in our lives; or better still, when does prayer occur in our daily lives?

For a Christian to neglect the right to communicate with the Creator of the universe and all living beings, to include all principalities and powers in heavenly places, is to show contempt for the Savior who suffered in our stead so we might receive the adoption as children who may now call God their “Father”, and this because of God’s sovereign will before the foundation of the world.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Job 23:13


Title:  Whatever he pleases

It is practically wise that God, with his limitless power, be able to control the affairs of nature and history because he knows the whole story, we don’t.

Isn’t it just sensible for someone who knows all things to run the entire show?

Sovereignty is important when there are as many opinions as there are people.  God does whatever pleases him for the good of the redeemed, sometimes by way of discipline, and sometimes through circumstances difficult to make sense of, but always laden with grace sufficient for every situation in life.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Matthew 25:8


Title:  Give us some of your oil

Spiritual maturity and preparedness, in view of the events surrounding the last of days, must be taken into account as individual accountabilities of Christians and which will distinguish them as genuine believers.

A Christian sees the Day fast approaching, and he is aware that each step of the way brings him closer to the moment of reckoning before his Creator, and he is not stupid to be insensible to the signs of the times.

A practical person would prepare for the end of days or the end of his life, whichever comes first, because he knows that these are inescapable realities.

A fool lives only for the hour.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

John 4:24


Title:  God is spirit

No instrument for observation, measurement, analysis, and computation can prove or disprove the existence of God because science can deal only with matter, time-space, and energy; nor can we reverse-engineer into time, from the complex to the simplest form of life (which turned out to be as complex) and hope to discover the illusive link to the origin of man and the universe.

God transcends matter/time-space, and what can be known about him has been revealed in his Word and is to be received by faith.

Instead of probing into realms that are beyond our capacity to understand, we must worship the Creator who is truth and as spirit wants to dwell in us fully by faith in the Lord Jesus.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

1 Thessalonians 5:17


Title:  Pray at all times

Prayer is not an option, and only when we are destitute or hurting or perplexed.

We cannot afford not to commune and talk with our Father God when our being children of the Most High was not due to our own merit but was imparted to us as a gift; when every good thing comes from him, and we live and possess our being only because of his good pleasure; when our heavenly Father, awesome and unknowable in power and splendor, is concerned even with our daily sustenance of food and bread for the soul; when only he can lead us to green pastures and calm waters, and by his Spirit sustain and comfort us in life and in death, and at the end of the age welcome us into his eternal kingdom in Jesus’ name.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Colossians 1:13


Title:  The Son he loves


The Lord Jesus is the object of the love of the Father, but more than that the Son is himself love.

To understand the love the Father God has for the Lord Jesus, who is the Son of his love, we have to acknowledge the Deity of Jesus in whose person the fullness of love lives with all its powers and eternal attributes.

For God is love.

Friday, August 3, 2012

2 Corinthians 5:15


Title:  For him
  
A Christian, a new creation by the will and initiative of God, should no longer live for himself but for him who died for us and was raised again, the Lord Jesus.

But how in the world can we live for the Lord Jesus?

There is only one answer to that question, and that is to live and die the way the Lord Jesus did, and only by the power of the Spirit of God.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

2 Corinthians 5:17


Title:  A new creation


A Christian is a person whom God has reconciled to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

In the process of redemption, a repentant sinner is “born again” by the will of God into a newness of purpose for living and world view, which compels a child of God to no longer live for himself but for the Lord Jesus, and to perceive the world, people, relationships, and human events from a Biblical point of consideration.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

2 Peter 1:5

Title:  Add to your faith

Faith should stand out as the root of Christian life, but it must never stand alone without possessing the qualities that identify a believer to the very nature of God in whose image he was conceived.

Anyone who professes faith must, in increasing degree, exhibit the fruit of the righteousness of the Father and of the Lord Jesus, or fall victim to the onslaught of corruption from the world, which grieves the Spirit and renders ineffective our Christian walk and robs us of the confidence of eternal security once delivered to the saints.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Revelation 1:1


Title:  To show his servants

Only the bond-slaves of God can appreciate the excellence and uphold the value of the Bible as an honest record of the past, a truthful guide for the present, and a clear window to the future.

We have to treat the Scriptures as a seamless piece of white cloth: a single piece for its integral unity and its whiteness for its purity and inerrancy. 

Those who reject it as the only authority in the affairs of man (from his birth to his death), do so in peril to the follies of the heart and the ultimate condemnation of rebellious humanity from the presence of God.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Genesis 1:26

Title:  In our image

The purpose of life is to be jointly formed to the likeness of the Lord Jesus, the Immanuel; to regain and to retain the righteousness lost in the garden of delight because of sin.

And in the same manner as in the primordial order of creation, wherein man had no contribution to and participation in, the journey to holiness and perfection is wholly the work of God in a new person and only because of his mercy and for his glory.

We cannot estrange ourselves from God and claim to be in pursuit of even a noble purpose that doesn’t oblige us to live and to die like the Lord Jesus, for it has no precedence in the history of redemption which culminated in a victorious life in the light of eternity.

