It's a relationship, not magic

23/1/16

S: Acts 19:11-18 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) But the evil spirit replied to them, “I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who was possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.

O: In western literature, especially older works, we see things of Christ being held up to have magical power -- e.g. vampires cannot stand the cross, holy water, etc.

Even today, we see sometimes people invoke things of Christ for magical power, e.g. "Be sure to say grace before a meal, especially when travelling in countries where the food might not be clean, to protect yourself from indigestion."

The seven sons of Sceva tried to use Jesus' name as magical incantation to drive out evil spirits, but clearly it did not work.

God wants us to have a relationship with Him, not to use His name as a magical incantation. When Jesus said, "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13), He wasn't telling us a magical formula.

In any case, His name wasn't even "Jesus" -- the way we pronounce it in English is so far removed from the way He would have said His name, which is something closer to "Yeshua".

So, there is nothing magical about the sound "Jesus" -- in spite of what the old hymn "Jesus, what a wonderful name" might imply. It's who is behind that name that is important.

A: So, we must cultivate our relationship with Him, or as John 15:4 puts it, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me."

I, too, struggle with this as the daily responsibilities of life crowd in. But we need to make time daily to cultivate our relationship with Christ.

P: Father, as I juggle so many things daily, remind me to abide in You. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Learn the lessons of the past

9/1/2016

S: Daniel 5:18-31 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. He was driven from human society, his mind was changed to that of an animal, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

“But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,although you knew all this. Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways! Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.

“This is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, teqel, and pharsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the words: As for mene – God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. As for teqel – you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. As for peres – your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. And in that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed. So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

O: Belshazzar knew what YHWH God had done in Nebuchadnezzar's life, and how YHWH had humbled Nebuchadnezzar and proved that He is the One True God. Yet Belshazzar insisted on thumbing his nose at YHWH.

Incidentally, skeptical historians used to claim that Belshazzar was a fiction. Firstly, Nebuchadnezzar had no son named Belshazzar or anything like that -- in fact, Nebuchadnezzar's son Amel Marduk (known as Evil Merodach in 2 Kings and Jeremiah) in had been assassinated by his son-in-law Neriglissar. And secular records said that the king of Babylon at the time of the Medo-Persian conquest was Nabonidius, not anyone named Belshazzar. Nabonidius was actually king of Babylon because he had overthrown Labashi Marduk, son of Neriglissar.

While secular historians acknowledge that a king of Babylon who was not related to Nebuchadnezzar could refer to Nebuchadnezzar as "father" because of the practice of using the term "father" to mean "predecessor", because of the lack of mention of Belshazzar in secular sources, many people pointed to this as another piece of evidence that the Book of Daniel was fiction.

However, in the 20^th century, several archaeological discoveries showed that Belshazzar was indeed reigning as king in Babylon during the conquest by the Medo-Persians, and there's also now evidence outside the Bible that Belshazzar was killed in the Medo-Persian conquest. As a result, today, virtually no historians dispute the historicity of Belshazzar. (For more information, see http://goo.gl/0h1D3i and http://goo.gl/VVLNur).

Incidentally, the last line of today's reading talks about Darius the Mede. Just like Belshazzar used to have no evidence outside the Bible supporting his historicity, currently, there is no evidence outside the Bible supporting the historicity of Darius the Mede. But, as the case of Belshazzar points out, so what? Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. See http://goo.gl/lvBfw7 for more information and http://goo.gl/jy4ASb for a defense of these and many other objections to Daniel.

A: We, too, usually know when we're doing something wrong... yet so often we give in to pride, temptation, lust, etc. and go ahead and do the wrong thing.

So let's be reminded by what happened to Belshazzar.

P: Father, when I am tempted, may I always run to you and away from the temptation. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

The picture is Rembrandt's Belshazzar's Feast.

