Rhythm of Faith

         Paul said that the old covenant mediated by Moses bore a “ministry of condemnation” ( 2 Corinthians 3:9 ). What does this mean, and would Moses have agreed? The Book of Deuteronomy clarifies three things: 1) Moses’s old covenant plea , 2) the people’s old covenant problem , and 3) God’s new covenant promise . 1. The Old Covenant Plea Moses called for the right things: “Love the Lᴏʀᴅ your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might” ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ), and “love the sojourner” ( Deuteronomy 10:19 ; see Leviticus 18:5 ). Jesus said that these are the first and second most important commands ( Mark 12:29–31 ). Moses even urged, “These words that I command you today shall be on your heart ” ( Deuteronomy 6:6 ). This command sounds just like what is promised in the new covenant ( Jeremiah 31:33 ). 2. The Old Covenant Problem Nevertheless, as loud or as long as Moses talked, the Israelites did...

God created you in his own image to dream, and work, and laugh, and love, and labor, and hope, and eat, and enjoy the good gifts in this world. “A man is such a noble work of God,” said nineteenth century preacher Charles Spurgeon, “he cannot have been intended merely to measure off yards of silk, or to weigh pounds of sugar, or to sweep street crossings, or to put on crowns, and robes, and diamonds. There is something grander than that for man to do.” Yes, and most grand of all: God created you to worship, praise, and sing. The beauty of Christ is the cause of our songs. His glory draws worship from our hearts to our lips ( Revelation 5:6–14 , 7:9–12 ). This Christ-centered, thank-filled worship is the capstone over everything else we are and do in this life ( 1 Corinthians 10:30–31 , Colossians 3:17 ). And so we sing. To the best of our ability, we sing in our homes. We sing with our families. We sing alone in our cars on the drive to work. We sing toge...

Genesis 24:1 1: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. The Bible says that Abraham was righteous. But do you know that his nephew Lot was righteous too? (2 Peter 2:7–8) Yet, both men lived very different lives. Although they both lived under God’s grace some 400 years before the law was given, Abraham was very blessed, whereas Lot lost a lot! Both men had large herds and flocks. When their herdsmen started quarrelling over space, Abraham took the initiative to make peace. He even let Lot pick the lands that he wanted. Both men were righteous, but one was more gracious than the other. Lot picked the well-watered plain of Jordan, where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were. He dwelt there and pitched his tent as far as Sodom. Eventually, he lived in Sodom. Now, Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible represent a sinful lifestyle. Some Christians think, “Since I am righteous by faith and under God’s grace, I can live a sinful lifestyle.”...

Jesus was, is, and always will be in a league of his own. Many are happy to honor him as a good teacher and social reformer, and some religions even admit that he was a great prophet of God. But none of them go far enough. The Greatest Messenger Jesus was not just another prophet like those who had come before him. Nor was he merely a great moralist and motivator. He was, and is, qualitatively different. Jesus is, as the Father himself testified at his baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration, God’s beloved Son ( Mark 1:11 ; 9:7 ). And as God’s Son, “he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” ( Hebrews 1:3 ). You cannot get any greater than this. So Jesus surpasses every other messenger God has sent, or ever could send, because by his very nature, he far exceeds all other contenders. The Greatest Message Not only is Jesus the greatest messenger. The message he brings is also the greatest, trumping every message that has ever, or could ...

Ephesians 5:17 17: Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ”. (Ephesians 5:18–19) As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wis...

  Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 2:1-2   Our reference today says, "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ. And the things that you have heard from among many witnesses, commit these faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier..." Beloved, having declared Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, automatically, we become known to the kingdom of darkness of this world. Whatever we do in our service to our Master becomes a threat to the kingdom of darkness. Expectedly, they would react because of their hatred for you and your Master. Friend should you be afraid or abandon your Master? Of course not! For the psalmist says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I b...

Psalm 94:22 22: But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge. Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16), He placed her under Boaz’s protection. Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15) What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.” Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now, imagine Jesus commanding His angels, “Watch over this one who belongs to Me. Make sure he is treated with respect and not put to shame because he is someone I love and someone whom I died for.” God’s Word tells us that i...

  Scripture Reading: John 13:17 " If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them". You are judged not by your intentions but actions. You may have a heart of gold, full of wisdom of God but this goodness cannot be known unless actions emanating from such thoughts are known by people. A thousand words may not leave so lasting an impression as a simple action displayed. Let your good intentions be followed by appropriate actions, because if you do not do it, then it means you do not believe in what you have in your mind. No wonder St.John says in our reference today that blessed are you when you put to practice (action) these things that you know. Believers often undermine action with the excuse that they are praying. In praying they refuse to put their faith into action. Most believers speak of what is the right thing to do but never find time to practice it. Hear St.James, "Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him, it is...

What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words. Pro:18.21.GNT Proverbs 18:21 21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Most people, when they desperately want something, will say things like, “I am dying for that piece of cake!” Few will say, “I am living for that piece of cake!” What is worse is that we are quick to mention death when things go wrong. We Singaporeans are quick to say things like, “Die lah! Die lah!” at the drop of a hat. Nobody says, “Live lah! Live lah!” Yet, the truth is that every word you speak has power — to build or destroy hopes and dreams, to restore or cause loss, to heal or break the spirit, to bring delight or despair, to bless or curse — for God’s Word says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. So stop lining your words up with the negative circumstances. Instead, start lining your words up with God’s Word and release the power of H...

Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.” Luke 19:8 8Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Zacchaeus was a tax collector. He was despised because he was a deceitful man, cheating people of their money and resorting to false accusations to get what he wanted. One day, Jesus visited him. The Bible makes no mention of Jesus rebuking him for his dishonest lifestyle the whole time they were together. Instead, Jesus showed him grace and honor by spending time with him. Before long, Zacchaeus stood up and declared to Jesus that he would restore fourfold to anyone he had taken from illegally, and would even give half of his goods to the poor. A moment with Jesus completely changed Zacchaeus’ heart. A moment with grace in person...

Galatians 4:27 27… “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor… Barrenness. What a painful and frustrating condition. Yet, in Isaiah 54, God’s Word to those who are experiencing barrenness is to rejoice — “Sing O barren”! Why? Because in the previous chapter, it tells us that the chastisement for our peace fell upon Jesus. (Isaiah 53:5) The word “peace” here in Hebrew means completeness, soundness, health, safety and provision. In other words, all these benefits are yours today because Jesus has already been punished at the cross for your peace. That is why you can start rejoicing. So God wants you right now, in whatever area you are barren, to start rejoicing as if the fruit or yield you want to see has already come. He wants you to start thinking, speaking and acting as if the barrenness is no more. If you are financially barren, start planning for what you would do when your finances increase. I am not saying that y...

Luke 22… This week as I read the verses through the lens of “Loving Like Jesus” I first noticed that Jesus, even though He knew Judas would be the one to betray Him, must have treated Judas the same as all the other disciples because we see in verse 23 that after Jesus said one of them would betray Him “they began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.” I also noticed it was Judas who went to the chief priests and officers of the temple guard to betray Jesus and make a deal with them…..all for money. For those of you who have felt “sold-out” or betrayed by a close friend, just realize Jesus understands what you are going through…..He was betrayed, too. In the beginning of this week’s passage, my heart goes out to Jesus. Here He is trying to tell the disciples that He is the Passover Lamb…that it’s His blood that is going to be poured out for them and what do they do? They get in an argument over who is the greatest! Oh my! After spendin...

In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into God's presence with all confidence. Ephesians 3: 12 God has given us permission to fearlessly, confidently, and bodly draw near to His throne of grace. In fact, we are encouraged in Ephesians 3:12 to approach Him freely. This means we can go into the presence of God anytime we feel like it. We can go 200 times a day if we want to go, with an "in and out" type of privilege. God doesn't even tell us we have to knock on the door or wait for someone to say, "Come in." Suppose you have a friend who says, "You know what? You can come over anytime you want to come. You don't even have to knock because you are welcome anytime, day or night. Just come on in!" Now just think...God is saying that to you, unreservedly, which means you don't have to be careful or hesitate or wonder if you've worn out your welcome. It means even if you make some mis...

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, "I was wrong." - Sydney J. Harris.Before we get into the study of virtues--before we dig any deeper--let's start out by examining what virtues are, and why they are important to our walk with God. First and foremost we're saved by grace. There's nothing that we can do to earn our salvation. Salvation has been imputed to us by God through faith in His son, Jesus Christ. The thing is however that those who believe in Jesus, believe He is Lord. Lord of the universe and Lord of our lives. His wisdom exceeds ours, when it's both comfortable and uncomfortable. On the good days and the bad. Those who love God are willing to give up every selfish ambition and every sinful desire to follow His will. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,...

Let me tell you, my friends, that the gospel I preach is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me. Gal1.11-12 In telling the story of his conversion, Paul explains the drastic change he made. Paul became a nonconformist, despite the fact that his nonconformity cost him everything his culture valued. Our culture pushes us toward uniformity. Wear the right clothes, have the right job, spend money on the right things, and you are acceptable. But, conforming to the world forces us to sacrifice our uniqueness in Christ. Francis Asbury, the first bishop of the Methodist Church in the USA, once prayed, "0 Lord, grant that these brethren may never want to be like other people." Have you met someone willing to be themselves in the will of God? They face the danger of being criticized by those who value conformity, but they have the ultimate freedom. They ar...

    Speaking of perseverance …  that is the very thing that Jesus points us to in Luke 21 as He discusses the end times.  Jesus doesn’t shy away from the fact that in this world we will have trouble.  He warns that destruction is coming: first in the end of Jerusalem, and then the end of the world. War. Catastrophy. Heartache. Deception. Persecution. Desolation. Sounds a lot like what we can find in the news today, huh?  While God has not revealed the specific timing of events in regards to Jesus’ second coming, He does warn us about future events, and teaches us how to persevere in this world while we wait for His return.   We have a choice to make.  Will we run and hide, letting the world depress and defeat us?  Or will we persevere and look up, placing our trust in the One who is coming to make all things new (Revelation 21:5)? Take-aways from Luke Chapter 21: 1.  Don’t be surprise...