Self-determination has no portion in the economy of God.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Hebrews 2:3

Title:  How shall we escape

Man was never without a means of salvation: the sacrifice of a lamb in all ages, in both covenants.

The progression from the lamb slaughtered in the garden to the final offering of the Lord Jesus on the altar of God’s love and divine justice at Golgotha afforded a powerful witness to the history of redemption that was God’s plan and initiative in the timeline of history, even before the creation of the world by the Word of God.

From the gates of heaven to the portals of eternal damnation spans the power of the Lamb of God to take away sin in exchange for a paradise restored for those who would believe unto repentance and commitment to God.

For the depth of the sacrifice and its availability to all who have ever walked this earth, no other option remains for the sinner, and at the end of days he would be declared guilty and without excuse.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Colossians 1:17

Title:  He is before all things

Before the creation of things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or power of rulers or authorities, there was only God, when even time and space were not yet in existence.

There was nothing before creation but God.  Anything before matter and space and time was God.  The Lord Jesus was before all things.

Jesus was God.

Monday, June 18, 2012

John 17:15; John 17:20


Title:  The prayer of the Lord Jesus argues against the 
           Pre-Tribulation Rapture Theory

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one,” echoes the words of the Lord Jesus for the believers in his time and for those who would put their trust in him in the ages to come.

The prayer was for all believers, and the purpose was the unity of Christians in the love of God, as a testimony to the unbelieving world of the unity of the Lord Jesus and the Father. 

And this body of testimony will remain in the world, for in no time will there will be no witness to the glory and majesty of God—and this resides in His church—until the End of the Age.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Luke 11:29

Title:  A miraculous sign

Those demanding a sign will never believe in a sign, even if someone rises from the dead and goes to them.

Signs do not prove and cannot prove the existence of God to a depraved mind.  The reality of the Creator is not debatable, and what signs show is the power and majesty of the First Cause, the Keeper of the universe, in miraculous works and wonders to prove the authenticity of the ministry of the Lord Jesus and the apostles.

Signs are for those who would be saved, but for those who are perishing they are no more than folklore, entertaining, yes, but nothing more.

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Matthew 9:2

Title:  Your sins are forgiven

The miracles performed by the Lord Jesus had the primary intent of spiritual salvation in its conduct.

Sin must first be addressed before anything else or physical rejuvenation would be rendered futile since death will still have mastery over it at the appointed time.

In fact the person of the Greatest Physician was most important than the phenomenon itself.  Those healed were sent home cleansed of their sins, in the pink of health, and rejoicing in the spirit.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Luke 12:29


Title:  Do not set your heart
             
Stop making the pursuit of basic things such as food and clothing the main purpose of your life; in modern thinking we could add to the list education, housing, a low fast car, pension plan, health insurance, etc.

Life is firstly spiritual.  Its tenure on earth is fixed and no amount of worrying and medical intervention can add a minute to it.  Therefore our primary concern must be what the heart really longs for, which is joy forevermore, and this has been promised in the kingdom, all the spiritual benefits of the grace of sharing with the poor what we ourselves could use.

Life is lastly spiritual.  It was destined for joy that exceeds human understanding for those who would trust the Father God for their spiritual and physical well-being.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Matthew 3:5


Title:  People went out to him

People will always be interested in spiritual spectacles and personalities, but, sad to say, mostly for selfish gain.

In this manner of interaction there will be spiritual benefit only if the people are genuinely seeking for the bread of life rather than for physical bread, and if the man sent from God will not himself use the highest office he had been entrusted with for financial gain and prominence in society.

There is a calling for both which is of equal value and revealed at an appointed time to the knowledge of the truth that leads to repentance and godliness – and a hope that springs from eternal life.

Acts 1:20


Title:  Place of leadership

The place of leadership is a position of humility and service.  Whoever is providentially stationed there should always carry on his body the sufferings of the apostles and the torture of the saints throughout the ages for their faith and their testimony to righteousness by faith.

It is not so much a place of honor as it is a place of sacrifice and of fading significance.  It is where one is consumed for the cause of the gospel, until his last breath and he is no more.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Luke 24:44

Title:  Written about me

How many times have we come home to the Book?

We have to live in the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Poetry, the History, the Gospels, the Parables, the Miracles, from beginning to end the Word of God.

We have to dwell there many, many times, and there drink of the water of life, be nourished by the living bread, and bathe in the light of truth.

We have to settle there many, many times.  We have to play there as youngsters, study there, build a career there, start a family, raise our children there, there grow old in grace and eventually go the way of all the earth.

Matthew 22:38


Title:  The greatest commandment


We cannot be selective when it comes to the commandments.  We cannot choose which to obey and which to ignore.

The summary of the commandments requires us to consider the law of God as the singular test of our love for the Lord.  These are interconnected, as having one advocacy in the character of God, and whose likeness the entirety of the law mirrors on those who are obedient to it.