Thursday 29/8/13

Ephesians 3:19 ESV

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

As Christians (i.e Christ's people), we should learn to know the love of Christ. Christ left the heavenly throne, born and lived a poor life, endured all the suffering, shame and pain, then accepted to be crucified at the cross. He did all that to pay for our sin even while we haven't known Him.  That love surpasses all human knowledge.

Knowing the love of Christ, we are compelled to love Him back, have faith and trust in His loving kindness to us. Being rooted and grounded in His love, we will have the strength to comprehend and live out His Word.

Tuesday 27/8/13

Ephesians 3:16-17 ESV

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

God can strengthen our inner being - our heart, our spirit and our soul - through His Spirit. Therefore, when we feel weak, when we lose heart, when our soul faints within us, we must pray to God to strengthen us, give us power through the Holy Spirit to deal with the trial or the temptation. Our best way to deal with difficulties and temptations is not willpower, but prayer and faith. As we sincerely pray and earnestly seek Him, God promises to hear us and be with us.

God dwells with us through faith. Faith is the channel through which we commune with God and receive power from Him. Through faith, we believe God exists and hears our prayer. So we pray with the expectation that God will answer us, and act in trust that He will make things work out according to His will.

Monday 26/8/13

Ephesians 3:14-15 ESV

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

Whenever we pray, we are bowing before the Lord God, the Creator of all, the Sovereign God who rules the angels on His lofty throne. We need not be afraid or tense when seeing them because while He is the most high God to all, He is our Father in Jesus. What we need is to be aware of His power, and ask in faith & trust. He promises to hear us, and will answer our prayer.

So as we pray, we need to remind ourselves who we are talking to, the Lord God, the Creator of heavens and earth, the Allmighty God, and above all, our heavenly father.

Friday 23/8/13

Galatians 4:6-7 ESV

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

One of the sign, probably the earliest sign, that the Holy Spirit is within us is our ability to cry to God as our Abba Father. That is the beginning of our faith, and the initial of our relationship and communion with Him - the sign that we have become His children.

Wednesday 21/8/13

Galatians 4:1-2 ESV

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.

As Christian, we are the children of God. However, since we are still children, we are not mature enough to handle freedom and authority. So God put us under the guardian of angels and His management. As we grow in Him, He will gradually give us more freedom and authority. It's God who set the date, and it's our duty to do well what are given to us.

Tuesday 20 Aug 13

Galatians 3:26-29 ESV

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Ideally, there should be no distinction among Christians for we are all baptized into Christ and have put on Christ's image. There is no male or female, slave or master, Jew or Greek, but Christ's. God commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. A way to do it is not having distinction between ourselves and our neighbors. We are all Christ's, all children of God, all citizens of heaven...

We are all parts of the same church body. Each may have different roles and status, but as the eyes are no higher than the feet, no one is higher than others. All are equally important for the well being of the body

Thursday 15/8/13

Galatians 3:15, 19-20 ESV

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

If the law cannot make one righteous or help one achieve salvation before God, why did God give the law? Because of transgressions. Without the law, human don't know they are sinners. Even for the Pharisee who know the law but misunderstood and selectively keep them, they are still sinners while thinking themselves righteous. Those who understand the law correctly, understand their sinful state and their need for forgiveness and salvation.

Then, the purpose of the law is to show us the godly standard, and how we have failed horribly. The law then points us to Christ, the forgiveness and salvation of God.

Tuesday 13/8/13

Galatians 3:11-12 ESV

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."  But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them."

The Bible calls those who live and keep the laws as doers of the laws, not the righteous. However, those who live by faith are the righteous. The laws are the standard of right behavior. However, as the heart of men are wicked and prone to evil, no one can keep all the laws without fail. The laws then just show us our fallen state. If we adamant on keeping the laws, we may become like the Pharisee: focus on the outward parts but neglect the inner parts, judgemental and hypocrisy toward others. Therefore, while the laws show us what righteousness is, it is faith, hope, love, merciful and forbearance that guide us there.

Wednesday 14/8/13

Galatians 3:13-14 ESV

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

God gave the laws together with the blessings and the curses. Those who keep the laws will receive blessings, while those who fail will be cursed. As none of us can consistently keep all the laws all the time without fail, physical part and spiritual part, even the two basic love God with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves. Therefore, we are all cursed and the weight of sin is death.

Then comes Jesus Christ, faith and promises which deliver us from the curses of the laws, of sin and death. Christ paid for our sin and redeemed us from the curse by dying on the cross for us. Through Christ, God gives us promises of forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life and the Holy Spirit as our guide and counsellor. Through faith, we believe and receive the promises.

Wednesday 7/8/13

Galatians 3:5-6 ESV

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?

God works miracles in our lives because we hear & ask in faith and prayer, not because we do good works or keeping the laws. Just as Abraham, we are counted as righteousness because we believe in God, that He exists and He will do what He says.

We are not counted righteous because we keep the laws, for we will inevitably fail. God does not work miracles in our lives because we do good works, for our good works are never enough to force a favor from God. God counts us as righteousness and work miracles in our lives because of Jesus, because we hear and believe, and because God loves us.

Tuesday 6/8/13

Galatians 3:4 ESV

Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

This question asks us if we have suffered anything in vain as Christians? As Christians, we must follow God's Words, love, do good and shun evil. Although it involves denying the flesh and the worldly mind, they are all for our good, and keep us from harm. In all our suffering in God's name, is there suffering that bring out no good - either for us or for others?

God allows us to suffer. However, He also brings good from suffering. For us, suffering brings patience, patience brings character, which refines us. For others, our suffering is an effective witness for them to see God's glory and receive eternal life from Him.