23 January, 2011
Once upon a time, the church of Jesus Christ was considered an important institution and played a central role in society.
This is not so today in the West.
It is not too far-fetched to say that the world has successfully marginalized the church in our era. Christianity is tolerated more than accepted. Society is willing to put up with the church out of politeness that it is a historical heritage.
Just as the early church was able to flourish in the midst of persecution, the church may yet be revived by the Spirit because of its perilous position.
When the Roman Emperor, Constantine made Christianity its official religion, he wielded a double-edged sword.
The church steadily gained power and became the dominant culture, building the basic infrastructure with Judeo-Christian beliefs. However with the passing of time, discipleship suffered a deadly blow even though church membership grew exponentially. Before long, the world’s values have crept into the church and the church and the world increasingly became one. In prosperity, the church began to rot from within.
It is time to recover our discipleship call. It is time for the church to reclaim our witness to the world as an alternate culture. A community of saints set apart by God for holy living, different from the world and of relevance and service to the society.
To do so, we must be strong in our doctrine of the church. The church exists as a reminder to the world that there is a God. The people of God must exemplify what it means to live as holy people in service to a lost world.
It is time for Christ’s church to be serious about being church. We do it to our peril if we ignore God’s call. How else can our generations and the world be saved; if not through the testimony of the church?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Of Mountaintops and the Valleys
21 January 2011
Read Luke 9:28-45
Luke 9:41
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
The transfiguration episode and the failure of the disciples to drive out the evil spirit are supposed to go together.
The transfiguration is a mountain-top experience while their inability to cast out the demon is a rock-bottom encounter.
Many Bible teachers like to overemphasize the importance of not relying on experiences that the Christian life seems to be stuck at the mundane, ordinary and unexciting. I do not think so. I think if we walk close with God, we are in for the ride of our lives and we will encounter many dramatic, spectacular events with God. The intimacy with God in prayer, the revelation of His plan through Christian meditation and the daily unfolding of his plan in human history should not be dismissed as unimportant.
However, the mountaintop experience serves to prepare us for the down periods of our lives. Look at the disciples. After the transfiguration and the glory, they descend into the valley where failure in ministry causes Jesus to rebuke them.
God draws us close to Him and brings us to a spiritual high in order to prepare us to meet the lows and challenges of service. The spiritual highs are a reminder to us that we need God and to equip us for more and bigger ministry opportunities.
Look at Jesus. He understands that. The transfiguration is a glorious moment for him. It serves to remind and prepare him to go to the lowest valley of his life – the cross (Luke 9:44).
We must learn the discipline of balance – to neither despise the mountaintop nor the valleys of our lives.
We must also understand the way that God prepares and equips us for greater ministry in Him. He does so by assuring us of his love through the spiritual highs to enable us to walk through the valleys of brokenness in which fruitfulness in ministry will result.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”(John 14:12)
Read Luke 9:28-45
Luke 9:41
“You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
The transfiguration episode and the failure of the disciples to drive out the evil spirit are supposed to go together.
The transfiguration is a mountain-top experience while their inability to cast out the demon is a rock-bottom encounter.
Many Bible teachers like to overemphasize the importance of not relying on experiences that the Christian life seems to be stuck at the mundane, ordinary and unexciting. I do not think so. I think if we walk close with God, we are in for the ride of our lives and we will encounter many dramatic, spectacular events with God. The intimacy with God in prayer, the revelation of His plan through Christian meditation and the daily unfolding of his plan in human history should not be dismissed as unimportant.
However, the mountaintop experience serves to prepare us for the down periods of our lives. Look at the disciples. After the transfiguration and the glory, they descend into the valley where failure in ministry causes Jesus to rebuke them.
God draws us close to Him and brings us to a spiritual high in order to prepare us to meet the lows and challenges of service. The spiritual highs are a reminder to us that we need God and to equip us for more and bigger ministry opportunities.
Look at Jesus. He understands that. The transfiguration is a glorious moment for him. It serves to remind and prepare him to go to the lowest valley of his life – the cross (Luke 9:44).
We must learn the discipline of balance – to neither despise the mountaintop nor the valleys of our lives.
We must also understand the way that God prepares and equips us for greater ministry in Him. He does so by assuring us of his love through the spiritual highs to enable us to walk through the valleys of brokenness in which fruitfulness in ministry will result.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”(John 14:12)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Who is Jesus to me?
20 January, 2011
Read Luke 9:18-27
Luke 9:20
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
It doesn't matter what others' view of who Jesus is. It matters what each of the disciples think of him. After ministering and being with them for a while, 24/7, eating, sleeping, sharing lives with them, are they clear about his identity or are they like the crowd speculating and not sure of him?
