In Conclusion...

[Passage]: Read 2 Corinthians 13:14

There was once an old man who sat by the roadside everyday. He was dirty and smelly. Just being near him makes you nauseas. People would not only pass him by, they would avoid him by a mile if they could. A young boy came one day and saw the old man. As he looked at the old man, he felt compassionate. The young boy went and bought a loaf of bread with all the money he had, gave it to the old man, gave his bottle of water, looked at the old man and smiled. "Here, for you!" The sincerity of the young boy touched the old man's heart. He stood up and hugged the boy. Then, he took out a sack of gold and gave it to the boy, saying, "I am the king of this nation. You have proven to me that my people is not all heartless. Thank you for being wonderful."

Pick up a story book or an essay. You see that it is basically made up of three parts, an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Imagine what it would be like to read a story and at the very last page, just ends abruptly without telling you what happened to the hero? You would probably label it as a lousy book and burn it! Even movies have conclusions. What then is a conclusion? It is basically a summary or a closure of what the writing is about (or the movie is about)

In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he ended his letter as such: "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." He emphasized a powerful message in his conclusion. Firstly, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is truly by grace that we are saved. It is not something we deserve of something that God owe to us but it is in His sovereignty, Jesus chose to come to die for us. The love of God as shown in God the Father sending His own and only Son to take our sins upon Himself and die in our place. And that after Christ ascended to Heaven, even until today, the Holy Spirit has been sent to us - showing that God is always with us, and the Holy Spirit to lead and fellowship with us. This fellowship is not something we deserve as well. Is not something that God owes to us. But is simply by grace. The amazing truth of salvation is that even though we do not deserve it, yet because of God's great love for us that He sent His only Son to take our sins upon Himself and die in our place so that we may have salvation. Yet even after that, He does not just leave us alone as if He had done His part and nothing more, but the Holy Spirit is sent to be with us. How deep the Father's love for us~  Here is a video for you that I found. Listen to it and I hope you will be blessed. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voawjjqg8zw)

[Reflect: If Christ who has no sin, who is Creator of all, would look beyond our sins and wrongdoings to look at us with love, who then are we to judge others? Shouldn't we all the more look at them with eyes of love?]


[Response: Take time to reflect on how great God loves us. That we who are undeserving, yet He would still lay His life for us - sinners undeserving. Then, thank Him for His love and grace.]

[Action: Think of someone who has offended you or someone you have a bias against. Forgive that person and let that person know. God did not just profess His love, but showed it through His action - death on the cross. So do something for someone who has offended you. Do it with joy.]

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Punishment that has an ending

[Passage]: Read Joel 2:23

"Pppppiiiiiaaaaannnnggggg~" Ken had broken the antique vase in the house. Just 5 minutes ago, Ken's dad had just warned him not to play football in the house. But Ken would just not listen. While Ken was imagining that he was the first Malaysian to be a Manchester United player, and that the game entered the penalty shootouts, and that it was up to him to score the winning goal, unbeknown to Ken, he kicked the ball a tad too hard, causing the ball to deflect from the wall at such a great velocity that it hit dad's expensive and precious antique vase. "KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN!" shouted dad, with anger heard in his voice. Ken shivered with fear in anticipation of what will be his fate. Dad stomped to where Ken was, gave his a good scolding till Ken cried badly, as if someone had beat him up. Dad ended the scolding with, "Son, you are now grounded for a whole month. Come into the room with me!" As Ken entered the room, he saw his dad with the cane. Dad gave him 3 strokes on his bottom. Crying, Ken turned to his dad and said, "I'm sorry, dad. I will not do it again. I will listen to you next time." Dad put down the cane, hugged Ken, and explained to him why he had to be punished, and ended with, "I love you, son." Holding Ken, they both went to the living room and dad gave Ken an ice-cream, of which Ken ate heartily.

