God's Unspeakable Gift

Dear class,

The readings today are taken from Psalms 129-131 and 2Corinthians 9.

In the stunning conclusion to this entire major section of his second letter to the Corinthian saints, Paul makes the simple yet at the same time deeply profound statement - Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.

We've seen previously how Paul through various facets, expressed the Christians' hope and longing in God's promises and how we should conduct ourselves as a result. In this particular section in chapter 9, Paul exhorts all to be generous givers, knowing well that we are all but stewards of God's blessings and that He is the ultimate giver.
Truly, God is our ultimate object in thanksgiving. All our blessings, physical and spiritual originate from Him (2Pe 1:3).
Especially when we think of this "unspeakable" gift. The Greek word here - anekdiegetos comprises of the negative "an" and "ekdiegeomai". The latter of which alludes to a declaration (c.f. Act 13:41; 15:3). The other commonly used term by translators is "indescribable".

How so Paul? This precious gift of Christ, unto the salvation of souls of man (Jhn 3:16) is unspeakable, indescribable, inexpressible in human tongue because of

1) The time in planning
Have you ever planned that perfect occasion for a loved one? It may be for your mom, a girlfriend, your spouse. A birthday, an anniversary, a celebration. But few would deny that the importance attached to is proportional to the time spent in foreplanning and the preparation itself. One wonders how his girlfriend would react if her beau's idea of a valentine gift is a stalk of rose hastily purchased from a roadside vendor!
Yet God's unspeakable gift was planned since the foundation of the world, thousands of years in the making (1Pe 1:20)! God's manifold wisdom and foresight truly confounds the brightest of human minds and imaginations (Eph 3:10; 1Co 1:25).

2) It's value
Some say the diamond is the women's best friend! It's beauty? Rarity? Value? Durability? Yet God's unspeakable gift out-values and outlasts any worldly entity. It's valuation? The precious, sinless blood of Christ! (1Pe 1:18,19) It's duration? Eternity! (Rom 6:23) What or who can beat that? Read a quote recently - "Things that come easy don't last; things that last don't come easy". If that were true, one can only marvel at the value of this unspeakable gift, that lasts an eternity.

3) It's recipient
At the end of the day, our best gifts are confined to a limited people. Yet God's unspeakable gift, just as precious, valuable and lasting as it is, is freely available to ALL (Jhn 3:16; Rom 1:16). That is God's promise to His people before, at present and in the time forward, till His Son comes again. It will never grow old or default but ever ready to be given freely to whomsoever is willing to accept!

Let us not take God's unspeakable gift for granted and do our very best to lay hold unto it and share it's availability with one and all.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

In Him
Paul

--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ~ Psalm 119:11

Perfecting Holiness

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Psalms 123-125 and 2Corinthians 7.

The first verse of 2Cor 7 strikes us right smack in the face as Paul summarizes the Christian endeavour in a  "3 point" sermon outline.

1) Perfecting holiness
What do we need to do? Perfect holiness. Perfecting in the sense of making complete - i.e. always seeking to makeup the shortfall. A constant diligent endeavour. In the sense of purity, humility and sincerity in purpose. Holiness is simply being set apart, being different after a godly sort. As Paul exhorted Titus (and hence us!) in Ti 2:12 to "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;". How do we carry ourselves? Does the world perceive us differently, or do we just behave and appear like anyone else?

2) Cleanse ourselves
How do we do it? Making ourselves clean from filth in the flesh and spirit.
Keep ourselves pure and blemish free is a constant process! Basic 2 step process - clean and keep clean. If there's sin in our lives, remove it! After which, keep ourselves pure by not just thinking not to do, but engage in fruitful works to keep out the devil (c.f. Luk 11:24-26).
Notice "of the flesh and spirit". It applies to action and thoughts! And really, the root of the issue comes from the thoughts. Think good and good will come! (c.f. Mat 12:35)

3) Having promises
Why do we do it? Because we have "these promises". Of what promises? Of the assurance of comfort (2Co 1:4). Of salvation (2Co 2:15,16). Of all sufficiency in God (2Co 3:5). Of the temporal nature of suffering and of eternal glory (2Co 4:17,18). Of the terror of God (2Co 5:11). Of being sons and daughters to our Father in heaven (2Co 6:18).
Brethren, if these be not reason and motivation enough, what else is?

