Friday 29/2/13

Ephesians 2:4-6 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Before knowing God, we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. As a result, we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. However, God did not let us perish in our sins, but He has stepped down from His heavenly throne, took on the human body, and die on the cross to be a payment for our sins. That's His grace and His richest that saved us.

When we receive His salvation, His Holy Spirit come to dwell with us and make us alive. He helps us to recognize sins and the better way, guides us and raised us up toward Him. By His love He seats us in heaven with Jesus Christ, out of the perishing world toward the new and eternal world which He will create.

Thursday 28/2/13

Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Just as all humankind, before we believed in God, we were dead in sins. What does death in sins mean?

It means we follow the course of this world, follow the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the unbelivers. The spirit of Satan is at work in this world. And he works in the heart of those who don't believe in God, the kings, the judges, the wisemen of this world... to set the course of this world- the rules of the game and the rewards. All human have joined the game, follow the rules of sins to obtain their rewards.

Why do we desire the rewards of sins? Because we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. We live following our passions and desires, rather than what is good and right. We don't even know they are sins, just think of them as a need to be met.

Not believing in God, not knowing what is sin, we are led to follow the passions & desires of our flesh and worldly mind, by the spirit of Satan - the prince of the air who rules this world and be at work in the heart of the unbelievers.

Wednesday 27/2/13

Ephesians 1:19-20 ESV

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

God has great power to do great things in the lives of those who believe. Here Paul gave an example of Jesus Christ. By the working of His great power, God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him on the  Heavenly Throne. If God has the power to work that, how much He can do for us in our lives? How much can He lift us up from the deep pit and turn our lives around?

God can work great things for is and He has the power to turn our lives around. But how can we ask Him to do so?

First we must believe. We must be confident of what we do not see and be sure that eventually God will help us get what we hope for in Him. We must be patient and let the great power of God work in us, in our lives and in those around us.

Second we must pray, ask, seek, knock (Matthew 6). We must walk out in faith and do anything we find helpful for our goals. We cannot just close our eyes and pray. We also must aim for things that are good for us, for other people, for the church and for the society. We must not seek only to satisfy our desires.

Third we must walk with God and follow His directions. We must obey His commandments, such as love God and love our neighbors, seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, study and apply His Word in our lives. When we follow Him, He can lead us. When we apply His teaching, His power can work in our lives and in people around is. And when we love Him and seek to do His will, He will be pleased to bless us and give us our desires.

Tuesday 26/2/13

Ephesians 1:17-18 ESV

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

What should we pray for us and for others? In Ephesians 1, Paul gives us a long list.

The first to pray for is the spirit of wisdom and the knowledge of God.

The spirit of wisdom gives us prudence to see hidden dangers and concealed gold, discernment to know what is good and evil, and understanding to do things effectively & efficiently.

The knowledge of God helps us know who God is, what is His will, what are approved by Him and what not. It helps us follow God easily and be in communion with Him.

These two will enlighten the eyes of our heart, help them see the hope and the riches God has given us, in this life and in the life to come. To receive them, we must pray and study diligently His Word. We must also apply them in our lives and reflect on them to gain understanding.

Monday 25/2/13

Ephesians 1:15-16 ESV

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,

When we hear of our friends maturing in faith and bearing the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness and self control... what should we do?

We need to rejoice for our friends and give thanks to God for His work in their life. They have become better persons in Him, manifesting His Kingdom in this world.

We also need to remember them in our prayers. We pray that God continues to build them up and use them for the church, for His Kingdom, and for the community.

Friday 22/2/12

Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,  to the praise of his glory.

As we believe in the Gospel, we receive the Holy Spirit - the Counselor who guides us to all truths, who teaches us & reminds us to follow God's Word. He helps us bear the fruit of righteousness

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation & our inherentance in God, and the fruit of the Spirit is the sign of His presence. He guarantees to us that God has forgiven us and becomes our Heavenly Father. God is taking care of us like a father guides and provides his children. And after this life is over, we will live eternally with Him in heaven.

Thursday 21/2/13

Ephesians 1:7-10 ESV

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Here is a long list of what God has lavished on us when we believe in Christ and receive His salvation. Each of them is a theological term requires a page by themselves, google for more info:

_ Our redemption through the blood of Christ. Originally we are separated from God & to go to hell. In Christ's blood we are saved, can know God as our Heavenly Father, can come to Him in prayer to seek His blessing & guidance, and live with Him in heaven eternally.

_ The forgiveness of sin: God now is willing to forgive our trespasses and will not judge us, but help us overcome them.

_ Making know to us the mystery of His will, as a plan for the fullness of time: unlike this who don't know God, we know God's plan for this world and for us in this life and till eternal, so we know what will happen and direct our life accordingly.

That's a brief summary of what we have received in Christ. The relationship with God, the promise of forgiveness, and the knowledge of His plan for our life and for the world. We need to learn more of these privileges and make best use of them.

Wednesday 20/2/13

Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Paul says God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What are those spiritual blessings? The Bible listed many of them, such as in Psalm 103: forgiveness, healing, redemption, loving kindness and tender mercies, provide us with good things: wealth, health, and joy...