The story above is a modern day scenario of what Joel 2 was talking about. A warning was already given and not heeded (as is common to Israel). Joel 2 begins with an extended description of what is going to befall Israel, followed by a serious call to repentance. But Joel 2 just does not end with the call to repentance. The beauty of Joel 2 is that it ends with the Lord's response if the people repented (read Joel 2:18-32). Joel 2:23 calls the citizens of Zion, who mourned in Joel 2:15, to rejoice! Don't wallow in self-pity any longer, or be upset with the destruction or punishment that the Lord had to carry out. Rather, rejoice in what the Lord is doing now! The Hebrew word for early rain there could probably mean teachers. In another sense, God is telling the people not to be depressed but rejoice and be thankful - for the fact that God had sent them people to forewarn the people about the coming punishment and call them to repentance. After repentance, God pours out His blessings to the people abundantly, like the latter rain. What is the latter rain? For half the year Palestine is generally dry. The rainy season begins with the early rains usually in late October to early December, followed by the latter rains in March and April. Without these rains productive farming would not be possible, as Joel’s original readers knew only too well. The forewarnings as well as the punishment is then like the dry season and the blessings that come afterwards are like the latter rain that the farming community await for in order to farm. Like Joel's call, whatever hardship and difficulty we are going through, let us rejoice in the fact that God will never leave us and that He will vindicate us and afterward, we will see His mercy and grace.

[Response: Thank God for His blessings and mercies that He has shown and poured into your life. Recount the times where God has shown His mercy and grace and just thank Him. Ask God to help you to not look at the hardships that you are going through, but rather thank Him for His faithfulness.]

[Action: Like in Joel, God did not just forgive His people, but He restored them to the situation they were before, if not better. God took action rather than just merely uttering words of forgiveness. Is there someone you need to forgive today? If there is, go to that person and tell that person that you forgive him or her. Once you have done that (if there is no one you need to forgive, look for someone you have forgiven), do something for that person. It could be as simple as treating that person to a meal, or just spending time with that person, whatever it may be, do something for that person to let the person know that you sincerely have forgiven him or her.]

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J-O-Y = Jesus first, Yourself last, and Others in between

[Passage]: Read Philippians 2:3-4

Imagine this scene. A little girl is sick with a terminal illness. Day by day she gets sicker and sicker. Little by little, she gets weaker until she is no longer able to independently operate her daily routines. But instead, her little sister is the one that feeds her, cleans her, helps take things for her, and literally serve her. A question was posted to the younger sister. "Why do you serve your sister like that? Is it because of guilt or because she is dying?" The little girl looked up and shook her head. "No... The answer is simple... Because I love her..."

Or another scene wherein this lady gets a particular terminal disease in which as time goes by, she loses her memory and even her body funtions. She will no longer be able to control her bladder nor her bowels. She will have difficulty eating and will make a whole mess of herself. Taking care of her is a chore. But it was her best friend who took her in and when those symptoms began, it was her best friend who took care of her, no matter how difficult it was.

These stories above have one thing in common - their motivation was not money nor was it fame or guilt, but simply out of love. Take the second story for example. Neither kith nor kin yet still willing to humble herself and take care of her best friend simply because she loved her.

Paul urged the Philippians to do something somewhat similar. In Philippians 2:3-4, he wrote, "Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well." In the original language, the word "Instead" there is a very strong negative emphasis. It is like saying "DO NOT do anything motivated by selfish ambition..." but instead, do it out of humility, treating others above yourself. Do not only consider your own interest but the interest of others as well. In other words, do not be selfish or self-centered but look to touch the lives of another and help them in ways that you can. If you look into the Bible, both Old and New Testament, you will find that this is a recurring theme. Look, even Jesus forgo his divinity, came in humility not for His sake but ours (as seen in Philippians 2:6-11). I remember something that I was taught in Sunday School. Putting others above yourself produces JOY. JOY is spelt J-O-Y, Jesus first, Yourself last, and Others in between. If Jesus is put first, others is put before yourself, you get such joy.

[Response: Thank Jesus for what He did at the cross for you and I. Respond to Him and ask Him to give you a heart that puts people above yourself. Ask Him to teach you how to love others sacrificially, just as how He loved us sacrificially.]

[Action: Look for a need in the community. It may not be something you like (for example, feeding the poor). They may be dirty and smelly, but take time not only to help them in their needs but to spend some time talking to them, letting them know that whatever situation they are in, know that Jesus loves them.]

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To Do or To Love?