Let us continue to strive for perfection in Christ, to constantly endeavour to live right before God that we may finally lay hold on to the eternal glory in heaven.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

in Him
Paul

--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ~ Psalm 119:11

Ministry of Reconciliation

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Psalms 119:89-176 and 2Corinthians 5.

Just a quick note on an important concept among a few in 2Cor 5.

In v. 18 -  "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;"

Notice that Paul was writing to a general audience - the saints at Corinth.
What is this ministry of reconciliation?
To be "reconciled" is to be restored to an original relationship. One that had been in peace and harmony. Thus basically, this ministry is that of preaching God's Word - reconcile souls to God.
Thus we all have an obligation, as the "reconciled" ones, to enter into this ministry.

Wait a minute bro Paul, doesn't the "us" in  v. 18 and following refer to Paul and the apostles?

That may be true, although there are certain "us" that refer more clearly to a particular party than others. For example, the "us" in v.21 seem to quite clearly refer to all saints (at least, if not all mankind).
However, we note that that the general thrust of the message here is Paul talking to the saints as fellow brethren. Paul was breaking the barrier with the brethren. Instead of being "you" and "I' but altogether as the body of Christ. Moreover, we have seen in many places how the saints went about spreading the gospel (c.f. Act 8:1,4), and of course, Jesus Himself, gave the command to the apostles to teach "them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.." (Mat 28:20). "Them" being the saints, the saved in Christ.

We have the moral obligation to spread the saving Message! And not only that, also continue to exhort one another to kept ourselves in the reconciled state (c.f. v.20b).
Look out for opportunities throughout your day to do so. It could be a call, a message, an email, even an FB post or tweet!

The Lord help us to be good minsters in His Ministry and lead us to some soul today.

In Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. ~ 2Cortinthians 5:11

Walk In The Spirit

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Psalms 105, 106 and Galatians 5.

The Psalmist, in these 2 psalms reminds the reader of the history of Israel, no less tumultuous by reason of unbelief.

A thousand years down, Paul continues to exhort a spiritual Israel, still teetering between the Old and the New, as we've seen so far in the book of Galatians.
In chapter 5, Paul continues to drive home the point that as Christians, citizens of the spiritual Kingdom, why seek the old again? Why be bound when we've been loosed?

At the same time, Paul reminds the reader of the greater calling/responsibility as a result of this freedom. It is not uncommon, speaking from personal experience before my conversion, for people to observe, even mock at Christians for being able to do whatever we want, since we can always "ask for forgiveness". To this we loudly echo Paul's sentiments - GOD FORBID! (c.f. Rom 6:1,2) In NO way is God's grace a "license" to sin or wanton desires!

No doubt there would be "black sheep" in the "Christian" world at large, yea, even within the Church. But what God has willed for us, as new creatures in Christ is to truly forsake the works of the flesh (Gal 19:21) but to walk in the spirit and cultivate the fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:16; Gal 5:22,23; 25).