You can still turn back to God

25/12/2015

S: Judges 10:6-16 (LXX2012)

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, and Astaroth, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Phylistines; and they forsook the Lord, and did not serve him. And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and sold them into the hands of the Phylistines, and into the hand of the children of Ammon. And they afflicted and bruised the children of Israel at that time eighteen years, all the children of Israel beyond Jordan in the land of the Amorite in Galaad. And the children of Ammon went over Jordan to fight with Juda, and Benjamin, and with Ephraim; and the children of Israel were greatly afflicted.

And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, saying, We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken God, and served Baalim. And the Lord said to the children of Israel, Did I not save you from Egypt and from the Amorite, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Phylistines, and from the Sidonians, and Amalec, and Madiam, who afflicted you? and you cried to me, and I saved you out of their hand? Yet you forsook me and served other gods; therefore I will not save you any more. Go, and cry to the gods whom you⌃ have chosen to yourselves, and let them save you in the time of your affliction.

And the children of Israel said to the Lord, We have sinned: do you to us according to all that is good in your eyes; only deliver us this day. And they put away the strange gods from the midst of them, and served the Lord only, and his soul was pained for the trouble of Israel.

O: As I read this on Christmas day, I'm reminded of how often I have let God down and disobeyed Him this year -- even as recently as yesterday. I've also let my wife down, etc.

But this Christmas morning, as I read this, I am reminded again about how God is a God of second chances. While we yet live, there is always the opportunity to repent and return to Him. And He will yet save us.

A: 1 John 1:9 points out, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is ever true.

The late Bill Bright put it this way:

Spiritual breathing

By faith you can continue to experience God's love and forgiveness.

If you become aware of an area of your life (an attitude or an action) that is displeasing to the Lord, even though you are walking with Him and sincerely desiring to serve Him, simply thank God that He has forgiven your sins - past, present and future - on the basis of Christ's death on the cross. Claim His love and forgiveness by faith and continue to have fellowship with Him.

If you retake the throne of your life through sin -- a definite act of disobedience -- breathe spiritually.

Spiritual breathing (exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure) is an exercise in faith that enables you to continue to experience God's love and forgiveness.

1. Exhale -- confess your sin -- agree with God concerning your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it, according to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession involves repentance - a change in attitude and action.
2. Inhale -- surrender the control of your life to Christ, and appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith. Trust that He now directs and empowers you; according to the command of Ephesians 5:18, and the promise of 1 John 5:14, 15.

P: Father, thank You for Your Son whom you sent, not just as a baby in an manger, but to save us on the Cross. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Aid to the right amount

12/12/2015

S: Joshua 5:10-12 LXX2012 And the children of Israel kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, to the westward of Jericho on the opposite side of the Jordan in the plain. And they ate of the grain of the earth unleavened and new corn. In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna: and they took the fruits of the land of the Phoenicians in that year.

O: God provided manna for the Hebrews up until the time that they entered the land and could now live on the land's produce.

A: When we help people, there's the possibility of them becoming dependent on us. For example, when our children are little, we need to help provide for them, but all of us know that an adult child shouldn't rely on his parents for sustenance unless he is disabled, or in some temporary situation like he just lost his job and is looking for a new one.

P: Father, help us to be wise in our charity; to be generous and provide help where needed, but not to become an enabler for dysfunction. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Success more dangerous than failure sometimes

5/12/2015

S: Deuteronomy 8:10-20 After you eat and are full, give praise to the Lord your God for the good land he gave you. Make sure that you never forget the Lord or disobey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today. If you always obey them, you will have plenty to eat, and you will build good houses to live in. You will get more and more cattle, sheep, silver, gold, and other possessions.

But when all this happens, don't be proud! Don't forget that you were once slaves in Egypt and that it was the Lord who set you free. Remember how he led you in that huge and frightening desert where poisonous snakes and scorpions live. There was no water, but the Lord split open a rock, and water poured out so you could drink. He also gave you manna, a kind of food your ancestors had never even heard about. The Lord was testing you to make you trust him, so that later on he could be good to you.

When you become successful, don't say, “I'm rich, and I've earned it all myself.” Instead, remember that the Lord your God gives you the strength to make a living. That's how he keeps the promise he made to your ancestors.

