Category: Ramblings

Matt 20:20-28.
20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 21 “What is your request?” he asked. She replied, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 22 But Jesus answered by saying to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” 23 Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.” 24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 26 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Every one wants to be great in one way or another. Some have delusional disorders as a result of not being able to come to terms with their lowly lot; of which grandiose and persecutory delusional disorders are most often. Some imagine that they have special gifts from God especially in the area of healing or prophecy. Some are charlatans. Some believe they are suffering unjustly because of persecution from either the devil, the state or fellow brothers or sisters. Others believe famous luminaries are exceptionally interested in them. In a very rapid growing economy like China, you find a very high percentage of such sufferers. Peace and joy are fleeting for the lower classes because most believe greatness comes from power and authority and great wealth can buy all these today – respect, power and authority.

The mother of James and John came kneeling in front of Jesus to ask such an outrageous favor from Him. How many really come to worship Jesus today for who He is ? Or behind such piety is self scented desire of getting wealth, power and authority ? The disciples were always arguing who was the greatest among them. So why would the rest be angry with James and John this time ? They were mad because of the extent the brothers would go to secure such position of power and authority by calling on the help of their mother.

Such power struggle is common place today in the church. You will not believe the erroneous extent some leaders will go to secure the seat of authority.

The Lord had to correct their worldly view of greatness. Were they willing to drink the cup for others ? (James did fulfill this prophecy of drinking the cup when he was executed.) Were they willing to wash the feet of one another like a slave ?

Sadly today, many leaders are no different from the mother of the Zebedee brothers in such self-scented pursuit of power and authority. They still fall for this wrong definition of greatness. They want bigger and bigger building, bigger salary, bigger exposure on TV media worldwide, greatest programme, most popular music and greatest membership. Had Jesus wanted His Bride to be no different from the world, He would have realized the glorious political Kingdom on His first advent and fulfilled such an expectation of the Jews and His disciples. John 18:35-37; Luke 17:20-21. The Kingdom of God is of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and not of power and authority. Rom 14:17
.
When we truly understand this wonderful truth from our Lord of giving over getting and serving over being served , we become truly great in the eyes of God.

We read in 1 Samuel 15 that God instructed King Saul to destroy the whole tribe of Amalekites and everything including children, infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. Yet King Saul disobeyed and tried to explain that he spared the best of the sheep and cattle to make sacrifice to God. Though it was not mentioned in this passage, we learned later in 1 Samuel 30 that King David was harassed by the Amalekites which would imply children and infants were spared too.

Samuel said this to King Saul, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord ? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.” 1 Sam 15:22-23.

King Saul was trying to argue on the MERIT of his action which is to worship God with the best of the spoils but to God, His instruction is to be obeyed even if it is perceived unflatteringly. We have to remember that His ways and thoughts are definitely higher than ours. Is 55:9. How can our sense of morality and righteousness be higher than His ? Ps 145:17.

We uphold that homosexuality is sin because God said so. Period. One man and one woman shall be the definition of marriage as instructed by Him. We cannot argue on the MERIT that the homosexual union can remain faithful and loving towards one another even if there is statistics to prove it may be true. The point is not on the permissibility because of MERIT, but because God forbid. Period. God wants that kind of hierarchical order in His creation at this moment.

Likewise, if the Bible is so straight forward on not allowing woman to teach of which the reason is given in 1 Tim 2:13-14 on the created hierarchical order that God wants, why should we disobey and argue on the MERIT of the opposite of God’s instruction ? We will be practicing double standards if we stand on God’s created hierarchical order on one hand and disobey on another.

Because His ways are higher than ours, we have to believe, trust and obey every of His instruction. Our obedience to His commandments reveal our faith in Him and our love for Him. John 14:23-24.

In Christian walk, we often need to tread on a biblical balance between extremes.

Thrift is good but going to the extreme of miserliness is bad, and generosity is good but going to the extreme of financial irresponsibility is bad.

Having too much money may make one to deny God and having too little may make one steal and dishonor God. Prov 30:8,9.

Likewise, we cannot believe God to be an out-and-out doting Father without any discipline,  or He is the harshest Judge without mercy.  Heb 12:4-13.  The truth is that not only God is merciful but He is also just.  Jer 9:24-25.

Commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action but reflection without commitment is the paralysis of all action – so said Dr John Mackay,  President of Princeton Seminary – also highlight the danger of taking either extreme.

As we are called to be salt and light so that others who see our good works can give glory to God, we have to share the gospel both in word and in deed. To insist on just sharing the gospel in word or just in deed are running towards extremes.

Heb 11:1

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Faith, as in the context of the whole chapter of Heb 11, is hoping for SOMETHING. What is this ultimate SOMETHING ? It is given in verses 13 to 16. Today, we hope to receive many perishable things in life but of what profit ? Isn’t one wiser to live for imperishable things to COME. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” ― Jim Elliot.

