Tuesday 18/6/13

Galatians 1:13-14 ESV

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

We must not tell a person by his past, especially after his genuine conversion. Before following Jesus, Paul was a renown Pharisee. He had studied under the best teachers of Judaism, and trusted by the high priest Ananias to persecute the church. Nevertheless, after the conversion, he became a devoted apostle who did great work for Christ.

Everyone has certain skills / talents which can be used to serve good or evil. The world used Paul's zeal, devotion for evil, but God used them for good. So as a Christian turn to God, we need to help them use their gifts for good.

Friday 14/6/13

Galatians 1:6-9 ESV

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

We must constantly on guard against the different gospels, or the distortions of the Gospel of the grace of Christ. These distortions may be taught to us by some ministers in the church, some famous teachers, or even some angels appeared to us. We must be discern between right & wrong, and guard ourselves against distortions of truth. Among us, Satan will raise up wolves who are blinded by the things of this world such as recognition of men, wealth, personal ambitions. They may have had a good start, became famous but later falling into Satan's temptations. The angels appearing to us maybe the fallen angels, Satan's minions. So we mist be on guard and discerning. We mist understanding the Gospel in detail and be alert of the things contrary.

Thursday 13/6/13

Galatians 1:3-4 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Why did Lord Jesus give Himself to be crucified on the cross?

_ to pay for our sins.

_ to deliver us from the present evil age.

_ in obedience to God the Father

Wednesday 12/6/13

Ephesians 6:23-24 ESV

Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

The world can give us richest, fame and power. But they will force us to toil without rest and live a life filled with care and anxious. Moreover, these worldly gifts are fleeing. We don't know when they disappear

Peace, love, faith, hope, grace - they are the spiritual blessings of God to all Christians.  Peace in the midst of trouble, love in the hostile environment, faith in uncertainty, hope when we cannot see anything good, grace in our failure - these gifts of God are more than anything the world can offer. These blessings of God give us rest and assurance, and lead to eternal life.

Tuesday 11/6/13

Ephesians 6:21-22 ESV

So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we ought to share with each other how we are doing, what are going on in our lives, and what we are planning to do. In that way, we can encourage each other, pray for each other, and counseling each other in Christ.

Monday 10/6/13

Ephesians 6:19-20 ESV

and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Beside praying for ourselves and for our daily supplication, we also need to pray for others, especially for those who are proclaiming the gospel. As Christians, we are God's ambassadors in this fallen world. The main reason God let us remain in this fallen world is to fulfill His Great Commandment. Therefore, we ought to proclaim the gospel boldly, whether in comfort or in chain, in the market or in prison - or support & pray for those who are called to do so.

Tuesday 4/6/13

Ephesians 6:17 ESV

and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The last two pieces of the spiritual armor of God for our spiritual battle is the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

The helmet is to protect our head. Without it, any attack that strikes our head will critically injure us. Modern soldiers no longer wear armor because bullets are too strong to block, but they still wear helmet. Similarly, salvation, the thought that we are saved from sins and now have eternal life in God, guard our mind from the evils' scheme. The expected eternal joy of heaven gives us strength to endure the temporal tribulations in this evil world. As long as we keep the thought of salvation in our mind, the temptations and trials of this world can only harm our earthly body but not our soul.

The sword is our weapon to attack. It slashed through and destroy our enemies. Our battle is in spirit, so we must fight using spiritual sword - the Word of God. God usually compares His Word to a sword which cut through the confusing mess to split good from evil. Grounded on the Word of God, we can see right from wrong, discern evil from good and expose the trap the evils laid. The Word of God helps us walk in the right path and stay away from evils so we can have spiritual victory & win souls for Him.

Monday 3/6/13

Ephesians 6:15-16 ESV

and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

The next two pieces of the armor of God are the shoes of the gospel and the shield of Faith.

Shoes are for mobility. With the shoes protecting our feet, we can go anywhere - any thorny ground, any rough terrain. The shoes also protect us from slippery ground and help us walk firm. Similarly, the Gospel is our spiritual shoes. With it, God will protects our feet so we can go anywhere without slipping or pain. The Gospel helps us go through rough mountains, slippery slopes and thorny grounds.

As the breastplate passively protects us, the shield actively defends us. We use it to block incoming arrows and swords. Similarly, our faith helps us defend against the fiery arrows the devil shooting at us.

Unlike the breastplate, we must use our shield. We must stand firm, look straight at the incoming dangers and  put pur shield forward. A good shield will not fail us. So we must apply our faith, stand firm and show it at the incoming attacks. God's shield will not fail us, it cannot be broken.

Wednesday 5/6/13

Ephesians 6:18 ESV

praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Our final weapon is prayer in the Spirit. As our sword is the sword of the Spirit, prayer is the way we attack. Think of each prayer as a slash to the evil spirit. We must pray at all times, and pray perseveringly, pray long and patiently for the answer of God. We must pray not only for us, but for our neighbors, the society and the Kingdom of God also. God assured us that He hears our prayers. He will answer us and guide us to victory.