Reflections on 1 Peter 2: 13-25

13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,
14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Respect authority. An amazing statement from the Apostle to a people who had been scattered and exiled by the very authorities whom they are now called to honor. And why should they do so? Because it is by the will of God that by their conduct, those who seek to blaspheme God will be silenced. How often do we need reminding of this divine command, that while we remain on this Earth as ambassadors for Christ, should we not then live so as not to bring disrepute to the One whom we represent. How much mockery of Christ would cease should we live honest and peaceable lives.

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

"We are now under grace, not under law" is so often the rallying call of those who seek to use the grace of God as a license for sin. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6: 1-2)

Our freedom was bought at a terrible price and our freedom is a freedom from slavery to sin. However, there is a sense that one goes not so much from slavery to freedom, but slavery to slavery. We who were once slaves to Sin are now slaves to God and of Righteousness (Rom 6: 17-18). What glorious freedom there is in this! "The freest man in the world is the one who is a slave to a perfect master" (Paul Washer). As slaves of our new master, we desire all the more to please Him.

And how does one please Him? By obeying His commands as He has revealed to us through His Word. Esteem others higher than yourself (Phil. 2:3), love one's fellow siblings in Christ (John 13:35), revere God the Almighty, submit to all authority appointed by Him.

18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.
19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

Will Christian's suffer and unjustly at that? Are there not those in the Middle East, India, China and North Korea who this day who are persecuted and pressed down on the mere notion that they identify themselves with the name of Christ? Are there not those in "open" societies like ours or America who are ostracized and despised because they desire to glorify and honor God above all things? Such are the gracious sufferings of the saints, of whom God will not be ashamed to be called their God. (Heb. 11:16)

However, one must be careful to ensure that one is indeed suffering for doing good in the name of Christ. There are some who are mocked not for the Gospel's sake, but because of their actions which contravene the law. Rather than being scandalized solely by the Gospel, many are made to stumble by the lifestyles and actions of its would-be propagators. Let us examine ourselves carefully, that we would remove every stumbling block before men except the scandal of the Gospel.

21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Why do we choose to suffer for doing good? Why would we rather be cheated and struck down by others? Because we have One who has gone before us who too was cursed by men without a cause. In His suffering He did not retaliate, but instead trusted that the Judge of all the Earth will do right. We look forward to the Day when all wrongs will be made right and justice will not only be done, but will also be seen to be done. So that all of Creation will know that He who sits in the heavens is a Just God who will not let the sins of wicked men go unpunished. (Prov. 11:21)

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

But we who are redeemed are redeemed by His death. He who took all our sins that we might stand acceptable and beautiful before a Holy God. Having been thus redeemed, how much more should we then live to and for God? For He has not only delivered us from the penalty of Sin, but He will only continually deliver us from the power of Sin as long as we remain in this mortal realm.

Because it pleased the LORD to crush Him, we now have peace with God. The severed relationship that began the moment Adam fell has now been restored and healed completely. We who were once lost, Christ our Great Shepard has found.

Praise Him you heavens and all thats above;
Praise Him you angels and heavenly hosts;
Let the whole earth praise Him.

A Constant Reminder

Do nothing that you would not like God to see.
Say nothing, you would not like God to hear.
Write nothing, you would not like God to read.
Go no place where you would not like God to find you.
Read no book of which you would not like God to say, "Show it to Me."
Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, "What are you doing?"

- J. C. Ryle

1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain!
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

- Psalm 139

Where can I go oh Lord and you are not already there?
Where can I hide and you will not find me?
All my deepest thoughts and plans are as an open book before You,
All my days You have already foreseen.

Surely the Lord is good and merciful beyond measure,
and His ways higher than my ways.
Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Who has given Him counsel?

That my heart may be pure in Your sight,
And my will in line with Your's.
"Grant what thou commandest,
And command what thou wilt."

Keep me from hypocrisy.

Private Prayer by A. W. Pink

Not a few are puzzling their brains over prophecy when they should be on their knees before God. “The Devil knows he is no loser, and the curious soul but a little gainer, if he can but persuade him to spend most of his precious time in pouring over the mysteries and hidden things of God. He that affects to read the Revelation of John more than his plain Epistles, or Daniel’s prophecies more than David’s Psalms, and is more busy about reconciling different Scriptures than he is about mortifying of unruly lusts, or is set more upon vain speculation than upon things that make for edification—he is not the man that is cut out for closet prayer. Such as affect sublime notions, obscure expressions, and are men of abstract conceits, are but a company of wise fools, that will never take any delight to be with God in a corner. O how holy, happy, heavenly, and humble might many men have been, had they but spent half the time in closet prayer that they have spent in searching after those things that are hard to be understood” (Thomas Brooks, Puritan).

The prayer of faith includes submission as truly as it does confidence, for if the latter be without the former, it is presumption—and not faith. To pray in faith is not to ask in the certain belief that God will give us what we ask for, but rather that He will grant us what is wisest and best. If we knew assuredly beforehand that God would certainly give us the very things we ask for, we would have reason to be afraid to pray, for often we desire things which would prove a curse if we got them! Our wisdom as well as our duty is to pray, conditionally and submissively. We must bow before God’s sovereignty.

Let us now anticipate an objection. I would be often in praying before God, but sin has so much power over me that it severs communion, and utterly quenches the spirit of prayer in my heart—I feel so polluted that it would be a mockery for me to appear before the thrice holy God. Ah, but God’s hearing of our prayers does not depend upon our sanctity—but upon Christ’s mediation: “I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name’s sake” (Ezek. 36:22). It is not because of what Christians are in themselves, but because of what they are in Christ, that God responds to their requests: “to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). When God answers our petitions it is not for our sakes, nor for our prayers’ sake, but for His Son’s sake: see Ephesians 4:32. Seek to remember, my distressed brethren, that you are a member of the mystical body of Christ, and as Luther said, “What man will cut off his nose because there is filth in it?”

Taken from here. (Emphasis mine)

Surely.....

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.

The man declares, I am weary, O God;
I am weary, O God, and worn out.
Surely I am too stupid to be a man.
I have not the understanding of a man.

- Proverbs 30: 1-2

Oh Lord, how have I not heeded your Word.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

- Proverbs 3: 5-6

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And he said, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, 'Please let down your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels'—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar." She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.

- Genesis 24: 12-20

Isn't this such a wonderful story? :)

Reflections on 1 Peter 2: 1-12

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

After re-reading my last post, the one word in this verse that struck me was "envy". Do I not envy others, all those who had done so many other exciting things and who have traveled widely? Having heard the Good News of what the Lord has done, should not one then realize that he has been blessed with every spiritual blessing? Oh that the Lord should teach me to be satisfied in what He has provided for me and that I be given unto living a life worthy of repentance.

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Ah to long for that which is good and holy, and which leads into greater and greater maturity in Christ. Do I desire that which is pure? Have I ceased drinking down iniquities as though it were water (Job 15:16) and turned to drink from the Fountain of Living Water? Just as there is the pure spiritual milk, there is milk which is rotten and does no good for the soul or in the maturing of faith.

