Genuine

Romans 2

Verses 1, 21-24 point out that God rejects hypocrisy. Because of hypocrisy, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Verse 11 shows that God is against racism.

Verses 26-29 points out that inwardly following God is more important than outward signs of piety.

Father, may we worship You in Spirit and in Truth. Help us to be good witnesses and not be hypocrites. In Jesus' name, amen.

A Meaty "Dear Romans"

Romans 1

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Good News of God, which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was born of the offspring of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we received grace and apostleship, for obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name’s sake; among whom you are also called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:1‭-‬7

 What a meaty way to start a letter!

In Paul's greeting, we find out:

1. The Good News of God was promised earlier though the prophets in scripture
2. His Son Jesus Christ our Lord was born as a descendant if David
3. And declared to be the Son of God with power
4. According to the Spirit of Holiness
5. By the resurrection from the dead
6. We receive grace from Him
7. We receive apostleship though Him
8. We receive these for obedience of faith among all the nations
9. We're called to belong to Jesus Christ
10. We're beloved of God
11. We're called to be saints.

We're apostles - people who are sent!

We're ambassadors - representing another Kingdom!

We're saints - cleansed from our sins by the blood of Jesus!

So let us obey Him in faith!

Father, thank You for Your great calling on our lives. Let us obey You faithfully. In Jesus' name, amen

Our responsibility to others

Exodus 23

You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.

Exodus 23:1‭-‬2

Christians are just as susceptible to this as other people, especially when people you respect forward that meme that resonates with your beliefs, and you forward it to everyone without checking to see if it's true or not. We are all susceptible to confirmation bias.

 If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him, you shall surely help him with it.

Exodus 23:4‭-‬5

Oh how hard this is to do! Yet Jesus tells us, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you."

You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:9

People have been blaming the foreign workers for spreading COVID19, and now the foreigners in the areas under complete lockdown are not allowed to go out to buy food, yet are not given any food. This is inhumane and if it wasn't for NGOs, they would starve.

Even in non-emergency times, we have a tendency to stigmatise foreign workers, who are made in the image of God just like us.

Father, thank You for Your provision for us in these difficult times. Help us to be your salt and light and to show Your love to the world. In Jesus' name, amen.

Disciples, not just Believers

Matthew 28

Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go,  and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18‭-‬20

Jesus told us to "make disciples" - not "make converts". Saying the sinner's prayer is not the end of it - we need to go beyond, and follow Jesus.

We cannot be content with receiving Jesus as Saviour - we must proceed to follow Jesus as Lord.

We have been saved by grace through faith, but faith without works is dead.

Father, thank You for Jesus' great sacrifice for us. We commit to proceeding from that to becoming like Jesus, taking up our cross daily and following Him. In Jesus' name, amen.

Even when we're faithless, God is faithful

Exodus 19

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” 

All the people answered together, and said, “All that Yahweh has spoken we will do.” Moses reported the words of the people to Yahweh.

 Exodus 19:5‭-‬6‭, ‬8

Except that they didn't, and time after time they complained and  rebelled against Yahweh 😕

Yet Yahweh rescued them every time they repented. 

"If we are faithless, he remains faithful. He can't deny himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

So if we have been faithless, we need to quickly repent and come back to God. We must not keep wallowing in our sin. We must keep short accounts with God.

Father, thank you that you're still faithful even when we're faithless. Thank you that you promised us that if we confess our sins, you're faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse is from all unrighteousness. In Jesus' name, amen.

Ten Thousand Angels

Matthew 26

Behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and struck off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take the sword will die by the sword.  Or do you think that I couldn’t ask my Father, and he would even now send me more than twelve legions of angels?  How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so?”

Matthew 26:51‭-‬54

He could have called

10,000 angels

to destroy the world

and set him free

He could have called

10,000 angels

but he died alone

for you and me!

Thank you, Jesus, that you took that cup the Father gave you for our sake. You suffered and died to save us! May we respond to your love and live for you! In Jesus' name, amen

Supporting Role

Exodus 17

 

When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. His hands were steady until sunset. Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Exodus 17:11‭-‬13

We are not all called to be in the front, but we all have a part to play in the body of Christ. Aaron and Hur were not the ones God used to empower Joshua to defeat the Amalekites, but they supported Moses - without them, Moses might not have been able to do it.

So likewise, our Christian leaders need our supporter they might not be able to do what God had called them to do.

Father, help me support my spiritual leaders and not be jealous of their position. In Jesus' name, amen.

