Week 93: Freedom In Christ

In the last discussion, we mentioned about this lady was delivered from the long-term addiction of smoking cigarettes and marijuana. The beauty about it is that she quit trying to quit. Instead, she soaked herself with sermons after sermons of grace teachings and focus on the righteousness which was given to her as a gift at the cross. Every time she lit a cigarette, she confessed she is the righteousness of God in Christ. The smoking habit eventually drop-off from her life effortlessly. Hallelujah!

Week 92: Seek First God's Kingdom (Part 2)

Romans 14:17

17... the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Last week, we established that "the kingdom of God" is righteousness, peace and joy. The "kingdom of God" is not outward, but rather inward within us. Therefore, let us all establish His kingdom in our lives by focusing inwardly on our righteousness in Christ, peace and joy. Amen!

Week 91: Seek First God’s Kingdom (Part 1)

Matthew 6:31–33

31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

As a child of God, we know very well that it is our Father’s pleasure to meet all our needs. Jesus Himself tells us, “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” But God does not want us to seek after things. He wants us to seek first His kingdom. And when we do that, all the things that we need will be added to us! Amen!

Week 90: Proclaim His Word Over Our Situation

 

Psalm 91:2

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

When a great storm arose as Jesus and His disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee, He did not say to His disciples, “The storm is here to teach us courage.” Instead, He took authority over the storm and said, “Peace, be still!” And there was a perfect calm.

Week 89: Spotless In His Eyes

Song Of Solomon 4:7

7You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you.

Jesus tells us His bride, “You are all fair, My love, and there is no spot in you.” But our reply to Him tends to be, “Me? All fair and no spot? You don’t know me, Lord!”

I remember when I was a young christian, I had this idea from the Leviticus law in the Old Testament that whenever I sinned against God, I should exclude myself from God. All was well and good that I read my bible. I had this consciousness that God is holy and I was not worthy to come near Him when I sinned. Just like Peter when he caught a load sinking of fishes under Jesus's direction, the first thing he did was he knee down before the Lord and said "Depart from me for I am a sinful man!"

Week 88: What Manner of Spirit?

There are a few accounts in the Old Testament where the fire judgement of God were mentioned. For example, the story of literal fire judgement that fell upon the enemies of the prophet Elijah told in 2 Kings 1:1-15. Another account would be Sodom and Gomorrah as in Gen 19:24-25.

But it is important to know that God today wants us to rightly divide His Word. He wants us to be astute in rightly dividing and separating what belongs to the old covenant of law and what belongs to new covenant of grace.

2 Timothy 2:15

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Week 87: Inspiration In His Words

Week 86: Inspiration In His Words

City Harvest Church - EMERGE 2015 - Benjamin & Narelle Kheng (From The Sam Willows)

Week 85: Inspiration In His Words

Week 84: In His Word - Knowing Our Position In Christ

We have spent many weeks examining the Old Testament with the objective of finding Jesus hidden in the types and shadows in the stories. As much as we have benefited from these sharing, there are many more which has yet to be revealed.

However, we will not continue this series from this week onwards. We may still refer to this topic in our weekly sharing if the Spirit lead us. I encourage you to seek Jesus in the OT on your own during your quiet time with our Lord. Let your heart be warmth and strengthen like the disciples on their road to Emmaus when Jesus revealed to them about Himself in the OT.

Week 83: Seeing Jesus in OT- The Covenant of David And Jonathan

For the past weeks, we have been looking at the various stories in the Old Testament which reveal the types and shadows of Christ. The stories such as Joseph, the prince of Egypt, Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant and Passover Lamb, were some of prominent features embedded in OT and are commonly selected by publisher/producer for story telling in children's bible or movie making.

The beauty of such stories being revealed as a form of Christ bring the entire OT into a whole new level of our understanding about God and His plan. It helps us to figure out the big picture of who He is and what He is doing in this fallen world.

Week 82: Seeing Jesus in OT - Joseph: The Betrayed Deliverer

Joseph was the first son who was born to Jacob through his favorite wife, Rachel. He is the main figure in the final fourteen chapters of Genesis. Joseph was not popular with his brothers because he told his brothers about his dreams that implied that his brothers would bow down to him as servants.

Week 81: Seeing Jesus In OT - The Ark of Covenant

Last week, we examine the Noah's ark and see the various section of the ark as a type of Jesus. This week, we will examine another ark. And that is the Ark of Covenant.

Exodus 25:10-22

10 “And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. 13 And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. 15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.

Week 80: Seeing Jesus In OT - Noah's Ark

Hebrews 10:7

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’

The Bible is all about Jesus Christ. When we keep that in mind and read the Bible in that perspectives, we can find Him on every page  – not just in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament.

Week 79: Seeing Jesus In OT - The Passover Lamb

This week, in continuation on the series "Seeing Jesus in OT," we will look at the story of Moses delivering the Israelites' slavery from the hands of Pharaoh of Egypt.