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in Scripture:

"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Christ the cornerstone. How often do we built mighty works where Christ does not form the foundation, but rather tops it off like a cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. We do all sorts of things and give a momentary acknowledgment of Christ at the end. Is it any wonder so many of our programmes fail in light of eternity?

For only that which is done through Jesus Christ is seen as acceptable by God and whosoever trusts in Him, in His Sovereignty, Power and Sufficiency, and contrary to the culture today, they will not be ashamed on that Day when He returns triumphant to claim His Bride.

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

"The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,"

8 and

"A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense."



They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

For those who do not believe on Christ, Christ is made to be a stumbling block before them (1 Cor. 1:23). For indeed, the carnal nature cannot perceive or understand that which is spiritual, and those whom the light of God's Word has not illuminated their minds will strive with every ounce of their energy against it. Such are the vessels of wrath prepared unto destruction (Rom. 9:22)

But in His great mercy and infinite wisdom He has chosen for Himself a people that will glorify Him and exalt His Holy Name. He has called them and brought them out by His own hand those who were dead in their sins and trespasses (Eph. 2:1) and called them His own. Why do I not rejoice in this with exceeding gladness? That my Lord and King should show mercy and grace to me in the greatest ever demonstration of His Love of all eternity. Has my heart become so dull to this magnificent truth?

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

In Christ, we are aliens and strangers in a foreign land for as long as remain in this mortal realm. Is it not astounding that many professing Christians seem to be so comfortable in this life and seek to conform the Church to the World? But we are pilgrims and we seek a city with foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:10). This World has nothing to offer us.

And as pilgrims we are called to strive against the flesh, that sinful nature that still resides in our mortal bodies. It is a war, and in war the battles are always costly. It is a great struggle, but He has already promised us the victory and we fight with that in mind.

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation

A prelude of sorts to the remaining verses in chapter 2. Even as aliens and strangers in this world, we are commanded to conduct ourselves honorably and with much good works, so that even when the heathens mock and accuse us of evil, it will be clearly seen that there is no rational basis to the charge.

How different is the situation today. We read of Pastors caught in adulteries, prostituting the church for monetary gain or giving vain prophecies. We read of churches spending tens of millions on buildings and renovations while less than a tenth of that is used to help the poor. One would be hard pressed to tell the difference between some worship services today and the rock concerts held outside. So often is the church seen to be as worldly as the World, and all in the name of being relevant.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

- James 1:27

Of Love for God

It is so hard to sing of one's love for God, as small and inadequate as it is, but there is much delight to be found in singing of God's love for me. Who can fathom the Love of God and of His infinite Mercies?

17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

- Hebrews 6: 17-20

===========================

Looking at the lives of people around me who I know and reflecting upon my own journey, I am often led to ask the question, "Why God have you made me this way." Now the people I hang out with most often come from a certain socio-economic group, but I see people who have literally traveled the world and who have seen and done things that I could only dream of. Oftentimes one feels like a real hillbilly and 'suaku' when compared to those jet-setting cosmopolitan high-achieving people heh.

Granted that much of it is of my own doing. When I look at some of the things I did in my youth, the things that I spent most of my time and effort on, the opportunities I had passed over, I feel so utterly disgusted with myself. Ah the follies of youth, time lost is gone forever.

But God is merciful and wise beyond comparison in leading me despite all my failings and faults and dullness of hearing. That He may grant me the faith to declare "By the Grace of God I am what I am, and His Grace towards me was not in vain." (1 Cor. 15:10)

Oh to burn myself out for Him

Communicating Better

There's a whole series of posts and comments up at Pyromaniacs that are worth reading.

Often times in our disdain for decisional regeneration, altar calls and the like, we need to seriously consider our answer to the sinner's question, "How then shall I be saved?" Now obviously the answer would involve making a choice, whether it be to seek the Lord, repent, come to Christ, etc....

As I said, extremely worthy and thought-provoking posts to read and do read the comments as well for the discussion.

To Fast and Pray

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

- James 1: 5-8

There is a certain heavy thing on my mind. Though it may seem selfish, Brothers, pray that God will grant me the wisdom to decide, the courage to act and the faith to trust in His goodness.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8: 26-28

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Update @ 10.20pm

Just returned from a walk to clear to my thoughts. Feeling comforted in Him who impressed upon me to have faith so long ago.

Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief!

Husbands, Love Your Wives

Reflections on 1 Peter 1: 13-25

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Having encouraged the believer with a vision of the salvation to come, Peter turns to exhorting the believer into action based upon such a vision. How interesting it is for the Apostle to focus on the believer's mind, knowing full well the tendency of the mind to wander from the Truth.

Here then is no modern divorcing of the mind from the emotions, for we are called to love Him with our minds as with our heart and emotions. Oh to set our minds fully upon the grace from Jesus Christ, how often do we then turn our minds and eyes away from our blessed hope unto things of this Earth. Where/What is my hope set upon? Can anything on this Earth satisfy fully?

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

"As obedient children". Looking back at all that the Lord has brought me through and all His blessings and chastenings, despite all the maturation in Christ over the years, I am still but a child of God and will remain so for eternity. And if as children we are called to obey our earthly parents, how much more then should we obey our Heavenly Father. For our Father is a Holy Father, and He calls us to be so likewise, as without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Heb. 12:14)

But our sinful nature that remains within us constantly seeks to enslave us to our previous bondage. I hear its seductive voice every time I turn on the television, computer or even while simply walking down the street. My eyes wander and rest upon things that I should not dwell upon. A constant battle is fought in the battlefield of the mind every day. The World seeks, in the words of Ravenhill, to press us into its mold, to make us very much a child of the Devil as well as a citizen of this world. Yet the Lord is faithful to keep His saints, to grant them power through the Holy Spirit to overcome the temptations of this age.

17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

This is truly inspired writing, for how else can two seemingly contrary truths be brought together in such unity. For though we have been bought by the Blood of Christ, in whom we are no longer under any condemnation (Rom. 8:1), yet we are exhorted to walk carefully and fearfully while we yet remain in this earthly realm, keeping ourselves in the Love of God (Jude 21). How rarely are both truths presented side-by-side in the church nowadays, for so many either rest in lawless antinomianism or cower in fearful legalism.

Oh the wonders of Grace, that we may walk through life and know that we will never be able to escape from the Love of God. What then can one do, for he is controlled by the Love of God (2 Cor. 5:14) to walk in His ways, to love the things He loves and to hate the things He hates. Oh that the reality of this Love be revealed to me anew every morning.

20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Who can claim that our Saviour is a mere creature, for even before the world was made, He is. Yet in the mystery of mysteries, He entered into time into earthly existence for our sakes. And He went to that Cross and was raised again and glorified above all things. Who can understand such things? One could spend an eternity seeking to understand the glory of Christ in his death and resurrection and yet still discover there is so much more that he does not know. On such a mystery can our hope and faith rest securely.

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
24for

"All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever."

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Here then is clear demonstration of the believer's responsibility in his sanctification. Indeed while salvation is only of the Lord, this does not absolve one of one's own responsibility in purifying himself, for our Lord works through human as well as divine means.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Such are the words of our Lord, that we are given as a divine command to love. To love others unconditionally as He has so loved us unconditionally. Many have taken such great words and twisted it for their own evil purposes, but we must never let them steal these words away from us.