So what is our spiritual walk?
The bible tells us not to walk in our own ways but that we have been raised to walk in newness of life (Act 14:16; Rom 6:4)
Not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Rom 8:1,4)
Not as men but as called by God (1Co 3:3; 7:17)
Not by sight but by faith (2Co 5:7)
Not as the Gentiles but as God has ordained and as worthy of our vocation (Eph 2:10; 4:1,17)
Not in darkness but in light (1Jn 1:6;7)
Not after our own ungodly lusts but after his commandments in truth (Jud 1:18; 2Jo 6; 3Jn 4)
Walk in love (Eph 5:2)
Walk in wisdom (Col 4:5)
Walk honestly (1Th 4:12)
Walk circumspectly (soberly, diligently) (Eph 5:15)
Walk as children of light (Eph 5:8)
Walk by the rule of Christ (Phi 3:16)
Walk in Christ (Col 2:6)
Walk worthy of the Lord God (Col 1:10; 1Th 2:12)

Walk in the manner after the fruit of spirit. Notice our walk is active and alive! We are raised in newness of life not as emotionless zombies! That is why we are made alive in the Spirit, so as to WALK in the Spirit (Gal 5:25). Abounding in a spiritually fruitful walk is the best and indeed only guard against going back to our old worldly ways and from which we are justified and where there's no condemnation (c.f. Gal 5:23 - against such there is no law: i.e. no condemnation. c.f. Rom 8:1; 2Co 3:9)

The Lord help us all in our walk in the Spirit, with our heads held up high in Christ, ever marching on, never looking back, pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! (Phi 3:14)

In Him
Paul

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ~ Luke 14:26,27

Travail in Birth (typo)

Dear readers,

In my last post, the last sentence of last paragraph should read:
"May we be reminded, he who looks back after putting his hand on the plough is NOT fit for the Kingdom of God. (Luk 9:62)

Many apologies to the typo!

in Him
Paul

Travail in Birth

Dear class,

No, I'm not going to talk to you about child-birth today! Although that is what Paul is alluding to in his colourful, impassioned writing.

Today, we read of Psalms 103,104 and Galatians 4.

One of the primary messages of the book of Galatians is the fact that we are no longer under the Old Law, but that of the new Law of Christ. Yes, the Old Law had served it's purpose but it no longer was necessary after having fulfilled it's purpose. (Gal 3:24-27)
Paul's plea to the Christian's in Galatia was for them to wean themselves off! Why get oneself entangled again from that which the Jews failed to keep? Why seek to be in bondage when we have been made free?
As such, Paul felt as if he were a woman in travail. Mothers among us would attest to the great discomfort experienced. At that moment in pain, any mother would hope it would pass as soon as possible! That was what Paul felt when he saw his spiritual children regress into the Old Law.
It is interesting and vital to note that, while we may be tempted to label the Old and New as "plan A" and "plan "B", the fact of the matter is, there has ALWAYS just been ONE plan. If anything, more like part A and part B of an entire complete package our Almighty God had designed right from the very beginning.
Notice in v.21 -  Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
The Old Law reveals the New! If one would get to the crux of the Old, he would be looking forward to the New and not hang on to it, as if a mother in labour wished for the the delivery process to go on and on!

From a similar perspective, if we were to hang on to our pre-conversion life-style and thinking, it would be akin to tempting the ones who had taught us and yea God Himself in an extending child birth. GET ON WITH IT brethren! What are we hanging on to? Have we not tasted the graciousness of the Lord? (1Pe 2:3) May we be reminded, he who looks back after putting his hand on the plough is fit for the Kingdom of God. (Luk 9:62)

Let us continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of God and wean ourselves off worldly thoughts and actions, no longer carnally minded, but looking up to things above. (1Co 3:3; Col 3:1,2)

The Lord bless our day ahead.

in Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ~ Luke 14:26,27

Strangers and Pilgrims

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Psa 84-86 and 1Pe 2.

1 Peter 2 starts off with our class theme verse in v.2 - As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

And indeed, GROWTH and MATURITY are important hallmarks of the faithful Christian. And this development is solely with reference to the spiritual department.
If anything but for the fact that we are "Strangers" and "Pilgrims" in this world.
Our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God! We are merely PRs (Permanent Residents) or perhaps even Work Permit holders!
And yes of course, as Peter would point out later in the chapter (v.13 ff), we are subject to the laws of the land, to our worldly masters. Yet being aliens, our primary focus should not be on our current place of residence but our ultimate heavenly abode.

