Loved and Chosen by God
There are two erroneous teachings with regard to salvation in the church today. One of which gives false assurance, while the other advocates justification by merits. We must avoid both pitfalls. Let us go back to the Bible to find true assurance that we are loved and chosen in Christ.
Seduced But Not Snared
In a fallen sinful world, temptations keep coming at us through relentless invitation, persuasion and aggression. Although we cannot control if temptations will strike us unwarned, we can choose to resist them when they come. Particularly, how can we guard ourselves from sexual temptation and not be seduced by it nor stumble others?
Deceiving and Being Deceived
Most people standard of judgment of what is said is true is as long it sounds right. For example, as long a sermon sounds resonating or a prophecy sounds pleasing, then it should be fine. Yet often times, we didn’t examine to see if it matches the sum of truth of God’s word. As deception continue to infiltrate the church and many believers mind, it is important to recognize who are the ones deceiving and are being deceived.
Greatest Blessing: “God Is With Us”
Are you able to see that God is with you, even in hard times? What impact does God’s presence have on you? The Bible tells us that, “the Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man”. Does God define success and prosperity in the same way as the world? If it is different, how different? How should Christians measure success? What happens if you make the source of all blessings – Jesus the Overseer of your life?
Festive Mission and Watchfulness
Chinese New Year is perhaps the most important holiday to the Chinese. Yet, while we celebrate, we also need to be watchful for the various forces of idols which work especially hard to capture people’s hearts and minds during this festive season. When things are happy, we tend to let our guard down, but we need to know that there is spiritual battle behind the beautiful new clothes, festive feasts and happy atmosphere. The happy mood must not distract us from God’s purpose, which is to seize the opportunity to show God’s love and share the gospel to our loved ones.
The “Why and How” of Holy Communion
Some of the most intense theological battles were fought in church history with regards to Holy Communion. Some have even developed skewed doctrine pertaining to the Sacrament. Yet, the underlying reason could be that the Church is concerned about the life and worship involved in its observance. Find out why is the Holy Sacrament important to our Christian living, and how it should be observed.
Grace In Holiness, Holiness In Grace
Do you feel divine grace is out of reach to you? The gospel tells us God extends His grace even to undeserving sinners, and where sin increased, grace increased all the more. But does such grace mean we can feel free to sin more? Certainly not! For God is also holy, and He judges and disciplines sinners.
No Illusion About Comfort In This Life
We all wish to rest from what we deem as laborious. If we ask the question: “Why are we working so hard now?”, the simple answer is so that hard work will end. Yet, why did the Apostle Paul labour till the end of his life? What is so important about laboring that is so glorious? Why shouldn’t we be brought over by the comfort which the World yearns for if we are living an authentic Christian life?
The Need To Be Sober-Minded
To be sober is not just a suggestion, but it is the command of the Lord. Both the Apostle Peter and Paul had given compelling instructions to believers about being sober, and more so in times of trials. Let’s understand what “sobriety” truly means for the Christians.
Resolve To Live A Holy Life
If to be consecrated means to be different, then we need to ask if we truly dare to be different from the world, even when it may come with persecutions? Would we rather be socially acceptable, or God-acceptable? God wants us to start the year right with a consecrated and holy heart. Consecration is not a one-time resolution but a lifetime lifestyle. Even if we are already believers who are serving God, we need to guard ourselves from a “typical” Christian living, which is not what consecration is about. So how can we restore a consecrated lifestyle and serving?