Oh to love with a pure heart, how difficult it is. In my recent deliberations and meditations on relationships, this is the great struggle in me. To look beyond her imperfections and weaknesses, to look beyond even her strengths, successes and accolades, things which those of the world may admire and desire, and to see and love the beauty within her that is of Christ, from Christ and is Christ. To desire a relationship not for what I can get from it, but for me to better display Christ and His Love as inadequate as I am and to serve her even as Christ emptied Himself and served His Bride.

So what is to be our motivation to this great love? Nothing less than the Gospel which remains forever. Men come and go, and all things that can be seen will soon pass away, but our great hope rests upon the Word of the One who lives forever and who was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

He Makes All Things Beautiful In His Time

Two verses that I want to lay down as a marker this day.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the LORD.

- Prov. 18:22

House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

- Prov. 19:14

Link for future reading. (Complementarian Singles: Who Should I Marry?)

Ryle on Friends (and Marriage :P)

I couldn't resist posting this (from J. C. Ryle's Thoughts for Young Men).

I dwell upon this point, because it has more to do with your prospects in life than first appears. If you ever marry, it is more than probable you will choose a wife from among your circle of friends or their acquaintances. If Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram had not formed a friendship with Ahab's family, he would most likely not have married Ahab's daughter. And who can estimate the importance of a right choice in marriage? It is a step which, according, to the old saying, "either makes a man or ruins him." Your happiness in both lives may depend on it. Your wife must either help your soul or harm it. She will either fan the flame of Christianity in your heart, or throw cold water upon it, and make it burn low. She will either be, wings or handcuffs, an encouragement or an hindrance to your Christianity, according to her character. He that finds a good wife does indeed "finds a good thing;" so if you have the desire to find one, be very careful how you choose your friends.

Do you ask me what kind of friends you should choose? Choose friends who will benefit your soul, friends whom you can really respect, friends whom you would like to have near you on your deathbed, friends who love the Bible, and are not afraid to speak to you about it, friends that you would not be ashamed of having at the coming of Christ, and the day of judgment. Follow the example that David sets for you: he says, "I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts" (Psalm 119:63). Remember the words of Solomon: "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" (Proverbs 13:20). But depend on it, bad company in this life, is the sure way to procure worse company in the life to come.

- J. C. Ryle

He Is Able

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
11 to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

- 2 Timothy 1:8-12 (NKJV, bold emphasis mine)

"You know, I've been to more funerals than weddings." Was talking with Charles yesterday after visiting his namesake in NUH and that was the observation both of us arrived to. A day before, we went to a wake to visit a Year 4 BB Boy who had watched as his father died before his eyes. He was just 52 years old. A week ago a Year 3 BB Boy lost his father due to complications during a routine surgery.

What is your life but a vapour that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away (cf. James 4:14). I looked at all those young people eating and laughing near Bugis Junction as Charles and I were there having dessert after attending the wake on Tuesday. Do they know what is to come? Has Man so desensitized himself that he no longer ponders upon eternal things? I am convinced that if we truly see what is coming we'll swear off all partying and wild living, and fall down on our faces and weep for a dead and dying world. Every man knows that there will be a day of reckoning, that death is inevitable. But in his sin, he suppresses the truth and seeks to drug and entertain himself so as to forget this reality.

In that hospital room yesterday, I looked at his stuff carefully placed to one side of the room and I thought of all the things I have in this world, all those books, my computer, my earthly treasures. Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked do I return to Him. What good are all the riches and goods of this Earth to a man dying on a bed.

So should I then despair? If I were a lost, carnal man then I should very rightly despair, for I would be without any hope whatsoever. But in Christ have I made my deposit, and He is able and faithful to keep it to that Final Day. We do not grieve over death and suffering like those who have no hope, for Christ has abolished death through His own death and resurrection.

In His wisdom He has seen fit to show me so starkly the fragile mortality of humanity while I am still young in age. I fully believe it is good for young people to go for funerals, that they may see their future and be wise in all that they do.

Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

- Psalm 90:12

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.

You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man's life is but a breath.
Selah

Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

"But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.

- Psalm 39: 4-7

Just one life twill soon be past, and only what's done for Christ will last; And when I am dying how happy I'll be, that the lamp of my life has been burnt out for thee.

- Anonymous

I've been lookin' at the past
I've wasted too much time
On things that won't last
I've built a kingdom out of rubble and sand
But I don't, I don't want to hold on to it all
I'm ready for the river to run and wash it away

CHORUS
I'm singin'
Come sweet water
Cleanse my soul
Shower me
And make me whole
Consume me with healing flood
Leave no traces of the man that I was
Before the river came

There's no freedom in the chains
They hold you captive to the guilt of your stains
One drop of water brings
an ocean of change
And I long, I long to move on from it all
I'm ready for the river to run and wash it away
I'm singin'

Baptize and bury me
Until only You remain (come and rescue me)
I don't want to be the man that I was
Long before the river came
====================

Just as an aside, some would know how I have been thinking of doing theological studies in the near future. It is a complex and trying decision, fraught with much doubt and fear. What's my motivation? For what purpose do I seek such things? Am I smart/personal/capable/pastoral enough for such a high calling? Am I even called in the first place?

I must confess that I have not been burdened or praying enough for this, may the Lord forgive me my slothfullness. But as I was standing in that hospital room watching the doctor(s) prescribing remedies and medication for him, it struck me that doctors, for all their laudable and noble efforts, simply treat the symptoms of Man's Illness. For Man's Illness is primarily spiritual, not physical. As sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so Man's physical death is but a symptom of the spiritual death within him.

Full time ministry is, I am convinced, the highest calling God can ever give a man while on this Earth. For while doctors may deal with temporal ills, and eventually every man will die, those who serve full-time are faced with eternity and eternal consequences everyday as they fight for the souls of men.

Oh Lord be gracious to me.

Reflections on 1 Peter 1: 1-12

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Here writing to those displaced Christians, Peter firstly recognizes their salvation and coming to the Faith had been according to God's predestination and election, and had been made efficacious by the Holy Spirit's work through the Blood of Christ and for obedience to Him.

The full work of the Trinity in salvation is expressed in these two short verses as well as stating one (of the many) purposes of salvation, that is that we may become obedient to God (in contrast to those today who would deny the evidencing of true faith in God by obedience).

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

How often do we exalt God simply for the mercy He has shown to us. For how great is that mercy which He has given us through Jesus Christ and that now we have a living hope because He was raised from the dead, thereby acknowledging the perfect satisfaction the Father has received from the Son.

Our Lord does not remain dead and buried in the Judean sand, but now sits with Majesty on high at the right hand of the Father. Where O death is you victory, where O death is your sting. Our hope rests in the glories to come for we now have an inheritance to look forward to, an inheritance that will remain forever.

How foolish we are to treasure so highly things on this Earth which will decay and be destroyed. How foolish we are to believe that such inheritances are to be gained whilst still in this present life. For those who seek such things as wealth, power or status through religion, they may very well have already received their reward.