As strangers and pilgrims in this world, we need to constantly ask ourselves - just what are we preparing ourselves for?
Sometimes, we seem to live like we never want to leave this world! As if we would renounce our heavenly citizenship for a worldly passport. Far fetched? Yet every time we choose to disobey His Word, every time we let worldly priorities take precedence over spiritual, every time we fail to stand up for The Faith, we are moving closer toward a total renouncement of our heavenly citizenship.

Practically, Peter reminds us of at least 3 areas how we should live as spiritual foreigners -
1) Abstain from fleshly lusts
We are all too familiar with 1Jo 2:15-17. Paul exhorts Timothy to "flee youthful lusts". (2Ti 2:22) The temptation is real! Being subject to the constant bombardment and not making a conscious effort to turn away is going to make it more and more difficult to live as foreigners! In the same verse, Paul gives tips to make things easier - follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace. Heavyweight items, yet boils down to an active, engaged life of good works, for which we've been created to walk in! (Eph 2:10). As Christians, we can't hole ourselves up in some remote island or high mountain and live as hermits to "abstain from fleshly lusts"! There's work to do! LOTS of it! And in fact that's the way in order for us to keep ourselves focussed on our citizenship and making sure we lay hold unto our ultimately citizenship rights.

2) Honest living
Besides for our own good, our godly way of life is one of the greatest testament to His Word. Wherefore Jesus exhorted us -
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. ~ Mat 5:13-16

For a fact, there would be people who would look upon us with disdain, who would revile us, accuse us of being "aloof", "self-righteous", "goody-two-shoes". (c.f. 1Pe 4:4) Yet we need to continue to persevere, knowing that we have been commanded to be "god-pleasers" and not "men-pleasers" (Col 3:22,23). The skeptical and scornful will never be pleased, yet the pure and genuine in heart would definitely see the glory of God through true Christian living. Consistency is the key here. Never let our decisions waver and wander. It will only make our critics more critical and the good hearts cold, and worse, trample God's name under our very own feet.

3) Submit to every ordinance of man
Obviously, if we were to observe the drift of the Scriptures, this submission is not about doing evil! But rather a reminder on two fronts.
Firstly, being a foreigner doesn't mean we are above the laws of the land! Any PR, WP, EP(Employment Pass) holder are still subject to the same laws! We are to respect and submit to the authorities. Paul even go as far to say - "Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."! (Rom 13:2) Thus even as we go about doing His Work, we need to be careful not be come into conflict with the laws of the land. Note that contextually, in Rom 13, Paul had particular reference to Christians paying taxes to the Roman government, which some have an issue against. So as a similar example, it would be wrong for an individual to evade taxes just so he can give more to God!
Secondly, as we've seen in Col 3:22,23, our submission is an ultimate projection of our submission to God. Once we get that clear, it removes "dilemmas" in our choices. In bro Swayne's excellent sermon yesterday, he alluded to the example of Daniel. Daniel had purposed in his heart to do God's will regardless. Was the king angry with Daniel on hearing his accusers? On the contrary, he was was angry with himself for having foolishly declared a law that had Daniel implicated and sought ways and means to get him out of the rut! (Dan 6:14) Why? Because Daniel had given his best in his service to Persian empire like as to God, and the king knew he had a great man under his service, one of whom he could fully put his trust upon, so much so that Daniel was basically his second-in-command (Dan 6:3). And of course we all know how the story concluded. And we notice how God was glorified through Daniel's shining example (Dan 6:26,27). Give of our best at work, as to the Lord, stick to His Principles, and God is faithful to make ways for us and deliver us.

Brethren, let us never forget our status here on earth, and live as we should in the capacity of foreigners in a foreign land, labouring in so far as to ensure our return to our homeland and to being as many people with us as possible.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

In Him
Paul

--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. ~ 1Corinthians 15:58