Moses, after his ninth attempt of plagues brought before Egypt, failed to convince Pharaoh to release the children of Israel. On his tenth attempt, Moses told Pharaoh that in his refusal to release the Israelites, all the first born in the land of Egypt will be struck. This took place in the Passover.

Week 78: Himself

Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for Your grace. Thank you for taking on the cross; the divine exchange for our health, wholeness and completeness where we don't deserve. You shed Your precious blood so that we are covered today by Your favor, love and blessings. Amen! Thank you, Jesus.

This week we will take a little break from the series "Seeing Jesus In OT". We will continue next week.

As I was doing the domestic work today, I heard faintly these thoughts running through my mind. "When a person agreed and shared the same sentiments as the other, there is a sense of concurrence for both parties." Whenever two parties come together and share about their same hobbies and interest, usually that conversation or communion will last longer than any couple without any common subject.

Week 77: Seeing Jesus In OT- The Smitten Rock

This week, in continuing our discussion to find Jesus in OT, we want to examine the "Rock", a type of Christ mentioned  in two very similar episodes that both occur at a place named Meribah., 

The first instance occurred at "Horeb" (i.e., Mt. Sinai) near the beginning of Israel's wandering in the wilderness, while the second occurred forty years apart at Kadesh, near the beginning of Israel's entrance into the Land of Promise. Let's look at the passage of the first occurrence:

Week 76:Seeing Jesus In OT - The Sacrifice of Isaac

When we read the account of Abraham in OT, we knew that he came a long way. At his old age, He did not have any children. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham which mean "father of many nations" and by His grace, Abraham was blessed with Isaac. After that, Abraham was put to the ultimate test. He was told by God in Genesis 22:1-2 to take his son Isaac, his only begotten son (Hebrews 11:17), to the land of Moriah to offer him there as a burnt offering. Isaac was the son Abraham had waited for so long to have., but he did not hesitate and took his son to the mountain as commanded by God to perform the sacrifice.

Week 75: Seeing Jesus In Old Testament - The Bronze Serpent

Look at this picture and find the hidden numbers from 1 to 20.

This is exactly the kind of mindset we should have when we read the Old Testament. Of course, we are not looking for the numbers here, but we want to search for Jesus hidden in Old Testament. For He is the shadow of good things to come in the Old, we want to unveil Him.

Week 74: Seeing Jesus in Old Testament

Stare at the four black dots in the center of this picture for about 15 seconds.

Close your eyes and keep them closed until an image appears.

What did you see?

I remember many years ago, I heard a Pastor said this in one of the Sunday service "This Bible is all about Jesus." I was puzzled with that remarks. Back then, I thought to myself " I thought Jesus is only mentioned in the New Testament? Why is this pastor say the entire Bible is about Jesus? I don't get it."

Week 73: Knowing God - His Peace

Isaiah 54:9-10

9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; 

For as I have sworn

That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,

So have I sworn

That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.

10 For the mountains shall depart

And the hills be removed,

But My kindness shall not depart from you,

Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”

Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Week 72: Knowing God - His Finished Work

When Jesus came to earth as a Man, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), He came to fulfil the law of the old covenant and to pay the price for humanity’s transgressions, which have their root in the first Adam. Jesus came to establish the new covenant based on grace.

At the start of His earthly ministry, Jesus revealed this when He entered a synagogue in Nazareth and read the following verses from the book of Isaiah.

Week 71: Knowing God - His Resurrection

Romans 4:25

25 who [Jesus] was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

The Bible tells us that Christ was delivered up for our sins and raised from the dead for our justification. We are aware by now why Jesus died for our sins, but what is  the significance of God raising Him from the dead?

In the Old covenant, the priests come to the tabernacle and offer the blood of bulls and goats as sacrifice for the atonement of their sins. However, according to the Leviticus law, such offerings has to be carried out regularly.

Tribute To The Founding Father Of Singapore

Mr Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister, who passed away peacefully at 3.18am on 23 Mar 2015  Mr Lee was 91 years old.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew led Singapore to independence, and transform the nation from a trading port to an intelligent, first world economy.

Thank you Mr Lee Kuan Yew for his visionary leadership, relentless courage, unwavering determination and enduring inspiration. We salute and pay tribute to all that Mr Lee Kuan Yew has done in his lifetime of serving and loving Singapore, to his very last breath.

Week 70: What You Say Is What You Get

Indeed, today is beautiful because every time when we look up to the blue sky, we are reminded of His Grace. For that very same reason, when God instructed Noah to build the ark, He specifically told Noah to have a window at the top of the ark and none at the side. This is because God do not want us to look to the boisterous winds and waves around us, He want us to look up to Him and be reminded that His Grace is sufficient for us in any situation. He does not want us to look around us and be distress, He want us to look up to Him and be at rest. Amen! Hallelujah!

Week 69: Knowing God - His Name

Hallelujah! Praise be to His wonderful Name! Hallelujah!

"What is Papa favorite number?" "Papa favorite number is 5!" This is what my daughter would say to me whenever I ask her this question. Indeed, 5 is my favorite number ever since I knew 5 is the number for Grace.