That was what Jesus wanted to know then and what he wants to know now - from us, those who have chosen to follow him.
"BUT what about YOU? WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?"
That is a penetrating question from Jesus to clarify where our true allegiance is.
Who a particular someone means to us is a personal question.
When you are in love with someone and really know someone at an intimate level, the last thing that will change your mind about that person is what the world thinks about him/her. The world cannot convince you otherwise of the person whom you have come to love. The world has its opinions but those are what you will dismiss as 'hearsays'. You will be eager to let the world knows the shallowness of those rumours and probably desire that they come to judgement about your love by interacting with him/her.
Who Jesus is to us is also a personal question.
Jesus does not care what others think of him - He asks what do you think of HIm?
Is He king? Is he Messiah? Is he all that you long for? Who is he to you?
If he is my most beloved, then nothing and no one can influence and change my decision to follow Him.
Jesus asks us to consider His worth in our lives before He gives us the call to take up the cross and follow him daily (Luke 9:23-26). The acknowledgement must come before the action.
It is impossible to have lifestyle allegiance before, or without the heart allegiance. This is the secret of all who have followed the Lord faithfully. They have first determined the worth of Jesus in their hearts before answering the call of discipleship. Their reward of staying true to Jesus till the end is their ability to ask Jesus the question back to him, "Who am I to you Lord?"
To each of them, Jesus' answer will be,"You are the disciple whom i love' (also a reference given to John the disciple).
Read Luke 9:18-27
Luke 9:20
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
It doesn't matter what others' view of who Jesus is. It matters what each of the disciples think of him. After ministering and being with them for a while, 24/7, eating, sleeping, sharing lives with them, are they clear about his identity or are they like the crowd speculating and not sure of him?
That was what Jesus wanted to know then and what he wants to know now - from us, those who have chosen to follow him.
"BUT what about YOU? WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?"
That is a penetrating question from Jesus to clarify where our true allegiance is.
Who a particular someone means to us is a personal question.
When you are in love with someone and really know someone at an intimate level, the last thing that will change your mind about that person is what the world thinks about him/her. The world cannot convince you otherwise of the person whom you have come to love. The world has its opinions but those are what you will dismiss as 'hearsays'. You will be eager to let the world knows the shallowness of those rumours and probably desire that they come to judgement about your love by interacting with him/her.
Who Jesus is to us is also a personal question.
Jesus does not care what others think of him - He asks what do you think of HIm?
Is He king? Is he Messiah? Is he all that you long for? Who is he to you?
If he is my most beloved, then nothing and no one can influence and change my decision to follow Him.
Jesus asks us to consider His worth in our lives before He gives us the call to take up the cross and follow him daily (Luke 9:23-26). The acknowledgement must come before the action.
It is impossible to have lifestyle allegiance before, or without the heart allegiance. This is the secret of all who have followed the Lord faithfully. They have first determined the worth of Jesus in their hearts before answering the call of discipleship. Their reward of staying true to Jesus till the end is their ability to ask Jesus the question back to him, "Who am I to you Lord?"
To each of them, Jesus' answer will be,"You are the disciple whom i love' (also a reference given to John the disciple).
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The TOUCH
19 January 2011
Read Luke 8:40-56
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. (Luke 8:45)
Jesus senses the power draining from him through one particular person's touch even though he is pressed against the crowd. Someone has deliberately touched him.
The woman is not supposed to touch Jesus. She is unclean. A woman suffering from internal bleeding is unclean, and pollutes everything and everyone she comes into contact with. She is desperate. She probably has spent all her money on medication but nothing has helped. "If only i could touch him - it is enough to heal me,' dominates her thoughts as she makes her way closer and closer to Jesus. She will touch him, be healed and be gone. But Jesus now requests that she owns up. She does admit to her act and Jesus commends her for her faith and her desire for healing is fulfilled.
If the passage before asks, :'Where is your faith", the woman would have replied, 'in you is my faith". In a society that consistently looks down on woman, this woman is highlighted for her faith.
There is healing in Jesus' touch - that's what the Scriptures say today. There is power in Jesus. To touch Jesus is to allow His power to flow to us for healing and wholeness. Whatever I am struggling with, no matter how long (the woman suffers for 12 years), Jesus can end my pain - if only I come to Him and touch him in faith.
After healing the woman, Jesus proceeds to Jairus' house. He touches Jarius' daughter who is already dead - thus, a corpse.