So what is this SOMETHING ? Heb 11:13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They DID NOT RECEIVE what was promised, but they SAW IT all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a HEAVENLY HOMELAND. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

It is God’s original intent to let man had dominion over the earth and to enjoy all the prosperity it had to offer. God led His people Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey. Deut 8:7-10.
So why did our Lord pronounce woe to the rich and blessing to the poor ? Luke 6:20,24. And He added that it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Sin changed everything and brought curse to us and the whole creation as well. He foreknew when Israel settled down and built houses in the Promised Land, they would forget Him. Deut 8:11-14.
We are no longer able to handle prosperity in this fallen world and in our fallen nature. If we are able, there will not be poverty as we will perfectly love one another and share with one another. Covetousness and selfishness are here to stay till Christ comes again.
But God’s original grand plan will not be frustrated. He will renew the earth and sanctify us as a people for His Son holy and Christ-like to be His citizens again in His coming renewed heaven and earth. Eph 1:3-5.
Meanwhile in this present age, we are exhorted to live as exiles like the heroes of faith and to desire a better country (a heavenly one). And if we still love the country we have resolved to leave behind, we have never left in the first place ! Be warned ! Heb 11:13-16.
So any teacher who comes and tell you that abundant life in this present age is an abundance of every good thing in life, you know he is a false teacher because Jesus our Lord said that life does not consist in the abundance of things and we should store treasure in heaven rather than on earth now. So don’t try to find your own life now or you will lose it. But lose it for Christ’s sake and you will find it.
Let’s endure for a little while. Christ is coming very soon. When Christ appears, all our human aspiration will be realized. Nothing right now can be compared to the coming glory in Him.

Luke 13:1-5

2 tragedies are mentioned in Luke 13:1-5 – one massacre atrocity of Galilean worshippers by Pontius Pilate and an accident calamity of the collapse of a tower killing 18 people – which would be similar to the ISIS atrocities and the natural calamities of tsunamis, earthquakes and plane crashes today. It was natural for the people to ask Jesus our Lord to make some sense of such tragedies.

How do we usually react to such news of atrocity or calamity ?

Most will call for prayer mostly to comfort the loved ones of the deceased. But over time as I have noticed now, fatigue and familiarity set in and even call for prayer and assistance has lessened much. To be frank, sometimes I suspect it is merely a knee-jerk Christian response to show some concern and religious piety.

What should be our appropriate response as advocated by our Lord in Luke 13:1-5 ?

In my opinion, firstly our Lord seemed to emphasize that we should be more concerned with eternal life and death than physical life and death. Secondly, it was a warning that we should repent quickly without hesitation before similar calamity befall us suddenly and we are robbed of the last chance to repent. The Jews living then would face their own tragedy in AD 70.

We are now living in the beginning of the birth pangs and we should expect an exponential increase of disasters as told by our Lord. Luke 21: 10-11.  Though calamities such as major earthquakes will have heavy death toll and is likely to be flashed on TV and bringing home the agony of suffering, we often do not realize that there is daily tragedy of a bigger magnitude.

For example, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake might have killed 70,000,  but 110,000 died on the roads of China, 70,000 committed suicides and another few hundred thousand die of preventable illnesses yearly in China. Shouldn’t the church in China or everywhere be more concerned with the vagaries of life and lost souls every day instead of allowing our emotions to be stirred up by the media disproportionately ?

I do grieve over such senseless tragedy but it galvanizes me to witness and share about spiritual preparation with even more urgency, since more hardship should be anticipated in greater intensity as the birth pains intensify in these last days.

Many will encounter the plague of mourning or hopelessness, famine and death in this last period of the last days. We are already seeing a tragic sizable number of suicides in churches today. Like what Mother Teresa said, the poor man died of starvation not because God did not help him but because we as the church did not help. Likewise for many who are suffering emotional oppression, it is our duty to share the gospel as well as relieving the oppressed and setting the captives free.

Let’s start praying for the less fortunate, the emotionally oppressed and the physically challenged in our midst with more urgency today and take action to help which will be more practical.

Postscript : However, do not get me wrong.  It is good that we pray for the sufferers suffering at the time of disaster and ask God to use us as vessels of hope as well.  (In the Sichuan and Tacloban disasters, we have prayed for relief in sending basic necessities and solar lamps directly to the disaster area which God provided so promptly.  All glory to His amazing grace forever !)   But not miss out the bigger picture of sharing the gospel with the unsaved in our midst with greater urgency and compassion.

God’s Grand Plan (Eph 1: 3-10) :

Before the foundation of the world, He is giving to His Son a redeemed and renewed people holy and Christ-like to be citizens in His divine and eternal kingdom.

God’s Sovereign Work (Titus 2:11-14) :

1. Jesus CAME to bring salvation for all people,
2. Jesus TRAINED us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live godly lives in the present age.
3. Jesus GAVE Himself to redeem us from sin and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Christian’s Walk (1 John 2: 6) :

To walk as Jesus walked in
1. Love. John 15:13
2. Humility. Phil 2:5-8.
3. Endurance. Heb 12:1-3.
4. Service. John 13:12-15.
5. Mission. Luke 4:18.