When Noah's name was mentioned for the fifth time in the Bible, it says in Gen 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." When Ruth's name was mentioned for the fifth time in the Bible in Ruth 2:2 "So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” 

Week 68: Spirit, Soul & Body (Reloaded)

In Week 22 , we have discussed on this topic about Spirit, Soul & Body. This week, let's revisit this topic and explore further into this discussion.

The understanding of these three elements play an important part to our well-being and success in life. It is therefore of our greatest interest to examine closely what the Bible has to say about this. Apostle Paul, one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, wrote this in his epistles to the Corinthians whom were living immorality:

Week 67: Vanity of Vanities

Hallelujah! If you ever need to give thanks to God, what would it be?

Through my years of being a Christian, my greatest joy is knowing Jesus and I thank God for Him. When I see Jesus on the cross, I see the love of God overcoming everything for me. It causes me to say, “Thank you, Jesus! I love you and I worship you, Jesus! Hallelujah!”

God draw us to Him with His love. When we are touched by His love, we fall in love with Him. And when we fall in love with Him, we fall out of love for the world. Effectively, sin does not have dominion over us. When we are full of the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit, sin cannot grab hold of us; it slips. Amen!

Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd

Hallelujah! Thank God that we have been spending the last few weeks discussing on the subject of Holy Spirit. We talk about the Holy Spirit as the Helper, walking in the Spirit and then praying the Spirit. I believe we have cover a fair good amount of understanding this Helper and how we can tap into His Spirit. and walk the will of God in our lives This is important because God is a Spirit and in order to communicate with God, we need to be in His Spirit. Amen!

Smith Wigglesworth, who has on record raised fourteen people from the death, wrote this in his article "Gift of Tongues":

Week 66: Praying in the Spirit

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank you, my Lord, my Savior. The bible says in John 13 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,Lord, girded Himself and began to wash His disciples' feet. I am humbled; I am thankful. And whenever I am reminded of that scene, my heart soften. Any frustration or anger dwelling in me has to melt away. And that is the power of His love. Amen! Thank you, Jesus.

Last week, we discussed about walking by His Spirit. We have a good understanding of what it means to walk in His Spirit. The contrast between "spirit" and "flesh" is clear. As a believer, we want to be led by the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. Only then we are walking in the will of God. Amen!

Week 65: Walk In The Spirit

In the last discussion, we spoke about the Holy Spirit, our Helper. He is sent to us to help us and bring our remembrance to our Lord, Jesus.We left the discussion with the question "How do we walk in the Spirit?" What does it mean by walking in the Spirit?

Let dive right into the Word to get some answers on this.

Galatians 5:16-18

16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Conquering The Gaint

Dr Robi Sonderegger is a renowned clinical psychologist who specializes in the psychology of marriage; he is also an advocate of strong family relationships. His passion leads him to deliver hundreds of keynote presentations and workshops to thousands of individuals each year.

This Australian has had a surprising career: in the last 15 years he has gone from being a celebrity snowboard instructor to Europe’s high society (among his students were Prince Charles and Prince Harry of Wales) to a Pride of Australia Medal finalist for his work as a humanitarian activist for child soldiers and sex slaves. He is married with four children.

Leo Bigger Senior Pastor, ICF-Zurich Church, Zurich, Switzerland. ICF (International Christian Fellowship) is a church movement aimed at young people and charismatic evangelism of the style typical of US Christianity. It began in 1990 in Zürich, Switzerland with ICF Zürich. Now it has spread to 17 other cities of Switzerland, 9 in Germany and one in London (United Kingdom), Trondheim (Norway), Prague (Czech Republic), Leiden (The Netherlands) and Rome (Italy).

Conquering The Gaint

Week 64: Holy Spirit - The Helper

Hallelujah! Praise be to God! In Him, we experience the fruits of His Spirit. Love, peace, joy. Amen! And that is something we need in today's world when everything is going at high speed. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:30 "A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body.." Think of a cheetah and a tortoise. The one that sprints at high speed does not have a life longer than the latter who take it slow and easy! Amen!

On the topic of Holy Spirit, we know that the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God our heavenly Father are three separate "Persons" yet one God.The Bible clearly speaks of: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But emphasizes that there is only ONE God. If we were to use math, it would not be, 1+1+1=3. It would be 1x1x1=1. God is a triune God.

Week 63: Enter 2015 with His Rest

Hallelujah! Praise be to God of Most High! Praise be to Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer! Amen!

Happy New Year to all. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and celebration. I can't be happier that we are entering 2015! Because 15 is one of my favorite number.

The number 15 in the Bible means new direction and it can also means rest. The 15th day of the first Hebrew month (Nisan) is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a day of rest for the children of Israel (and for Christians). The 15th day of the 7th Hebrew month begins the Feast of Tabernacles, also a day of rest.

The 15th time that Naomi is mentioned in Ruth 3:1,

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to Ruth, My daughter, shall I not seek rest or a home for you, that you may prosper?