In the first incident, an unclean woman touches him - thus making him unclean by her touch. Now, Jesus touches a corpse - voluntarily making himself unclean by the act. But in touching the corpse, Jesus releases His power and she is raised from the dead.
In both stories, we are told again that Jesus is the 'lamb that takes away the sin of the world'. He gets himself dirty, polluted because of us. He is the innocent sharing in the guilty - being polluted by our sins. He willingly does so.
The power that drains from His being is love. The love that compels Him to reach out and touch us and be touched by us.
Come to Jesus. Praise and thank Him for in Him we will be made whole. In Him we will be set free. In Him we are loved.
Touch him now and be touched by Him. Then go touch the world and be touched by the world.
Read Luke 8:40-56
“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. (Luke 8:45)
Jesus senses the power draining from him through one particular person's touch even though he is pressed against the crowd. Someone has deliberately touched him.
The woman is not supposed to touch Jesus. She is unclean. A woman suffering from internal bleeding is unclean, and pollutes everything and everyone she comes into contact with. She is desperate. She probably has spent all her money on medication but nothing has helped. "If only i could touch him - it is enough to heal me,' dominates her thoughts as she makes her way closer and closer to Jesus. She will touch him, be healed and be gone. But Jesus now requests that she owns up. She does admit to her act and Jesus commends her for her faith and her desire for healing is fulfilled.
If the passage before asks, :'Where is your faith", the woman would have replied, 'in you is my faith". In a society that consistently looks down on woman, this woman is highlighted for her faith.
There is healing in Jesus' touch - that's what the Scriptures say today. There is power in Jesus. To touch Jesus is to allow His power to flow to us for healing and wholeness. Whatever I am struggling with, no matter how long (the woman suffers for 12 years), Jesus can end my pain - if only I come to Him and touch him in faith.
After healing the woman, Jesus proceeds to Jairus' house. He touches Jarius' daughter who is already dead - thus, a corpse.
In the first incident, an unclean woman touches him - thus making him unclean by her touch. Now, Jesus touches a corpse - voluntarily making himself unclean by the act. But in touching the corpse, Jesus releases His power and she is raised from the dead.
In both stories, we are told again that Jesus is the 'lamb that takes away the sin of the world'. He gets himself dirty, polluted because of us. He is the innocent sharing in the guilty - being polluted by our sins. He willingly does so.
The power that drains from His being is love. The love that compels Him to reach out and touch us and be touched by us.
Come to Jesus. Praise and thank Him for in Him we will be made whole. In Him we will be set free. In Him we are loved.
Touch him now and be touched by Him. Then go touch the world and be touched by the world.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Demons
18 January 2011
Read Luke 8: 26-39
Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?" (8:30)
This power encounter between the evil spirits and Jesus follows immediately after the storm. The disciples have just witnessed the calming of the storm and now face the torrents of a human tempest.
Kicking and yelling, the demon-possessed man is definitely not in the right mind. Just as he was in calm full control of the storm, Jesus is fully in charge of this raging storm. The situation is violent, volatile and unpredictable.
We read that the man has been tormented by the demons for a while. The demon inside him are tearing his life apart. It cripples and isolates him from a normal, functional life. The demon has basically taken over his life.
To the man Jesus asked, “What is your name?” (8:30)
After identifying themselves, Jesus cast them out and the man is restored and salvation comes to him.
Are we struggling with some 'demons' in our lives? Do they have strongholds over us? Are there habits, desires and thoughts that are slowly overtaking our lives?
When it comes to dominating sins and habits Jesus does not coach us on the side. He enters into our battles and tears down those strongholds and his victory is decisive. We may, like one possessed, react by kicking and yelling, begging for mercy but Jesus sees beyond all these symptoms of resistance as the last straw of evil trying to hang on to us. He sees beneath all these naked expressions and sees the man who desires to make whole.
In the end, Jesus delivers and frees us. He restores peace, calm and order to our lives and gives us a sound mind.
After restoration, he tells us, just as he did with the once demon-possessed man, to go and tell others of what he has done for us. in giving testimony to others, we confirm our deliverance and find new entry into our community. The power of darkness is fully overthrown when we are able to bear witness to Jesus' deliverance to others. This is and will be the finish line of our fight against the 'demons' in our lives.
To him who has been delivered, the demons are forever gone and the mind restored and renewed.
That is good news indeed.
Read Luke 8: 26-39
Jesus asked him, 'What is your name?" (8:30)
This power encounter between the evil spirits and Jesus follows immediately after the storm. The disciples have just witnessed the calming of the storm and now face the torrents of a human tempest.