But I'm warning you—if you forget the Lord your God and worship other gods, the Lord will destroy you, just as he destroyed the nations you fought.

O: When things are going badly, we're often spurred to remember the Lord and ask Him for help. But sometimes when things are going well, we may become complacent and slack off.

A: We need to stay faithful in "for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health" like the marriage vows say. It's no coincidence that God uses marriage as a picture of our relationship with Him.

P: Father, whether things are going well or going badly at the moment, may I be faithful to You. In Jesus' name, amen.

[Image source]

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Balaam's Big Boo-boo

Image source: Clive Uptton

28/11/2015

S: Numbers 22-31

22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.”

22:21-22 Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. God’s anger burned because he went; and Yahweh’s angel placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

23:20 Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.

24:1-5 When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn’t go, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him. He took up his parable, and said, “Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says; he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open: How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your dwellings, Israel!”

31:8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Yahweh in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Yahweh.

O: Balaam appears to be a real prophet who really heard from God. Yet, he was also practicing Simony — the commercialization of the spiritual. People paid him to curse their enemies, which is why Balak had the idea to ask Balaam to curse the Israelites for him.

God told him not to go, yet in the end, because of his avarice, God allowed him to go. But even so, God prevented him from cursing the Israelites.

However, Balaam knew that if he could alienate the Israelites from God, then the Israelites wouldn't be protected anymore, so he advised the Midianites to use their women to seduce Israelite men to commit spiritual adultery (along with physical adultery.)

For that, he was destroyed along with the Midianites when the scheme was thwarted.

A: People can really be Christians and really be led by God at various times in their lives, yet end up astray. In recent times here in Southeast Asia, we have seen the downfall of Pastor Kong Hee and his pop singer wife Sun Ho of City Harvest megachurch due to corruption and misappropriation of funds.

At various other times, we've seen other falls from grace of prominent Christian leaders.

Does this mean that all their ministry has been fake? Not necessarily, just as Balaam really was a prophet of God.

But this does mean that if God gives us spiritual success, we still need to beware, lest we fall. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

P: Father, let me not become overconfident and prideful. I must remember that my adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8). Lead me away from temptation, and deliver me from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13) In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)

Hellfire & brimstone?

30/9/12015

S:

O: As modern Evangelical Christians, we have shied away from the old "fire and brimstone" preaching and instead we put more emphasis on the grace and forgiveness of God. This is generally good and correct, but sometimes I need to be reminded of the other side of the coin.

Sin is a very serious issue. Passages like this do exist. It's not just a matter of "We mustn’t do evil because it grieves the heart of God" or "We mustn't do evil because it hurts other people." It's also because somehow it does imperil us spiritually.

How does this all tally with grace & forgiveness, and salvation? I don't know precisely, but we do know that there are a lot of things that are true, that may be difficult or impossible for us to get our minds around.

Scientists have been able to teach chimpanzees sign language, and so people have been able to hold conversations with chimpanzees. Probably, you could even teach them counting and simple arithmetic. But you couldn't teach them calculus. It would seem contradictory to them -- how can you add up an infinite series of numbers and end up with a finite sum, for example?

And yet, calculus is manifestly correct -- we build bridges and skyscrapers, aeroplanes and satellites with them. The fact that a chimpanzee cannot understand calculus doesn’t stop it from being true.

God is way more intelligent than we are than we are to chimpanzees. So is it surprising that there are mysteries that we cannot comprehend and yet are true?

A: So, while I can rest in the peace of Christ's sacrifice, God's saving grace, and His infinite salvation, I must be aware that in some manner, I can still imperil my eternal soul when I sin. How this can both be true at the same time, I don't know, but I do know that sin is serious stuff spiritually.

So, when I am tempted, I need to remember passages like this. "Don't play-play," as Phua Chu Kang says.

P: Father, I continue to struggle with sin. Please remind me of its seriousness when I am tempted, so that I may stay true to You. When I do sin, may I quickly repent and come to you for forgiveness. Thank You for Your provision of Jesus Christ to save us. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)