5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Indeed, can one who is truly saved by God ever fall away completely? Surely there are those who have stumbled for a time and experienced spiritual storms that threaten shipwreck, but God is faithful to protect those whom He has saved for His very reputation rides upon this.

Just as Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the stiff-necked Israelites for His Name's sake, so too will God keep His Elect safe lest others say, "It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness." (Num. 14:16)

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The Bible never promises believers a smooth road to Heaven. Instead, all true believers will go through many trials- though ultimately of short duration relative to eternity. Such trials are to further sanctify the believer, to prove that their faith is true.

How many of us fear suffering? Do we fear that we would be found wanting in our faith? But yet such is the Lord's plan of purifying every believer and of exposing those who may profess to know Christ, but yet are not of His sheep. Such tested faith, if true, will ultimately result in greater praise and adoration of God, as revealed in and through Jesus Christ.

It is interesting to observe how people cope with various sufferings in their life. For some, they lash out in anger at a God who would allow such sufferings to happen. They had been told that the Christian walk was one of continually bliss and ease, that prosperity and health was their right. And when the realities of this fallen world confront them head-on, it reveals the sand on which the foundation of their faith had been built upon. Yet there are others, who when afflicted with disease or poverty, seek to praise God all the more for the grace He has already shown to them in their lives through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Sickness does not dampen their passion for God, for they eagerly await the new glorified body which is to come. Poverty does not dismay them, for they have their eyes set on the eternal prize and the glorious riches of their inheritance. Such is their joy and their faith in Christ, though they live in time 2000 years after our Lord walked on this earth, that an inexpressible joy resides within them, knowing that they will receive the salvation promised to them.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

The coming of Christ was no abnormal or surprise event in time, for the entirety of the Old Testament pointed to the One who would save His people from their Sins. His life, suffering, death, burial and resurrection were foretold centuries before the God-Man Christ Jesus ever walked this Earth.

Is it not intriguing, that the angels look at Christ's work on the Cross and while praising God for His Mercy and Grace, are yet unable to experience it or know of it themselves? Is it not amazing that while we can sing of our redemption, no angel can sing that? No angel can sing, "He died for me."

What great privilege has God granted unto Man, that he should be a recipient of Grace unmeasurable. Is there a realization of that in your life Christian? Why then should any child of God ever despair? How marvelous are the infinite mercies of God in Jesus Christ.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

By Leonard Ravenhill

This is the King of kings, and He's the Judge of judges, and it's the Tribunal of Tribunals, and there's no court of appeal after that. The verdict is final!

We're not going to be judged just because of what we've done, we're going to be judged for why we did it! Not for the action, (but) for the motive.

- Leonard Ravenill

Saved Through Childbearing?

An intriguing article here on 1 Timothy 2:15

"But women will be saved through childbearing" (NIV): this simple statement has mystified average Bible readers as well as Christian scholars for centuries. Is Paul here suggesting salvation by works? In what sense can a woman be "saved" by bearing children? What would be so virtuous about bearing children that could become the cause of women's salvation? And what about single women or married women who do not or cannot have children? Even apart from these interpretive questions, the passage sounds horribly sexist and out of date in the days of female Prime Ministers or Supreme Court Justices. How are we to understand this passage, and how are we to apply it?

The Idolatory of Entertainment

"America has a king and his name is Sport. He has a wife and her name is Entertainment!"

Because there isn't enough real joy in the house of God, we need entertainment. Entertainment is the devil's substitute for joy. Because there isn't enough power in the house of God, people are always looking for something to take its place.

- Leonard Ravenhill

I am in many ways an avid gamer, always on the lookout for the latest in PC games and hardware upgrades. Recently I had, for the first time, manually installed additional hardware into my computer on my own. Needless to say, it was a trying experience just having to figure out how to open up the casing. I also follow the latest football news and often troll through various football related sites throughout the day in order to get that latest piece of news or results.

And it has struck me how obsessed I can become with them.

I still remember clearly this incident months ago. It was about 11.30pm and I was just about to quit procrastinating and actually get down to doing my devotions. As a sort of last gesture, I just skimmed through a football news site and the thing that caught my eye was the game currently being played. It was Arsenal versus Manchester United with the score at 2-0 in Arsenal's favour. Being somewhat an Arsenal supporter (with a strong dislike for the other team) and seeking to justify my procrastination I reasoned, 'surely just watching the last twenty or so minutes won't be that bad.'

I turned on the television just in time to see Man Utd pull one goal back with fifteen minutes left to play. The final few moments were nerve-wracking as Arsenal fought valiantly to protect their lead. When the final whistle sounded I remembered I was literally trembling with excitement over what I had just seen. And as the adrenaline wore off, a crushing reality struck me. You get so excited over a small insignificant football game while fellowship with the Awesome God hardly interests you?

I also have many PC games scattered throughout my room, legacy to a buying spree that has spanned more than a decade. Games ranging from those simple city-building sims to the graphic-intensive monsters of today's strategy games. With improvements in graphics comes the need for improvements in graphics hardware. If there is one thing that I do splurge on, it would be on much computer hardware. With any decent graphics card today costing upwards of $300 at the least, any proper upgrade is sure to cost an arm and a leg. One thing I have come to realize over the years however, is that no matter how good or addictive a game is, sooner or later you will get bored with it. The same goes with any toy Man may conceive. Soon the urge to get the latest games in order to keep oneself entertained would spur one to buy whatever is being offered on the market, or if one is less financially endowed, rotate the games that one already has in order to find that thrill again. I found that whatever "joy" I had in any game soon began to turn stale in my mouth. It could not satisfy me forever.

Is it any wonder that idolatry is as rampant today as it was in days of old when men bowed before images of trees and animals? (Come to think of it, they still do so today.) Now men bow and worship gods of steel and leather, of electronic components and balls that roll and bounce. People support and participate in sports events more zealously than any religious service. It has always struck me how men can stand, lift up their hands, worship and sing praises with such gusto to eleven men kicking a ball around a field and yet the worship of an Almighty God can remain so cold. The same men who would speak excitedly and ecstatically of sports, would remain indifferent or dismissive to any subject which is of eternal value. Oh what hypocrisy we live in today. Is it not truly madness? Can such an attitude truly be the reflection of a regenerated heart?

Now I am in no way opposed to sports or computers per se, but the fact still remains. There is no lasting joy in any temporal thing. Games come and go. Hardly have they reached the store shelves when another, better, one takes its place. Sporting "greats" remain but for a little time before they are eclipsed by the "next big thing". True Joy and Satisfaction is found only in the One for whom we were made for, to delight in. For God does not have a man-shaped hole in His heart, as so much contemporary teaching makes Him out to be, but Man does have a God-shaped hole in his heart. That infinite hole which can only be satisfied with that which is infinite.

And is that not such a struggle. Man has been conditioned for so long in his fallen nature to live apart from God that he does not seek to find fulfillment and joy in the only Person who can provide it. No, but because Man are by nature enemies of God and haters of Him, they seek other ways and means of satisfying themselves. They would rather kill themselves in an endless and hopeless search for joy and satisfaction rather than bow the knee before the One who provides it, and unless the Lord so acts to remove their blindness, no man will turn to Him.

