Monday 30/12/13

Philippians 1:7 ESV

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

What did Paul talk about his coworkers? What did they partake?
_ in imprisonment & persecution
_ in the defense of the gospel
_ in the confirmation of the gospel

Which of these have we done?
Who partake with us?

The common works that we do create a bond among us. The more common works a church does, the closer the fellowship in the church.

Tuesday 24/12

Luke 2:14 ESV

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Today is Christmas day - Christ' mass, the mass of Christ to celebrate His coming into the world. He came into the world, full of God's spirit, to reveal how God is like in the body of men, and how men ought to be as the image of God. Moreover, Christ came to die on the cross to pay for the sin of humankind, so that those believe in Him can be cleansed of their sin, and can be adopted as God's children. They will not be perished, yet have eternal life with God in heaven.

So Christmas is a history changing event, the glorious act of redemption of God that brings comfort & peace to all who love Him & seek His favor.

Friday 20/12/13

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God will always finish what He has started. No difficulty can stop Him. Therefore, we can rely on Him to help us complete our work. As we acknowledge Him in our work, we ought be strong & take courage, pray for His help & guidance to overcome difficulties, and persevere. It may take long, but God is in charge, and He will complete what He has started.

Thursday 18/12/13

Philippians 1:4-5 ESV

always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Christians ought to be partners in prayer and in the gospel. Partnership and fellowship with other brothers & sisters in Christ are blessings from God. They help us bond & unite which each other, practicing God's love & teaching each other His way. It's in this partnership & fellowship that we experience God's grace to grow & mature in the faith.

I personally think a church's health & discipleship level are proportion to the level of partnership & fellowship in prayer & in gospel work of its members

Tuesday 17/12/24

Philippians 1:3 ESV

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

The memories of the righteous are a joy and an encouragement to others. Their good deeds, their moral integrity, their stand against evil remind people that righteous and goodness are still in this world. They motivate people to follow their examples. Their stories are the light & the salt against the darkness & corruption of this world. Blessed are those who hear their stories.

It's good for us to learn the deeds of the righteous. Better still, we should strive to do what are right and make stories that are a blessing & an encouragement to others

Tuesday 17/12/24

Philippians 1:3 ESV

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

The memories of the righteous are a joy and an encouragement to others. Their good deeds, their moral integrity, their stand against evil remind people that righteous and goodness are still in this world. They motivate people to follow their examples. Their stories are the light & the salt against the darkness & corruption of this world. Blessed are those who hear their stories.

It's good for us to learn the deeds of the righteous. Better still, we should strive to do what are right and make stories that are a blessing & an encouragement to others

Friday 13/12/13

Ephesians 6:9 ESV

Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Masters have natural tendency to threaten their workers with harsh words, violence punishment or salary cut to make them work harder. But this abusing power is wrong. A Christian master ought to remember that God is the heavenly master of both them and their workers. As a result, they must not use threats, but instead, exhort their workers with Biblical work principles, encourage them with just rewards, and improve their productivity with better tools and effective management.

Whatever a Christian master does to his workers, or the workers do to their masters, God will judge. Therefore, the Christian masters must be responsible before God for his conduct. Similarly, the workers must also be responsible before God for his conduct. God is the ultimate heavenly judge for both.

Thursday 12/12/13

Ephesians 6:7-8 ESV

rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

As Christians, we ought to work (i.e. serve) with dedication and with good will. We must keep in mind that our serving is to the Lord, and not to men. Therefore, our rewards are also come from the Lord, and not from men. So we can be at peace even when our work seems so fruitless, because it's the Lord who rewards us, not men. Our rewards will come in ways cannot be seen from worldly perspective.

Having said so, the Lord can change our work or our place of work. As a result, we don't need to stay in a work forever. If we sense it's time to move on, and after we have sincerely prayed, and God has opened a door to a new work & opportunity, we can move on.

Wednesday 11/12/13

Ephesians 6:5-6 ESV

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

As Christians, our employment and our provision ultimately come from God. Human factors are the channels God has chosen to provide for & supervise over us. Therefore, we ultimately work for Christ, with our employers as the channels.

As a result, we ought to take our work sincerely, even with fear & trembling. We ought not to work to please our colleagues or our boss, but to please God who see all things we do, even in secret. We also don't need to worry about our employers' just rewards, for our ultimate rewards are from God, who is just & generous. We ought to acknowledge God as our Lord, our Boss, the ultimate giver & supervisor of our work.

But God is our heavenly mentor & father, too. He is not a boss who just give jobs & never give help. Often, He gives jobs above our current abilities to build us up, and help us to meet the new requirement. As a result, we are not alone but we can seek help from Him any time. We ought to talk with Him in prayer about our work, our thankfulness & our problems, seek His help & teaching & guidance to do the job well.

Tuesday 10/12/13

Ephesians 6:4 ESV

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

As it's children's duty to obey, parents also have duties to nurture, watch & care, and raise up children in the Lord. Father must not abuse their right, must not be harsh and cruel to children which provoke them to anger. Instead, they ought to bring them up in discipline and instruction, with love, patient and exhortation toward what're good in the Lord.

Monday 9/12/13

Ephesians 6:1-3 NET

Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.  “ Honor your father and mother , ” which is the first commandment accompanied by a promise, namely,  “ that it may go  well with you and that you will live  a long time on the earth . ”

This commandment is very clear: children must obey their children. Children are small, naive, unaware of pending dangers. God has ordained parents to watch over them, teach them what's right to do, and dangers to avoid. Therefore, children who listen to their parents will learn the right things and avoid dangers. As a result, all will be well with them, and they will live long on earth as the Lord has promised.

Sunday 8/12/13

Ephesians 5:28-31 NET

In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church,  for we are members of his body.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become  one flesh.

Here the Bible relates the husband-wife relationship as a body. Wives ought to submit to their husbands as the body to the head. Husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Every men take a good care of his body, feed it, care for it, build it up... not neglect it, hurt it or be harsh against it. In the same manner he ought to treat his wife.

Thursday 28/11/13

Ephesians 5:25 NET

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her

Just as the Bible teaches wives to submit to their husbands as the Church submits to Christ, the husbands need to love their wives as Christ loves the church.

What is love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NET describes love according to the Bible as

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.  It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.  It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Thus it is imperative that men are to be kind, patient, humble, calm, forebearing, enduring while hoping for the best of their wives. Men are to love God, love our neighbors, love our wives as ourselves, if not more than ourselves.