[Passage]: Read Acts 7 and Psalm 119:165

I remember once during my high school days, happened a fight. Now before I go on to elaborate on the fight, one thing that you must first understand is the crumble of the racial wall between my batchmates. Those in my batch were really 1Malaysia. We had Indians, Chinese, and Malays all eating together, playing together, and were really on buddy terms. Now this fight happened in a class that was predominantly Malay with one Indian and one Chinese in the class. It was a fight that was instigated by the Chinese classmate. Now, the disciplinary teacher found out about the fight and called one of the Malay boys to the office. In actual fact, this Malay boy was not involved in the fight. In the office, the teacher asked the Malay boy to divulge who was involved in the fight. The Malay boy refused to reveal who was involved. When threatened that he will be punished, he still kept mum. In the end, he received a caning from the teacher. When he came back to class, he looked at the Chinese classmate, smiled and said, "You owe me one, dude..." He had sacrificed himself to save another simply because of his love for his friend.

Psalm 119:165 writes, "Those who love your law are completely secure; nothing causes them to stumble." Note that this was written during the Old Testament times. Note also the usage of the word "love". The psalmist refers to those who love God's law, not those who keeps the whole law (which was reflected by the Pharisees during Jesus' time of keeping the law without loving it). Those who love God's law will be COMPLETELY secure. They will be unwavering and unshaken, and as the psalmist puts it, "NOTHING causes them to stumble". A good biblical example of this principle would be Stephen.

As we all know, Stephen was one of the seven deacons appointed by the apostles over the church. If you take it a step further and read Acts chapter 6, you would realize how powerfully used Stephen was. Acts 6:8 writes, "Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people." In terms of ministry and what he was doing for God, he was uber effective! But the principle of Psalm 119:165 is reflected in Acts 7. As we all know, Stephen was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin council. It was here that Stephen delivered his sermon. It was here that Stephen showed his love for Christ. It was here that we see that Stephen was not only doing ministry because he was called but rather because he loved what God had called him to do and he loved God. Even before the Sanhedrin council, staring death straight in the eye, Stephen still delivered a message of rebuke. And when he was dragged out and being stoned, he still did not blame God nor hate the calling. In fact, he asked for God to forgive them of their sins.

[Response: Are you doing your 'Christian duties' out of religiosity? Are you doing 'Christian stuff' like praying and reading your bible just because you HAVE to do it being a Christian? Or are you doing it because you love Christ and love praying, reading His Word etc. Ponder about it and respond to God in prayer.]

[Action: Take some special time apart from your daily devotion to pray. Use this time to not pray for other items - as you can do that during your devotion prayer - or anyone else, but use it to just open your heart to God. Wearing no masks, come to Him and just pray for Him to ignite that love once again. Then, just simply fall in love with Him again. After that, encourage another Christian that you know of and spur him or her on to fall in love with Jesus again.]

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"Are You There?"

[Passage]: Read Psalm 116:1-2

As a kid, some of us were really mischievious... We skipped school, played pranks on people, and the list goes on and on (*evil grin*). But like Newton's Third Law of Motion, "For every action exists an equal and opposite reaction." In this case, the reaction is facing disciplinary actions. Remember the times you were asked to wait outside the principle's office and seconds seem like years? Your heart pounding as you wonder what fate awaits you... Caning, scolding, suspension or expulsion? You wished there was someone to come and rescue you.. Your favorite teacher or even your parents. In your heart, you cry out asking for salvation!

Well, this story may be a little exaggerated but you get the general idea. The psalmist wrote: "I love the Lord because he heard my plea for mercy, and listened to me. As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help" Throughout the psalm, the psalmist recounts how the Lord has delivered him in tough situations and how he praises the Lord for it.

But if we just look at verses 1 and 2, without looking at the rest of the context of the psalm per se, we realize that verses 1 and 2 on its own does not show whether God's answer is one of positive results or negative. Now, let us take a moment and ponder about this. We know that God hears our prayers but at the same time, we also know that ultimately, God has the best plans for us. We cannot comprehend or even begin to understand why does He allow us to go through certain things or allow certain situations to happen and it becomes very easy to lose our faith in God. But when we see as if God is not answering our prayers the way we expect, can we still hold on and praise God knowing that He hears our prayers and that He knows what is best for us? Will we still love Him or will we end up holding a grudge against Him?