I know one person who said: I believe in God because He answers my prayers, teachers me good things, and gives me good friends and community. The more we reflect on God's goodness, the more we see how He has worked in our life to provide us good things, the more we become grateful to Him.

As we love Him more and become more grateful to Him, we will have more strength and determination to follow His way and keep His commandments. Thus by doing so, God help us become holy and walk blameless before Him.

Wednesday 20/2/13

Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

Paul says God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What are those spiritual blessings? The Bible listed many of them, such as in Psalm 103: forgiveness, healing, redemption, loving kindness and tender mercies, provide us with good things: wealth, health, and joy...

I know one person who said: I believe in God because He answers my prayers, teachers me good things, and gives me good friends and community. The more we reflect on God's goodness, the more we see how He has worked in our life to provide us good things, the more we become grateful to Him.

As we love Him more and become more grateful to Him, we will have more strength and determination to follow His way and keep His commandments. Thus by doing so, God help us become holy and walk blameless before Him.

Tuesday 19/2/13

James 5:19-20 ESV

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

How important is correcting and bringing back a brother who wandered from the truth? That is among the most glorious deed. In doing so, we have saved his soul from death, and covered a multitude of sins. Anything worthy more than that?

Therefore, we must do this whenever the opportunity arises. But we must do it with gentle and meekness and brotherly concern, not with a holier than thou - you are sinning attitude. We must correct him in private, with another brother, with the elders... not a public rebuke.

Monday 18/2/13

James 5:16-18 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

As human nature is sinful, we will all sin, repeatedly, continually. Thus we need to confess our sins to one another and seek forgiveness from God and men. We also need to pray for one another, for God to weaken to grip of sin in our heart and give us strength to stay immune to the temptations.

As we pray, we must do it diligently and persistently, waiting patiently to God. Elijah is a man like us, but his prayer ended the draught. He prayed persistently 7 times. For 6 times there were no sight of chance, but at the 7th time, the heaven gave rain and the earth gave fruit. Like the match around Jericho, we must stay persistent and diligent in our work and in our prayers despite the lack of progress and no sight of success. God will answer us in the 7th try. We will reap our effort. God will answer us.

Friday 15/2/13

James 5:13-14 ESV

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

These are very concrete advices of what to do in different occasions:

+ if we are suffering, we must pray. We must share our pains and problems with God, and seek His help in prayer. We can be assured that God will hear, and He will give us strength and help in our problem, if we abide in Him and patiently wait for Him.

+ if we are cheerful, we sing praise to God. That will multiply our joy and make people around us cheerful also.

+ if we are sick, we pray, and ask the elders in the church to pray for us also. That increases the effectiveness of prayers.

Thursday 14/2/13

James 5:12 ESV

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Those who swear but not keep it will be condemned by God. God designed swearing or taking oath for important issues in life, such as marriage, ordinance, or civil service. Swear is not for daily issues.

Why do we have to swear? Is it because our normal "yes" is not trustable enough? If we cannot keep our "yes", can we keep our swear? So the safest way is to not swear at all, just keep our "yes" and build up our credibility. That's the advice of God, and the true wisdom.

Friday 8/2/13

James 5:10-11 ESV

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

The heroes of the Bible, people who knew God and walked closely with Him, are our model of patience. Job is an exemplar of endurance and steadfastness. Satan destroyed his wealth and killed his children. The evil even made it appear as if God judged him, causing people to suspect he secretly did evil things and despised him, Job remained steadfast and trusted in God's eventual vindication. Indeed, after the trial was over, God gave him twice as much. Similarly, Abraham, David, Elijah, ... all are model of patient and endurance, steadfastly waiting for God. We must learn from them.

Thursday 7/2/13

James 5:8-9 ESV

You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

One aspect where we need to be patient is with one another. Grumbling and judging each other are sin. They cause strifes and break the fellowship. Instead, we ought to gently admonish each other in brotherly love. If someone do something not right, we ought to speak to him in private. If he persists, speak with two or three others, if still then with the elders. Only after that we are allowed to judge publicly as a group.

Otherwise, we are called to be patient, be kind and bear with each other in weakness. We ought to focus on in our weaknesses than in other's. Knowing our weaknesses also help us to stay patient of other's.

Wednesday 6/2/13

James 5:7 ESV

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

Farming gives us an excellent illustration of how the Lord works with us. The farmers obviously must work hard and diligent for the harvest. Nevertheless, the majority and critical part of the work is done by God. He brings the rains, makes the crop grows, and keeps the peace and the stable season. The farmers cannot do these; yet without these, the harvest won't come, and all have done would be for nothing. Similarly, in whatever we work with God, we must do diligently like the farmers, and pray God to do the rest.

But we must be patient and stay hopeful. We must be patient as the crop grows slowly and changes cannot be seen daily. We must stay hopeful and trust God that the early rain and the later rain will come. At all time, we must be strong and work diligently, to keep things in good condition the best we can. When all have been done and nothing else to do, we then stay patient and wait in hope for the Lord to do His work.