In pursuit of charity

Sunday 2021.11.28

In my New Testament reading today, I came across 1 Corinthians 14:1 which tells us to pursue charity (Gr agape, Godly love) and desire spiritual gifts in our lives.

This verse brings to mind the situation of a runner in a long marathon race, pursuing his goal of reaching the finishing line ahead of others, while he desires water from drinking stations along the route.

1 Corinthians 14:1 KJV King James Version
Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts . . .

"Follow after", the KJV says. Let us follow after charity, the Love of God. Let us pursue charity like a marathon runner pursuing his prize at the finishing line. And along the way let us desire gifts of the Holy Spirit to equip us for our pursuit.

Not all things are expedient, Not all things build up

Saturday 2021.11.27

Shabbat Shalom

Today is the Seventh Day of the Biblical Week. Let us keep the Fourth Commandment by resting from all our work until sunset this evening.

This morning in my New Testament reading, I came across verse 23 in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, telling us that sometimes the things that we think are right for us to do may not be helpful to our fellow believers around us. "Not all things are expedient, . . . not all things build up", the Apostle writes.

1 Corinthians 10:23 WEB World English Bible
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are expedient.
"All things are lawful for me," but not all things build up.

In the next verse, the Apostle enjoins us to seek our neighbour's good rather than our own.

1 Corinthians 10:24 WEB
Let no one seek his own,
but each one his neighbor`s good.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us strive to seek one another's good. Let us refrain from doing things that mislead, stumble or discourage our fellow believers around us, even if our knowledge and reasoning tell us that those things are "lawful" to do. Let us remember that all things may be lawful but not all are helpful.

One God, we in Him, One Lord, we by him

Friday 2021.11.26

Today's Passages:
1 Chronicles 26:1 - 29:30 NIV (117 verses)
1 Corinthians 7:1 - 9:27 KJV (80 verses)

In this morning's NT reading, First Corinthians chapter 8, verses 5 and 6, the Apostle wrote that to us there is only one God, who is the Father of all creation, and "we in Him", and one Lord Iesus His Anointed, through whom all things are created, and "we by him".

1 Corinthians 8:5 - 6 KJV King James Version

For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

The expressions "we in him" and "we by him", referring to one God and one Lord respectively, is translated in a less ambiguous way in the New International Version as "for whom we live" and "through whom we live":

1 Corinthians 8:5 - 6 KJV King James Version

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus the Anointed One, let us remember that we have only One God our Father from whom we came and for whom we live our lives. And let us remember that we have only one Lord Iesus the Anointed, through whom we came and through whom we live.

Seek the LORD and His strength, Seek His presence continually

Monday 2021.11.22

This morning while reading First Chronicles chapter 16, I am reminded to seek God and to remember all His wonderful works in all circumstances.

1 Chronicles 16:11 - 12  ASV  American Standard Version

Seek ye Jehovah and his strength;
---- Seek his face evermore.
Remember his marvellous works that he hath done,
---- His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth,

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us continually seek God and His strength. Let us seek His presence. And let us remember all the marvellous works He has done in our lives.

The Law of the Spirit of Life

Sunday 2021.11.21

Today's Passages:
1 Chronicles 10:1 - 12:40 GNB (101 verses)
Romans 6:1 - 8:39 NKJV (87 verses)

About eighteen years ago, in March 2003, I wrote and delivered a sermon entitled, "The Three Spiritual Laws" to the Chinese Methodist Church in Kampar, the town where I worked and stayed. This sermon is based on the teachings about the Law of God, the Law of Sin and the Law of the Spirit written by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, chapters 7 and 8, linked below:

• The Three Spiritual Laws

This morning I pondered over the Law of the Spirit of Life as explained in Romans 8:1 - 6, and it occurred to me that this Law of the Spirit involves three steps.

First step: the Spirit dwells in our bodies

Romans 8:9 - 10 KJV says,"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."
It is also written in 1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
Similarly in 1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

Second step: the Spirit directs our lives

Romans 8:13 - 14 KJV says,"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
Likewise, Galatians 5:25 KJV tells us, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

Third step: the Spirit delivers us from death

In Romans 8:10 - 11 KJV we read, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus, let us allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, to direct our lives and to deliver us from death to life.

A confession of faith

Tuesday 2021.11.16

Today in my New Testament reading, I have read chapters 22 to 24 of the Acts of the Apostles.

In Acts chapter 24, we read about the Apostle Paul making his defence before Governor Felix in the city of Caesarea in the presence of his Jewish accusers from Jerusalem. In verses 14 to 16, the Apostle confesses his faith in the following manner:

Acts 24:14 - 16 ASV American Standard Version

But this I confess unto thee,
that after the Way which they call a sect,
-- so serve I the God of our fathers,
believing all things which are according to the law,
-- and which are written in the prophets;
having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for,
-- that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.
Herein I also exercise myself
-- to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.

Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, let us likewise confess our faith in God our Father to anyone who asks of us, that according to the writings of the Law and the Prophets, we serve the God of Our Fathers, that our hope is in God and that we look forward to the day of Resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

Let us live our lives with a clear conscience, with no offence toward God and Man.

A description of God

Sunday 2021.11.14

This morning I read chapters 17 to 19 of the Acts of Apostles in the New Testament.

In Acts chapter 17, the Apostle Paul described his God to a gathering of philosophers of the Areopagus in the city of Athens, as follows:

Acts 17:24 - 31 NIV New International Version
‘The God who made the world and everything in it
is the Lord of heaven and earth and
does not live in temples built by human hands.
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.
Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth;
and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
“For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”

‘Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.’

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus the Anointed One, let us remember that we are the offspring of our God who created the heaven and the earth and everything in it - God who does not live in temples nor resemble any image of gold or silver made by human hands.

Let us seek Him and reach out for Him. He is not far from us.

Let us hold fast to our faith and hope in God Almighty who has set a day to judge the world by Iesus his Anointed One whom he has raised from the dead and made to be seated at His right hand.