CNY devotional – releasing a blessing for a breakthrough

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10 NIV)

What to do
1. Be fully clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit
- in Acts 2, Peter and John were clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit. Prior to this, they passed by the same gate and no miraculous transformation took place
- just like a car that requires petrol, we need a top up of the holy spirit occasionally
- important reminder for us before we start blessing others during CNY

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4 NIV)

2. Create a defining moment
- the lame person has been sitting at the same gate for the past few years
- but today, when Peter and John walked past this same man, they decided to seize the moment, define the day
- similarly we have the opportunity to make this CNY reunion something different
- this is something in our hands, to make a change

3. Carry the Lord’s presence
- Peter and John, who were now fully clothed, had the hunger and went to pray to God straight away
- when we are God-aware, we will turn normalcy into a defined miraculous moment

4. By confession of faith

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” (Acts 3:6 NIV)

- similarly, during CNY, as we release blessings to our friends and relatives, do something different, and bless them richly

Mark 1 – Jesus the Superhero

After Leviticus and Numbers, I’m excited that I am finally to Mark. Mark 1 describes the wonderful beginnings of Jesus the man.. With John the Baptist preparing the way for him.

It just feels like Im reading a familiar tale of a strong superhero (akin to Superman except that Jesus is real). He came, he saw, he conquered. The heaven tore apart when he was baptized in the water by John. People followed him as disciples wholeheartedly. Evil spirits were driven out. Sickness was dispelled. Many were healed, even those with leprosy.

In short, Jesus was like a one-man healing machine that came to saved all of us. I’m excited to read more about his early journey in this world.

Faith and trust in God during troubled times

Psalms 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises. (Psalm 22:1-3 NIV)

I like this chapter for its raw intensity and sincerity. One does not go through such severe troubled times often in ones life (God willing) but when it hits, it hits like a pile of bricks and our faith and trust in the Lord will be tested.

The writer of this chapter is obviously going through a tough period in his life, but it is really enviable and encouraging that in spite of these times, his faith and trust in God remains..

Psalms 23
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4 NIV)

Promises of God (Leviticus 26)

Leviticus in a pretty tough book to read, only because there are so many old laws, decrees, instructions and commandments to follow. Detailed guidelines on how to live our lives, but they are not really applicables in today’s day and age.

I like Leviticus 26 though, because it talks about the promises and blessings of God if we obey him.

In Verse 3, it is written

³ “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands,⁴ I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. ⁵ Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

⁶ “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. ⁷ You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. ⁸ Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

⁹ “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. ¹⁰ You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.¹¹ I will put my dwelling place^[a] among you, and I will not abhor you.¹² I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. ¹³ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

There are just so many wonderful promises of God in this chapter, so very exciting. Not only are we promised endless food, peace and security, we are also promised favor, victory over our enemies and love and blessings from God.

BUT, and there is, of course a big BUT. if we do not listen to his commands, decrees and violate his covenant, then in V16 it is written..

¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. ¹⁷ I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

¹⁸ “‘If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.¹⁹ I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. ²⁰ Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.

²¹ “‘If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve.²² I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

²³ “‘If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁴ I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. ²⁵ And I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. ²⁶ When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

²⁷ “‘If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, ²⁸then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. ²⁹ You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰ I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies^[b] on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. ³¹ I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. ³² I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. ³³ I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. ³⁴ Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. ³⁵ All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

³⁶ “‘As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. ³⁷ They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies.³⁸ You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you.³⁹ Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their ancestors’ sins they will waste away.

Harsh but ultimately, true verses. But this is the only way for a sinless God that is just and abhors sin. But being a loving God, he offers this to us

⁴⁰ “‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, ⁴¹ which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, ⁴² I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³ For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. ⁴⁴ Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their God. ⁴⁵ But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD.’”

Our God is a jealous God, that seeks only our love and obedience. He is sinless and abhors sins. But because he loves us so much, and know that because of the sinful nature of men, that we can never ever come close to him by our own strengths, not only did he give us several chances and opportunities in the Old Testament, he also gave us His one and only son Jesus, one that is also without sin, to die for all our sins on the cross, so that we can finally be close to God.

 

 

It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)

Something that is fundamental in Christian teaching is to give and help to weak, but I believe this is something that whilst I seek to do each day, it can still be improved in my daily life. I think there is still a lot that I can do to help the people around me.

I aim to do 3 care acts this week, and journal them down as and when I complete them. Believe this will help me keep my focus on giving.

1. Act 1 -
2. Act 2 -
3. Act 3 -

 

1 Jan – new year, new beginning

And so, a new year begins again. As a friend of mine puts it quite aptly, its another chance to set everything right again. Not that you cannot do so in any other time of the year. Its just that when a new year beckons, the alarms, bells and whistles for changes and new beginnings ring that much louder and clearer.