But praise be to Him, who in His unsearchable Wisdom and Love, has restored the sight of His elect. That they may not be satisfied by what the World has to offer, but have clung to the Cross, "by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14)

How wide, how high, how long, how deep is the Love of Christ? Gaze upon the wondrous Cross and be satisfied.

"Remember, again, if you cling to earthly pleasures, they will all be unsatisfying, empty, and pointless. Like the locusts of the vision in Revelation, they seem to have crowns on their heads: but like the same locusts, you will find they have stings--real stings--in their tails. All that glitters is not gold. All that tastes sweet is not good. All that pleases for a while is not real pleasure.

Go and take your fill of earthly pleasures if you will--you will never find your heart satisfied with them. There will always be a voice within, crying, like the leech in Proverbs 30:15, "Give! Give!" There is an empty place there, which nothing but God can fill. You will find, as Solomon did by experience, that earthly pleasures are but a meaningless show--promising contentment but bringing a dissatisfaction of spirit--gold plated caskets, exquisite to look at on the outside, but full of ashes and corruption within. Be wise in your youth. Write the word "poison" on all earthly pleasures. The most lawful of them must be used in moderation. All of them are soul- destroying if you give them your heart. Pleasure, must first have the guarantee that it is not sinful--then it is to be enjoyed in moderation."

- J. C. Ryle

'Salvation'

The four tenses of Salvation:

The past perfect tense: I had been saved from the pleasure of Sin - Repentance
The past tense: I am saved from the penalty of Sin - Justification
The present tense: I am being saved from the power of Sin - Sanctification
The future tense: I shall be saved from the presence of Sin - Glorification

================
An article by A. W. Pink (again) that deals with something that I have often struggled with.

This is a subject which is rarely touched upon today, yet in certain quarters especially there is a real need that it should be dealt with. By inward impressions we have reference to some passage of Scripture or some verse of a hymn being laid upon the mind with such force that it rivets the attention, absorbs the entire inner man and is accompanied by such an influence, that the partaker thereof is deeply affected. For example: a person may have lived a most godless life, utterly unconcerned about spiritual things and eternal interests, when suddenly (perhaps while he was indulging the lusts of the flesh, his thoughts being entirely occupied with carnal objects), there sounded in his conscience the words, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” So forcibly is he impressed, it seems as though someone must have audibly uttered those words, and he turns to discover the speaker, only to find he is alone. So deep is the impression, he cannot shake it off, and he is convicted of his lost condition and made to seek the Saviour.

No doubt each one who reads the above paragraph has heard or read some such case, perhaps many like it. And quite possibly a number of our readers are distressed in that there has been nothing in their own experience which corresponds thereto, and because there is not, they greatly fear they have never been truly converted. But such an inference is quite unwarranted. God does not act uniformly in the work of regeneration, any more than He does in creation or in providence; and we have met many who never had any such experience as we have described above, yet whose salvation we could not doubt for a moment. “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Sometimes the wind blows with great velocity, at other times very gently and almost imperceptibly. But how foolish I would be if, seeing the leaves moving in the breeze, I denied the wind was blowing at all, merely because it came not with hurricane intensity! (Emphasis mine)

The "Good News" Which Isn't

Read it and weep.

“God knows where the money is, and he knows how to get the money to you,” preached Mrs. Copeland, dressed in a crisp pants ensemble like those worn by C.E.O.’s.

The preachers barely acknowledged the recession, though they did say it was no excuse to curtail giving. “Fear will make you stingy,” Mr. Copeland said.

But mostly the preachers were working mightily to remind the crowd that they are God’s elect. “While everybody else is having a famine,” said Mr. Savelle, a Texas televangelist, “his covenant people will be having the best of times.”

“Any time a worried thought about money pops up in your mind,” Mr. Savelle continued, “the next thing you do is sow”: drop money, like seeds, in “good ground” like the preachers’ ministries. “Stop worrying, start sowing,” he added, his voice rising. “That’s God’s stimulus package for you.”

At that, hundreds streamed down the aisles to the stage, laying envelopes, cash and coins on the carpeted steps.

(Taken from The New York Times)

====================
Utterly disgusting, that's the only way I can describe it. And to think that such crap is being taught in Singapore as well. Think of all those churches, with their large membership rolls and fancy "worship" setups, being built upon the greed of men and the bones of unconverted church members. What a blasphemy, what an outrage! To so demean the infinitely valuable work of Christ in reconciling a Sinful Man to a Holy and Just God. To cast aside the infinite glories to come for trinkets, things made of gold and steel that will rust and be destroyed.

In the end, the biggest problem with prosperity theology is not that it promises too much, but that it promises far too little. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers salvation from sin, not a platform for earthly prosperity. While we should seek to understand what drives so many into this movement, we must never for a moment fail to see its message for what it is -- a false and failed gospel.

- Al Mohler

Is it not true, that Christianity in Singapore today is derided and scorned for such foolish doctrine. Read the internet forums and the newsprints. Christianity is being made to look like a circus, with all its health, wealth, prosperity and feel good messages.

For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

- Romans 2:24

How long more will the Lord withhold His Wrath from us. Calling it a "gospel" is a terrible misnomer, for make no mistake, such a "gospel" does not save but rather damns a soul. How long will your church remain silent oh Lord. How long will we remain blinded to the dangers of such abominable teaching. Lord grant us eye salve that we might see our foolishness and repent.

Be Merciful to us.

Say What?

Read this post in the Christian Post

How does the Lord judge evildoers? He does not do it like an earthly judge, who passes the verdict without mercy against criminals. He judges like the father in the story of the prodigal son. He loves His children and tells them what is needed for them to prosper in life. At the same time, He does not force them to do His will, even though it is perfect. He gives them the dignity of personhood to choose what they will.

He does not punish them in the way that earthly judges do just so that they will fear His law. He exhorts them with tears but leaves the final decision to them. If they are bent on leaving, He lets them leave. And they are finally judged by their own actions. They suffer the consequences of their own wrongdoing. It is not God that judges them; it is finally that they become their own judges. Such is the way of the Lord. And such are the ways of His children, who refrain from being judges of one another. (emphasis added)

The best way to refute this kind of nonsense is to let Scripture do so.

They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
- Romans 2:15-16

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? ( I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world?
- Romans 3:5-6

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
- 2 Timothy 4:1

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
- 2 Timothy 4:8

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
- Hebrews 13:4

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door
- James 5:9

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
- 1 Peter 1:17

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelations 20: 11-15

Easy search on BibleGateway.com. Makes you wonder if any editor actually reads what gets posted on the website. Such is the danger in modern Christianity that attempts to bring God down to the level of a mere creature. Let God be true, and every man a liar.