Keep calm and carry on

Matthew 25

The Parable of the 10 virgins point out to us that we need to be always ready for God. This means that we daily take up our cross and follow Him. We must not weary of doing good. If we sin, we must quickly repent and receive His forgiveness.

The parable of the talents point out that we need to invest what God has given us for His kingdom. We should not waste the talents God has given us. It also reinforces the point of the Parable of the 10 Virgins that we need to always be ready for God.

Then the vision of Jesus separating the sheep from the goats tells us that we do have a reward waiting for us if we follow Him. Every good deed we do for our fellow humans, God actually takes it as us serving Him.

This Easter morning, let us be reminded to keep on following Jesus!

Father, thank You for Your wonderful salvation. When we get weary, remind us of Your great reward. May we fix our eyes on You, the author and perfecter of our faith, and wait on You, and have our strength renewed as eagles. May we never weary of doing good. May we endure to the end. In Jesus' name, amen.

Am I unrateful?

Exodus 16

 

The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Exodus 16:2‭-‬3

After seeing the amazing rescue from slavery, this is what the Israelites said.

It's not wrong to be concerned that food is running out, and to ask for help, but we need to guard our attitudes.

 

Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt; and in the morning, then you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?”

Exodus 16:6‭-‬7

So got scolded.

 

Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.” Notwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them.

Exodus 16:19‭-‬20

How often do I repeatedly not follow God's instructions?

 

Father, on this Saturday before Easter, I remember Your sacrifice for us. May I respond with obedience and not grumbling. In Jesus' name, amen.

Commemorating Good Friday during COVID-19 Lockdown

Exodus 15

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to Yahweh, and said, “I will sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.  Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 15:1-2

The Israelites celebrated God saving them from the Egyptians with this song. 

 Then the very next thing, they got angry and complained because the water was bitter!

When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore its name was called Marah.  The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried to Yahweh. Yahweh showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There he made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there he tested them; and he said, “If you will diligently listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you, which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Yahweh who heals you.”  They came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water, and seventy palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

 Exodus 15:23‭-‬27

Yet, God still came through for them in spite of their ungratefulness.

God has given us an even greater salvation though Jesus! As we face Good Friday cooped up in our homes, may we remember that and keep that in perspective.

Tonight, we will commemorate Good Friday with our Life Net Group (church small group) online. Each family will prepare holy communion and we plan to partake it together in the online meeting. This is a new experience for us as we had always celebrated holy communion physically together.

Father, may I remember Your goodness and faithfulness instead of focusing on the negatives, knowing You still care for us. In Jesus' name, amen.

Wise guy, eh?

Proverbs 4

Everyone values wisdom, but in Proverbs, wisdom isn't just being clever and smart - it's also tied up with righteousness and eschewing evil.

We've seen people who are clever in a worldly way, Machiavellian and crafty, accomplish much but do evil things.

Godly wisdom is not like that. Godly wisdom is good and righteous.

In fact, the Bible calls immoral people "fools", e.g. Psalm 14:1. They're not stupid, but in God's eyes, they're being foolish.

So let us be wise in God's eyes, rather than fools.

Father, fill me with godly wisdom, not the world's wisdom, that I may walk in Your ways. In Jesus' name, amen.

Reminders

Exodus 13

You shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘It is because of that which Yahweh did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ It shall be for a sign to you on your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that Yahweh’s law may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand Yahweh has brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year.

Exodus 13:8‭-‬10

Many times we see God asking the Isrelites to do something to remind them of what He had done for them.

We humans can know something but not take it into account in our daily actions because it's not at the front of our minds. It's not just "Melayu mudah lupa" like Dr. M. says, but "Manusia mudah lupa". ("Malays forget  easily" / "Humans forget easily".)

That's why it's important to remin ourselves of God's truths regularly. For example, yesterday's sermon by Pastor Malcom didn't tell those of us who have been Christians for a while anything new, but it is good to be reminded that we're saved by grace through faith, not of works, and yet also faith without works is dead, so that every day our actions are guided by those principles.

Father, thank You for your salvation and Your truths. Remind us regularly that we may live inlight of them. In Jesus' name, amen.

Hypocricy

Matthew 23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin,   and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.  You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.   You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Matthew 23:23‭-‬28

Jesus spoke out greatly against hypocricy.

We humans have a tendency towards hypocricy - we tend to think of ourselves as good people and are more able to see the faults of others than our own faults.

Father, open my eyes to my own faults and help me recognize and correct them. Help me to remove the hypocricy from my life. In Jesus' name, amen.