And so, for my own spiritual walk with God, I resolve to continue being close to Him. To continue seeking him first as my sovereign God. To count on myself less and less, and on Him more and more. Surprisingly, for one who does not mind shirking responsibilities if I feel someone else can do the same task equally well or better, I find it extremely hard to give up control of my life to Him. This is something I resolve to improve upon this year – to seek Him first whenever I face any problems, to ask for His forgiveness whenever I sin, to seek his advice when I am at any crossroads in my life.

More practically, Shermaine and I agreed that we are going to continue with the Bible Plan on our awesome iPhone. One problem we identified is we often read the bible, more as a means to complete it, and clear our quota for the day; and not so, to meditate and think on the issues presented in the reading. This is something else we hope to change this year. And hence, the journalling on our blogs/ notebook/ Evernotes etc. In my case, I resolve to pen down any thoughts or queries that I encounter during my daily TAWG. I seek to be a better Christian, one that is more in touch with the Holy Spirit and I believe one of the pre-requisites of this is to know His Word more and more each day.

So as I complete my TAWG each day, I seek to think more deeply about the issues at hand, and to reflect on my own life and improve upon it.

 

Watch Night Svc 2011

Looking back
Yr 2008 – year of new beginning (Genesis), Life, dominion and blessings
Yr 2009 – stepping into abundant living
Yr 2010 – blessed to be a blessing, abundant giving of time, talent, treasure, and testimony
Yr 2011 – breaking out, breaking through. From potential to fulfillment
Yr 2012 – experiencing apostolic fulfillment

Apostle = first
- has to break ground, break through

Reading: Joshua 3-6

Breakthroughs do not merely come through mere faithfulness. To see apostolic breakthroughs, we require faith that is groundbreaking, involving a quantum leap

Before the people of Israel crossed over, they relied on faithfulness, following God trough visual signs of fire and plume, food came miraculously from God via manna, the parting of red sea by God to pave the way ahead for them

After they have crossed over, it became more important for them to rely on faith. God do not do everything for us now. Instead, there is a divine partnership between us and God.

Joshua 3: we have to stand on Gods character and word

Ark of the Covenant
- it is not going to just be Gods covenant with us today, it is also going to be Gods testimony in us

We need faith in our daily walk in our life and in God
- despite what the economists are telling us

What we need to do
1. Cement our faith
- do not let it go to waste eg. After church camp. Cement it and be consistent in our faith
- we need to cement our faith via a token reminder eg. Seeing the church being fully paid up for Pastor

Consecration
- consecrated hearts must take place before fulfillment
- we have to formally set aside our hearts for God eg. Family communion

Humility

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. (1 Samuel 18:1-4 NIV)

Jonathan is humble
- accepts that God is sovereign and wishes for David to be King
- he submits to God and to David
- gives up what he owns, and even his hereditary right to his future throne to David because this is Gods wishes

Humility is not passive, not just you simply standing by the side waiting for things to happen to you, for you to be abused – that is simply weakness

Humility is something active – its a choice you make on a daily basis

Living stones and Holy priesthood

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4, 5 NIV)

3 privileges of being living stones

1. Come to Jesus
- people were lost and tired, and it is a privilege to invite them to come to the living stone

4 simple steps to come to Jesus
- get ready to hear from God
- read and reflect on Gods word
- reflect on Gods word
- respond to his word

2. Chosen by God
- rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him
- some of the people in the past were rejected by family and community
- instead of measuring our self esteem by what people say about you, be assured that God has chosen you specifically and treasure you deeply

3. Children of God
- called has called us to be living stones to be part of Gods spiritual family
- the most important condition to being a son or daughter of God or any family is Unconditional Love

As Living stones, our purpose is to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ

3 purposes we have as living stones
1. Grow in holiness

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15, 16 NIV)

- one aspect of holiness = be absent of sin, but thanks to Jesus, he has exchanged these sins with forgiveness and we are made holy
- another aspect is the presence of righteousness, and this is something we can work on each day to be more like Jesus

2. Tell others about God

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9, 10 NIV)

We all have a story to tell others about our transformation powers that God has

3. Live for God
- offer spiritual sacrifices to God
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11 NIV)

- prayer
- love
- hospitality
- serving
- so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ

Power of fellowship

We are all children of God.. The moment we enter into a relationship with Him, we enter into a relationship with the other followers.

Acts 2:42 NIV

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

- there is a difference between teaching abduction fellowship
- fellowship is an exchange of lives

Matthew 18:20 NIV

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
- gathering of fellowshippers draws the presence of God