Rejoicing in the Lord by A. W. Pink

From here

On the other hand, there are not a few among the Lord’s people whose tendency is to go to an opposite extreme, being afraid to rejoice in the Lord lest they be guilty of presumption. They who are most painfully conscious of the sea of iniquity surging within, feel it would be hypocrisy to joy in God and sing His praises. But let it be carefully borne in mind that the same human instrument who cried, “O wretched man that I am,” penned this very exhortation. However low the true believer may sink in his feelings, however cold and barren his heart, there is still abundant cause for him to heed this injunction. He is not bidden to rejoice in his own experiences or attainments, but “in the Lord.” It is a call to the exercise of faith, of hope, of love.

Though poor in this world’s goods, though grieving the loss of loved ones, though suffering pain of body, though harassed by sin and Satan, though hated and persecuted by worldlings, whatever be the case and lot of the Christian, it is both his privilege and duty to rejoice in the Lord. He has given us abundant cause so to do: His favour, love, faithfulness, longsuffering, granting us access to the Throne of Grace, the privilege of communion with Himself (in our sorrows and trials!), the promise of an eternity of bliss in His presence—all call for gladness and praise. This exhortation to rejoice in the Lord does not mean we are bidden to cast all sorrow out of our hearts, nor are we acting contrary to its terms when we grieve over sin. Godly sorrow and holy joy are coinciding and not conflicting emotions: there is no enjoying the sweetness of the Lamb apart from the “bitter herbs” (Exo. 12:8).

- A. W. Pink

Thoughts on Recent Events

No doubt many, if not all, would have heard or read of the issue of religion in this country that is being discussed at length in the mass media over the past week. Nothing surprising there since it is merely the re-ignition of debate of events that have occurred in the past 8 months and of which I have blogged about before.

My concern remains in the implication for the church and for many Christian organizations in schools and in society. Such pressures to conform, to cover up the cross and remain silent are nothing new. For a long time now, mission schools and organizations like the BB have been continually under fire for proselytizing and have often compromised under such pressure.

By His Grace, a small flame continues to burn and His Work is still continually being accomplished in such places.

However, the question has to be asked of us. When then do we make a stand? How long will we continue bowing to the World's demands, whilst consoling ourselves by doing some small work on the side. I had served in an organization for six years and have seen how the Gospel and Christ are slowly shafted to one side. No longer was the Cross our controlling vision. No longer was the proclamation of the Gospel viewed as essential and inviolable. No, it became about training leaders and the teaching of "christian" values, morality without Christ. The Object became a mocking symbol of our impotence. The advancement of a kingdom without Christ, a personal fiefdom of those who saw the organization as a place to gain respect and power and personal influence. We deluded ourselves with little acts of piety in order to sooth our religious conscience, while we rushed to remove as many vestiges of Christ from our programmes. To my shame, I had bought into this "vision" for far too long.

We look at a world today that declares, "There is no Truth!". Yet there is One who says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." The world says, "There are many ways to god". Yet there is One who says, "No one can come to the Father except through Me." The world bleats with false humility, "Everyone is right!". Yet there is One who says "I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right." (Isa. 45:19b)

Has there always been persecution of the Church here? Yes. And of a kind much more subtle and oftentimes deadlier than physical violence. It is not the kind of persecution that burns down churches and sends Christians to prison camps, but it is of the kind that allures and pressurizes. A persecution that seeks to merely remove the small issue of the Cross, while still leaving you with all your programmes and comforts and all the trappings of a church but ultimately devoid of its power. While we weep and pray for those in India or China who have lost all that they have in this world for Christ's sake (as we rightly should), we fail to see the greater danger that looms over us. Like the proverbial frog in the cooking pot, we do not realize the danger that is creeping up on us until is it too late. A little compromise here, a little change there and soon we will realize we're left with nothing of biblical Christianity. We talk so much of wanting to be like the early Church, the Church of the Book of Acts. Are we willing to pay the cost?

"But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name."
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,
for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."

- Acts 4: 17-20

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

"'Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed'—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,
while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

- Acts 4: 23-31

And though I may be tempted to despair at the state we are today, there is One who has promised He will build His Church and all that He wills He accomplishes.

Soli Deo Gloria

Examining Thy Motives

I have just read a very convicting post/note on Facebook here and indeed it is a terrible struggle for me in so many ways.

Looking back from my time in ACS until this very hour, the allure of selfishness, self-centeredness and self-righteousness are ever present in my own heart. The desire to do something great, to be well-known, to be able to speak well so as to impress, to have all the answers, to be the "go-to" guy for all things big and small. Such is the depravity of a Man's heart, to even do and desire right and good things for wrong motives.

Why do I do what I do? A man confesses with his lips and honours Christ, but his heart is far from Him. Who can know the heart, for the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. I fear who I am inside, the person that goes by many names, the Old Man, the Flesh, the Sinful Nature. Surely Man is the most vile and wretched of all creatures, his heart the stinking cesspool and source of his iniquity. Blinded by his own self-worth and progress, he does not even know himself.

Why the desire to preach or pray? Is it for His Name's sake or for something darker. With regards to relationships, is godliness and my pursuit of it simply a means of gain? To impress and seduce? TO make myself more desirable? Why even write this blog post? So as to tell and boast to others of my piety? God forbid it! Are my hands clean oh Lord, is my heart pure?

Who am I oh Lord. Who am I apart from You. Surely I deserve to be cast into the darkest pits of Hell for my crimes against You. Oh wretched man that I am. Who can rescue me from this body of death.

Only through Jesus. Only though Jesus. May He that was slain receive the reward of His suffering.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."

- Psalm 139: 23-24

Take Heed What You Read by A. W. Pink

Some of God's dear people may suppose that it would be presumptuous to set themselves up as judges of what they hear or read, but that is a serious mistake, being both a false humility and a shirking of duty. The Apostle rebuked the Hebrews because their senses (spiritual faculties) were not developed so as to discern between good and evil (Heb. 5:13). With as much reason might it be termed pride for any one to pass judgment upon the groceries or meats purchased from the stores. Others may ask, "But how are simple and unlearned souls to distinguish between the different religious publications of the day?" Very simply: in sampling your natural food how do you determine whether or not it be seasoned? By your natural taste, of course. So it is spiritually: the "new man" has a palate too! If the God of creation has given us natural palates for the purpose of distinguishing between wholesome and unwholesome food, the God of grace has furnished His people with a capacity, a spiritual sense, to distinguish between nutritious and innutritious soul food.

Taken from here

The Spirit Who Draws Men

An interesting article.

"With others the supernatural agency of the Spirit is effectually shut out by the belief that Truth will prevail: that if the Word of God be faithfully preached, souls will be truly saved. Far be it from us to undervalue the Truth, or cast the slightest reflection on the living Word of God; yet modern ideas and present conditions demand that we plainly point out that it is not the Truth, the Scriptures, the Gospel, which renews the soul; but instead, the power and operations of the Holy Spirit. "You may teach a man the holiest of truths, and yet leave him a wretched man. Many who learn in childhood that ‘God is love,’ live disregarding, and die blaspheming God. Thousands who are carefully taught, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,’ neglect so great salvation all their days. Some of the most wicked and miserable beings that walk the earth are men into whose consciences, when yet youthful and unsophisticated, the truth was carefully instilled."