Postscript : Coming to God not knowing what He wants but what we want, we will be missing the whole purpose of our lives.

Phil 4: 6-9

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Whenever we face trials, it is human to be anxious.  Anxiety will set in and we will feel the tremendous turmoil in our hearts. Though we may come to God and present our requests to Him,  we cannot help but to feel anxious and think about possible scenarios and solutions that we can undertake at the same time. It is easier said than done to just switch off the turmoil we have when we are facing ongoing trials.

We often overlook the exhortation in verses 8 and 9 to have noble, excellent or praiseworthy thoughts instead of negative thoughts.  And we should learn from the experience of St Paul and other heroes of faith on how they faced trials and still kept faith in God.  St Paul had his fair share of the harshest trials.  He had almost nothing and his hands had to minister to his own needs even if it was the menial work of tent making.

Allow me to share this personal testimony to show that God’s peace is so amazing and beyond understanding.  I pray it will encourage the brothers and sisters who are struggling with trials right now.

Many years ago when I had a business enterprise, I once had a bad debt of 200,000 US dollars.  It was almost as good as gone. I prayed for God to give me the peace.  I dare not ask for the recovery of debt but rather the peace to deal with it.  I knew the anxiety would definitely debilitate me. Over the next few months, I really had peace instead of turmoil.  I thought about His amazing grace and the blessings I had over the years.  Out of the blue, I received payment of 80% of the debt.  Later I learned that the US debtor had been admitted to a mental institution due to mounting debt and bankruptcy.  In another case, I bought and sold a batch of goods costing 60,000 US dollars and the parts were not made to correct specification which could not be salvaged. Again, I prayed for peace instead.  Again, I received payment for it incredibly.  Both situation could have wound up my enterprise.

I faced life threatening situation several times as well.  I dare not say that I have the same courage to say this like St Paul : “For me to live is Christ, to die is gain.”   But after I prayed and starting thinking about the ordeal of St Paul and other heroes of faith,  my thoughts would drift to the scenarios of these heroes meeting Jesus our Lord.  How would Jesus commend them ?   Would He commend them as faithful servants ?   What will heaven be like ?   The fears dissipated and turned to excitement instead.  Indeed, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witness, we should have the same faith and join them in traveling as exiles on earth and looking forward to this better country of God. (Heb 11 and 12).   I would think about how to make the most of the time left, and turned from the feeling of weakness to renewed strength instead by the grace of God.   I guess that is the comfort we often pray for others in similar situation.

Although I received a happy ending for the trials so far,  it was the peace given by God in my heart to deal with the trials that is so amazing.  I thought I would be so drained emotionally without any solution in sight.  But God did give me this peace to move on.  All thanks and glory to God.  Amen.

There is this following saying attributed to St Augustine : Essentials, unity; Non essentials, liberty; All things, charity.

It is a good summary of how we should deal with matter of truth and matter of conscience.

I will paraphrase as such : Matter of Truth, unity; Matter of Conscience, liberty; All matters, love.

There should be absolute unity concerning matter of truth or doctrine. Any deviation from the biblical truth will be considered as apostate belief. We cannot agree to disagree on matter of truth. For example, if we hold the belief that Christ is the only way and others hold the belief that there is several ways to God including Christ, we are not traveling on the same road together anymore.

But concerning matter of conscience, we can have liberty to agree to disagree. One good example is found in 1 Cor 8 concerning eating food offered to idols. For those with knowledge will know that idols are lifeless artifacts and there is only one God who is spirit. They can have the liberty to eat without asking question when invited by the pagans to join their feast with the food offered to idols. But for those without knowledge, thinking that the food is defiled, they can choose not to eat as food does not bring us any closer to God anyway. The only concern is not to stumble the weaker brother in insisting on the exercise of our rights. Obstinate insistence on the exercising of our rights causing the stumbling of the weaker brother is sinning against Christ. Be warned.

The overarching consideration in all matters is to deal with love. As long as we put the interest of others above ours, we are doing well as we are following the example of our Lord Jesus.

Phil 2: 3-11 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Acts 8:9-24

Simon was another clear-cut example of one who professed faith in Jesus and was baptized, and yet had no saving faith. Evidence of the lack of saving faith were clear when Peter said :

1. He would end up in hell with his money.
2. He had no part in the ministry.
3. His heart was NOT right with God.
4. He had to REPENT and pray in the hope that Jesus would forgive !

The word Simony is derived from this story of Simon – just like how the word Sodomy came about from the story of Sodom – which is defined as the making of profit out of sacred things.

Today, the hyper grace false teachers are also making huge profit out of twisting the true gospel to pander to itching ears of followers who do not want to hear about a life of obedience and discipline in the Kingdom of God, especially REPENTANCE from a life led by sin into a life of holiness led by the Spirit. After Peter rebuked Simon of his sin and pointing out his illegitimate faith, there was no evidence that he had godly sorrow for his sin and repented as he only wanted Peter to pray for him to avoid the consequences of his sin.