Kicking and yelling, the demon-possessed man is definitely not in the right mind. Just as he was in calm full control of the storm, Jesus is fully in charge of this raging storm. The situation is violent, volatile and unpredictable.
We read that the man has been tormented by the demons for a while. The demon inside him are tearing his life apart. It cripples and isolates him from a normal, functional life. The demon has basically taken over his life.
To the man Jesus asked, “What is your name?” (8:30)
After identifying themselves, Jesus cast them out and the man is restored and salvation comes to him.
Are we struggling with some 'demons' in our lives? Do they have strongholds over us? Are there habits, desires and thoughts that are slowly overtaking our lives?
When it comes to dominating sins and habits Jesus does not coach us on the side. He enters into our battles and tears down those strongholds and his victory is decisive. We may, like one possessed, react by kicking and yelling, begging for mercy but Jesus sees beyond all these symptoms of resistance as the last straw of evil trying to hang on to us. He sees beneath all these naked expressions and sees the man who desires to make whole.
In the end, Jesus delivers and frees us. He restores peace, calm and order to our lives and gives us a sound mind.
After restoration, he tells us, just as he did with the once demon-possessed man, to go and tell others of what he has done for us. in giving testimony to others, we confirm our deliverance and find new entry into our community. The power of darkness is fully overthrown when we are able to bear witness to Jesus' deliverance to others. This is and will be the finish line of our fight against the 'demons' in our lives.
To him who has been delivered, the demons are forever gone and the mind restored and renewed.
That is good news indeed.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Where is your faith?
17 January, 2011
Read Luke 8:22-25
“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. (Luke 8:25)
"God help those who help themselves", we hear this often enough. Some Christians may even think this is in the Bible but
it is not.
If we can help ourselves then we have no need for God at all.
Faith must be absolute. If you are still relying on yourself, your faith is lacking. Unless your faith is NOT in yourself but God,
you have no faith.
People think of faith in measuring terms - how many percentage? 10 or 80 percent, etc.
But the Bible speaks of faith in WHO not how much.
Faith to be faith must be absolute. Either you trust him or you don't. Because faith is in a Person.
That is why the disciples' reaction to Jesus' calming the storm is the question, 'Who is this?' (v.25)
If Jesus is Lord of the Universe, He can be and must be trusted. Period.
If i only trust Him for certain things and not for others, i am saying He is not Lord of the Universe. Therefore He is
lying? Not trustworthy? or i am faithless?
When it comes to faith, it is an either/or option. Either we trust him or we don't.
Instead of saying, 'God help those who help themselves'. It may be more accurate to say, "We help ourselves when we
realize fully that we are helpless'.
Are we going through some storms in our lives right now? Are we still trying in some ways to get out of the situations
on our own? Are we still trying to help ourselves?
Prayer: Lord Jesus remind us again of who you are. The One who holds and rules the Universe, help us to come to you.
Draw us, Spirit, unless you draw us, we will still be relying on our pathetic self searching for frantic help. Open our eyes
to Who you are and may our faith be found in you alone. Amen.
Read Luke 8:22-25
“Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. (Luke 8:25)
"God help those who help themselves", we hear this often enough. Some Christians may even think this is in the Bible but
it is not.
If we can help ourselves then we have no need for God at all.
Faith must be absolute. If you are still relying on yourself, your faith is lacking. Unless your faith is NOT in yourself but God,
you have no faith.
People think of faith in measuring terms - how many percentage? 10 or 80 percent, etc.
But the Bible speaks of faith in WHO not how much.
Faith to be faith must be absolute. Either you trust him or you don't. Because faith is in a Person.
That is why the disciples' reaction to Jesus' calming the storm is the question, 'Who is this?' (v.25)
If Jesus is Lord of the Universe, He can be and must be trusted. Period.
If i only trust Him for certain things and not for others, i am saying He is not Lord of the Universe. Therefore He is
lying? Not trustworthy? or i am faithless?
When it comes to faith, it is an either/or option. Either we trust him or we don't.
Instead of saying, 'God help those who help themselves'. It may be more accurate to say, "We help ourselves when we
realize fully that we are helpless'.
Are we going through some storms in our lives right now? Are we still trying in some ways to get out of the situations
on our own? Are we still trying to help ourselves?
Prayer: Lord Jesus remind us again of who you are. The One who holds and rules the Universe, help us to come to you.
Draw us, Spirit, unless you draw us, we will still be relying on our pathetic self searching for frantic help. Open our eyes
to Who you are and may our faith be found in you alone. Amen.
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