=====================================

""The belief that Truth is mighty, and by reason of its might must prevail, is equally fallacious in the abstract, as it is opposed to the facts of human history, and to the Word of God. We should take the maxim, the Truth must prevail, as perfectly sound, did you only give us a community of angels on whom to try the Truth. With every intellect clear and every heart upright, doubtless Truth would soon be discerned, and, when discerned, cordially embraced. But, Truth, in descending among us, does not come among friends. The human heart offers ground whereon it meets Truth at an immeasurable disadvantage. Passions, habits, interests, yes, nature itself, lean to the side of error; and though the judgment may assent to the Truth, which, however, is not always the case, still error may gain a conquest only the more notable because of this impediment. Truth is mighty in pure natures, error in depraved ones.


"Do they who know human nature best, when they have a political object to carry, trust most of all to the power of Truth over a constituency, or would they not have far more confidence in corruption and revelry? The whole history of man is a melancholy reproof to those who mouth about the mightiness of Truth. ‘But,’ they say, ‘Truth will prevail in the long run.’ Yes, blessed be God, it will; but not because of its own power over human nature, but because the Spirit will be poured out from on high, opening blind eyes and unstopping deaf ears."

=======================================

"None will ever be drawn to Christ, savingly, by mere preaching; no, not by the most faithful and Scriptural preaching: there must first be the supernatural operations of the Spirit to open the sinner’s heart to receive the message? And how can we expect the Spirit to work among us while He is so slighted, while our confidence is not in Him, but in our preaching? How can we expect Him to work miracles in our midst, while there is no humble, earnest, and trustful praying for His gracious activities? Most of us are in such a feverish rush to "win souls," to do "personal work," to preach, that we have no time for definite, reverent, importunate crying unto the Lord for His Spirit to go before us and prepare the soil for the Seed. Hence it is that the converts we make are but "man made," and their subsequent lives make it only too apparent unto those who have eyes to see that the Holy Spirit does not indwell them nor produce His fruits through them. O brethren, join the writer in contritely owning to God your sinful failure to give the Spirit His proper place."

- A. W. Pink

HT: DefCon
==================================

A short excerpt from the next chapter.

"When the soul has sunk into the mire of despair no human power is sufficient to lift it out and set it upon the Rock. Now that the renewed sinner perceives that not only are all his past actions transgressions of God’s Law, but that his very heart is desperately wicked—polluting his very prayers and tears of contrition—he feels that he must inevitably perish. If he hears the Gospel, he tells himself that its glad tidings are not for such an abandoned wretch as he; if he reads the Word he is assured that only its fearful denunciations and woes are his legitimate portion. If godly friends remind him that Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost, he supposes they are ignorant of the extremities of his case—should they urge him to believe or cast himself on the mercy of God in Christ, they do but mock him in his misery, for he now discovers that he can no more do this of himself than he can grasp the sun in his hands. All self-help, all human aid, is useless.

In those in whom the Spirit works faith, He first blows down the building of human pretensions, demolishes the walls which were built with the untempered mortar of man’s own righteousness, and destroys the foundations which were laid in self-flattery and natural sufficiency, so that they are entirely shut up to Christ and God’s free grace. Once awakened, instead of fondly imagining I am the man whom God will save, I am now convinced that I am the one who must be damned. So far from concluding I have any ability to even help save myself, I now know that I am "without strength" and no more able to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior than I can climb up to Heaven. Evident it is, then, that a mighty supernatural power is needed if I am to come to Him who "justifieth the ungodly." None but the all-mighty Spirit can lift a stricken soul out of the gulf of despair and enable him to believe to the saving of his soul."

Struggling with Impatience

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,
14 saying, "Surely I will bless you and multiply you."
15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,
20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

- Hebrews 6:13-20

One of my greater struggles, especially in this day and age of fast food and faster computers, is the constant struggle with impatience. I used to think that I was a very patient fellow when I was younger, that is, until I found out more about myself.

Whether it be standing in a queue, waiting at a traffic junction or leading a group, the desire to jump ahead is always there. Perhaps that is why I prefer playing strategy and city-building sims rather than FPS or RPGs since one gets to "play god" so as to speak, where at a click of a button decades can pass and the fruits of ones planning clearly seen.

Maybe that's why this post-uni life is so frustrating. The neither-here-nor-there feeling. Where one has to start re-building ties with others whom one has neglected over the past six years or seek new ones, only to realize the truism that Rome really wasn't built in a day.

So hard to wait, so hard to wait.

But yet the great irony is that eventually, all things will come to past. All of ones hopes and plans for the future will soon become the present, and then fade into the past. One day Christ will return and there will be no more sorrow, no more struggles against the flesh, no more worries about the future. To be swallowed up in Life forever.

Oh Lord to wait for You and on You.

Only one life, twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I'll be, if the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

Being Conformed to Him

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

- Romans 8:26-29

"Father. make me like your Son." What a terrifying prayer is that to make. I remember asking that one year ago and then sitting back and thinking, do I really know what I have just asked for?

And I thank the Lord for what He has done in me the past month, not that He has given me some great spiritual victory or experience, but rather for exposing again and again the utter depravity and evil that lurks within my own heart.

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

- Genesis 6:5

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

- Matthew 15:19

Sins that I thought I never would have were brought to light through God's Providence. To see ever more clearly the depths which the heart would plunge to in sin. To be confronted with the amazing sinfulness of sin before a God who is infinitely Holy and Righteous. To be afraid of trusting even one's own heart and instead casting oneself upon the mercy of the One who is Faithful and True. To adore the Love and Grace of God displayed in Christ in the light of one's own evil heart. Is not the Love of God beyond measure, that He would die for even one hopeless sinner like me? Love so amazing, so divine.

Lord sanctify me, that I would be pleasing to you. Father, make me like Christ.
Amen

D. A. Carson on Polemical Theology

Polemical theology is nothing other than contending for a particular theological understanding (usually one that the contender holds to be the truth) and disputing those that contradict it or minimize it. It is impossible to indulge in serious critical thought without becoming enmeshed, to some degree, in polemics.

Nevertheless there is something wrong-headed about making polemical theology the focus of one’s theological identity.... Still other Christians develop websites and ministries whose sole aim is to confute error. God knows there is plenty of error to confute. To make the refutation of error into a specialized “ministry,” however, is likely to diminish the joyful affirmation of truth and make every affirmation of truth sound angry, supercilious, self-righteous—in a word, polemical.

Read more here

*Update*
I was reading an article in the same newsletter and this portion caught my eye.

But there is one other question I usually pose, if not bluntly, then at least in some form: to whom do you intend to be accountable?

The question is crucial because any Christian studying theology, at whatever level, is not engaged in a simple mastery of technique or information. The study of theology engages heart and mind; to put it in the idiom of Calvin, true knowledge of God and true piety are inseparable. In addition, the temptations of theological study are huge.

Protestantism, by prioritizing a book, the Bible, and the written and spoken word, inevitably has an inbuilt gravitational pull towards intellectualism. Proper Protestantism is not about religious feeling or psychology; it is about truth—defined, proclaimed, believed.