[Response: Do you feel as if God does not care? Do you feel that He does not hear your prayers? Take heart and know that God hears, just that His answer may not be what we expect. Take time to just be honest with God. Just spend time in His presence and let Him minister to you.]

[Action: Lend a helping hand to someone today. Be the extended hand of Christ. Go the extra mile for someone today. Treat someone to dinner. You never know, you might be the answer to someone's prayer.]

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"IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!" (T.T)

[Passage: Psalm 94.]

"Why does Josh get all the toys and I don't?" "Why does Susan get new clothes but I get all her old ones?" "Why am I ALWAYS asked to do the chores but James can just kick back and watch TV?" How often do we make such statements (or at least feel this way)? Our natural conclusion in times like this is that "My parents love my siblings more than me!"

The psalmist felt the same way too. He looked around him and realized that the wicked were prospering while those committed Christians were suffering. Verses 6-7 show that the psalmist probably felt that the suffering they faced were in actual fact caused by the wicked! To the psalmist, this was unfair! Why do we who serve and love the Lord fervently have to suffer while those who are evil and wicked enjoy the good life? Where is justice?! And he calls on the Lord for justice and vindication. Sounds like our cry of unfairness that our parents treat one sibling better than the other?

But every human parent loves their children. No matter how unfair it may seem, if you end up in a need or in trouble, it is your parents who helps you, provides for you, at times been ridiculed by the rest of society because of your silly mistakes. They can only go through this because of love. The psalmist realized that God's love was like that as well. He knew that even though things may seem unfair, yet he knew that God has and will always love him and will never leave him. In fact, he was so assured that in verses 18-19, he said "If I say, 'My foot is slipping,' your loyal love, O Lord, supports me. When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy" This was not a request or just merely a statement, it was a declaration of assurance of the Lord's love towards him!

[Response: What situations are you in right now that you feel that is unfair? Or that you prayed and prayed but God has not intervened? Take heart and know that God knows what is best. He has and will always love us. In your prayer, commit everything to the Lord and tell Him that "Lord, even as I commit everything to you, I know that You have the best for me. So teach me Lord, not to focus on these circumstances or even my thoughts and emotions but teach me, O Lord, to just simply love You."]

[Action: Do you see someone going through an unfair situation? Do you know of someone who is wrongly accused? God has always talked about upholding righteousness and justice in the Bible. Just as He vindicates us, let us also be the voice to the voiceless and stand up for what is right.]

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Cheese Sandwiches Again??!

[Passage: Romans 8:31-39.]

There was an story told by Peter Kreeft of a poor European family who saved for years to buy tickets to sail to America. Once at sea, they carefully rationed the cheese and bread they had brought for the journey. After 3 days, the boy complained to his father, “I hate cheese sandwiches. If I don’t eat anything else before we get to America, I’m going to die.” Giving the boy his last nickel, the father told him to go to the ship’s galley and buy an ice-cream cone. When the boy returned a long time later with a wide smile, his worried dad asked, “Where were you?” “In the galley, eating three ice-cream cones and a steak dinner!” “All that for a nickel?” “Oh, no, the food is free,” the boy replied. “It comes with the ticket.”

Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 8:32 - "Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?" In light of the context, Paul was talking about the love of God. God loved and cared for humankind so much that He provided for their ultimate need, the need of salvation, by giving up His own Son. This was a demonstration of God's love toward us. If God cared so much for us that He fulfilled our ultimate need, the need for salvation, how much more would He meet our other needs? In another sense, God's meeting of our needs is an outflow of His love towards us. He knows us from the inside out. In Matthew 6:8, the Bible clearly tells us that God knows what we need even before we ask from Him. On our side, all we need is the faith in God that He will meet all our needs, knowing that if He loves us so much that He is willing to give up His only Son for our ultimate need, how much more will he freely meet all our other minute needs in light of the ultimate need for salvation?

[Response: Take some time to just commit your needs to the Lord. It may be a financial need, an emotional support, God's intervention, or restoration of relationship, whatever it may be, just commit it to the Lord and trust that He hears and will answer in His time]

[Action: Look around you for someone in need. Whether it is a need for a meal, a need for a friend, a need for support, whatever it may be, like Christ fulfilled our need, let us too be the extended hand of Christ and demonstrate Christ's love for that person by meeting that person's immediate need.]

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