Wake Up Church

A Grouse

Something that I read on the Christian Post

"There is a tendency either to have God do so much that Man does nothing or to have Man do so much that God is unnecessary. The first is the error of antinomianism – the logical implication of the Reformed faith. The second is best exemplified by non-Christian Deism."

Typical misunderstanding of the Reformed position. Now blame me for being too dogmatic, but perhaps in order to be really fair the writer should have the added that the logical implication of the Arminian faith is Legalism and Open Theism, a less then omniscient and omnipotent god who can't really get anything done unless we help him out.

"There is order and method. Both must be observed, be it the precedence of Word before work or the total dependence on God in the former and the total independence of Man in the latter.

Those who pray as if everything depended on them will have no faith while those who work as if everything depended on God will have no results."

Maybe someone should direct the writer to read his bible more often and find verses such as these.

Unless the LORD builds the house,those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city,the watchman stays awake in vain.

- Psalm 127:1

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

- Ephesians 2:10

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

-Philippians 2:12-13

Which One Are You

One justifies, “Society has changed, so we must follow.”
One admits, “We have changed, so we must return.”

One deduces, “We should lower the bar to include more (people).”
One determines, “We must raise the banner to remove more (wickedness).”

One smiles, “We must make members happy before themselves.”
One chooses, “We must make sinners holy before God.”

One states, “Sin is an attitude of disobedience toward God.”
One declares, “Sin is a heart of rebellion against God.”

One quips, “We must alter our methods”.
One reveals, “We must correct our message”

One retorts, “We must convince them to be ‘churched’.”
One warns, “We must convert them to be sons.”

One quacks, “The answer is on the bookshelves.”
One proclaims, “The answer is in The Book.”

One shamelessly asks, “What works...(for us)?”
One sincerely asks, “What’s wrong...(with us)?”

One is popular.
One is respected.

One is entertaining.
One is anointed.

One is cute.
One is called.

One is sugar.
One is salt.

One is of the world.
One is from above.

Which One are you?

Taken from Cry For Repentance

An Enlightening Blog Post

From here

One of the most important lessons I learned was this: Christ is paramount. Christ is everything. I was struggling so much to understand things that were probably beyond me that I was neglecting real, personal relationship with the living Savior, the man who came into space/time history, died a real death on the cross, and was physically resurrected from the dead, who literally ascended into heaven and who sits at God's right hand, praying for me every day. When I was tempted to enter into ultimately fruitless debates with friends about this or that theological point, I stopped to ask myself: "Will this bring me closer to Christ"? Most of the time the answer was no, and so I avoided the conversations.

The Beauty of the Bride

You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.
How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!

- Song of Solomon 4: 9-10



Opening my eyes I see
The answer to my soul's great need
To belong, to be more than what I am
A stunning new reality
Unfolding now inside of me
I'm a part of the beauty of the bride

My belongingness
Was bought by His faithfulness
Was purchased with His blood

Chorus:
We will see Him coming
With His arms held open wide
Captivated by the hidden beauty of the bride
Sooner than we know
And all at once He will appear
And we will finally be made one
At last we'll hear the Bridegroom calling "Come"

Homeless now, I'll soon be home
Lonely now, but never alone
With a thirst to keep myself for Him
He has made his purpose clear
Choosing now to leave me here
Still I long and I wait to hear His call

My belongingness
Was bought by His faithfulness
Was purchased with His blood

The Spirit and the bride say "Come"
And let the one who hears say, "Come"
And to all who thirst, now let them come

Chorus
We will finally be made one
When we hear the Bridegroom call
Calling "Come"

Online Browsing

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

- John 17: 13-16

I do not know why I still keep reading the local online forums. Perhaps it is too deeply ingrained in my habits to open up the browser window everytime I turn on my comp. However, everytime I look at the topics being discussed especially those with regards to religion, one can almost predict with 100% certainty the content of those discussions.

It is sometimes so surreal that one could easily pass it off as the rantings of a small minority in a larger society, not knowing that it is simply the natural outflow of a world that "although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:21)

The online world is an interesting place, for within it a man is protected by a cover of anonymity that allows him to expose the things in his heart. Free of the constraints of civility, he is free to express his heart's desires. Reading these religious threads on online forums has further convinced me that we need to wake up and realize that in no way is the value system of the World ever going to be reconciled with Christ and that as true (an important clause) Christians, there can be no question in compromise with a World that is an enemy of God.

It is a depressing read for me as a person who, for better or for worse, desires somehow that we could all simply get along. But God's Word is clear. The World will never cross over to Christ and hates all those whom Christ has called to Himself.

Are there not nice people in the world who are non-Christians? Have I not met Muslims and Buddhists and Atheists who are really decent people? People who show kindness and hospitality that would put many of us to shame. Yet there is a fundamental gulf that separates us and I just can't find the love to tell them.

What does Christ demand from us? That all will bow their knee to Him and declare Him as Lord. For the day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether out of love and adoration or out of the terror of the One who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. I shudder to think of those who in this life, having taken whatever grace and mercy has been given to them, and spitting back at the One who will call them to account. For if the righteous and scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly? (1 Peter 4:18) What great weeping and sorrow will there be on that day, where even mercy and grace will be taken away and nothing would be left to stand between them and fire of God's Wrath.

Oh that the Lord will guard us from the Evil One in these the last days.

Decisions for Christ?

Just a quick comparison

From Christian Post Singapore

CCC Media Ministry Records Over 1M Decisions for Christ in 1 Month

For the first time in its five-year history, the media arm of Campus Crusade for Christ recorded over one million decisions for Jesus Christ in a single month.

In its announcement Wednesday, CCC’s Global Media Outreach (GMO) reported that 1,030,581 people indicated either a first-time decision to follow Jesus or a decision to recommit their life to Christ through one of more than 90 GMO-hosted Gospel Web sites in June.

Tired of Running

One wonders what is the point of so much running to and fro. Of jumping from one event to another, to go from one programme to another with such fanatical zeal. "What can I do" is the cry in the night, when one feels so small and useless. The endless working up of emotions and the subsequent nights of complete utter loneliness.

Life goes on, people come and go. They enter and leave every Sunday, where is the change? The Spirit of the Lord is no where to be found. No words of admonition or exhortation are spoken, no holy desire or fear to drive a man to his knees and on his face. Prayer is a small thing, one of little import. A thing best left to old ladies and fanatics to do on our behalf. Content to sleep on while the candlestick is removed. Why am I here oh Lord.

"The Lord will not answer, He has not heard your pleas" is the ever present terror within me. Why will you not hear oh Lord. For I am at the end of my tether, my own heart betrays me. How often have I desired to run and hide from You as Adam and Eve did in the garden. All my works crumble to dust and there are no fruits to be found on the trees. Was it all futile? Was it all a vain thing? Have all that I have done been for naught?

How great is the war within, more terrifying than any physical war throughout history. A war more than then matter of life and death, but rather that of eternal life and eternal death. A war where enemies abound even in those things closest to you, the most intimate with you. Is it well, is it well with my soul?

"26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

- Hebrews 10:26-31

A Short Reminder

For myself

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

- 1 Peter 4:7

*Edit*
For something just totally random, this is one reason I want to get a cat in the future.