Unworthy to untie His sandals

Unworthy to untie His sandals

SCRIPTURE:

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:6-8

OBSERVATION:

He had the classic image of a wild man, wearing rugged clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His diet was locusts and wild honey. He was truly a man of the wild, living in the outdoors, far from the pleasures of the world. And he had a solitary, true purpose, to prepare the way for the Messiah. His role was as a powerful witness. He declared to the masses to look to Jesus, and he stayed true to his calling till the day he died.

Now John said many powerful things to the people, but Mark only chooses three main points to tell us concerning the coming Messiah.

Firstly, He is more powerful than himself. Secondly, He is of such great standing that John was not worthy even to stoop down and untie his sandals. In other words, John was saying he was not worthy to even be the Lord’s lowest servant. Finally, John said that while he baptized with water, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit!

What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Spirit? The Greek Word for “baptize”, actually means “to dip” or “to be immersed”. Therefore, the picture we get is for the Holy Spirit to cover us completely like water. In John’s gospel, Jesus explains to us this operation, describing it as living water from Him that would be like springs of water welling up in a person unto eternal life. Imagine, if a great river of water came into our hearts through our mouths. The water would come in, fill our hearts, and then overflow out again through our mouths back out again! In the book of Acts, this was evidenced time and again by believers starting to speak in new tongues! Paul later teaches us the tremendous value of this gift, which builds up our spirit man, making it strong for God’s service.

APPLICATION:

We can learn much from John’s attitude to our Lord. Although he was highly regarded among all the people of Israel, he readily declared that Jesus was infinitely more powerful, and that in fact, his status was such that he was not even worthy to be the Lord’s lowest servant. This too should be our attitude. We should not be proud and think that God is fortunate to have us serving Him and demand His blessing and favor. Instead, we should be quietly grateful and thankful that He has even given us the opportunity to serve Him at all! Even the great John the Baptist considered himself totally unworthy, what more us!

Also, we must hold the baptism of the Holy Spirit in high regard, considering that this was the main focus of John’s message considering Jesus’ ministry. For those of us who have already received the gift, we must value it, and speak in tongues often, building up our spirit man for God’s service. And we need to pray to Jesus to constantly pour out more and more of His Spirit on us. We need continually refilling! For those of us who do not have this baptism yet, we would do well to seek this gift earnestly, not passing it off as something we don’t need, or fearing it. If we ask God who gives good gifts to all His children, how can He give us anything bad? And if it is really not so important, why did John the Baptist emphasize it so much concerning the Lord?

PRAYER:

Precious Lord Jesus, fill us we pray, more and more with Your Holy Spirit. Let Your Spirit descend upon us like a waterfall, overflowing out of our hearts, and through our mouths in deep praise and worship to You, in new tongues that honor and worship You! Turn our hearts away from pride O Lord, but let us always have that humble attitude in knowing Your precious calling for us who do not deserve to be even Your lowest servants. Your name be praised and glorified always, precious, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen!

Prepare the way for the Lord

Prepare the way for the Lord

SCRIPTURE:

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Mark 1:1-5

OBSERVATION:

Mark was actually the first gospel written, a wonderfully arranged piece of literature attributed by most early scholars to young John Mark, the son of a wealthy woman who received his material based on the recollections of the Apostle Peter whom he had served as interpreter and companion. The gospel is concise and full of action, moving on from scene to scene, often with the word “immediately” interspersed. It is also easy to read and interesting, probably the best book to start with for new believers in Christ.

True to his style and probably that of Peter himself, Mark’s intro jumps straight to the purpose of His gospel, which is to proclaim the good news about Jesus the Messiah who is the Son of God. Messiah means Savior, and Jesus is both our Savior and Son of God, a fact that every believer needs to behold. The basic picture is God’s Son coming down from Heaven to save helpless mankind.

Then quickly, our attention is switched to the one prophesied by Isaiah the prophet, John the Baptist, who was tasked with the noble role of preparing the way for the Lord and making straight paths for Him. What was John the Baptist preparing? Basically, the hearts of the people to receive the coming Messiah!

Now for 400 years since the last prophet of God, Malachi, there had been no Word from God through a prophet. So when John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, the Jewish people were all excited to go and see him. What was his main message? To repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins! We need to understand here that the word “repent” does not mean remorse all though those emotions can accompany true repentance. The Greek Word for “repent” means to change one’s mind or mindset while the Hebrew equivalent means to “turn around” 180 degrees. So basically, to repent means to stop living according to one’s own way, turn around, and start living God’s way. The baptism in the river symbolized the washing away of one’s past sins, and commitment to start alive anew in God’s way.

John’s role was only the beginning, to start getting people to turn to God, and once Jesus came, He completed the message by proclaiming that true salvation would come through faith in Him.  

APPLICATION:-

Meditate on Jesus as Savior, God’s Son come down from Heaven to save us, thanks and praise Him from the bottom of our hearts! Consider the role of John the Baptist, who sought to prepare the way for the Lord! Today, we too have the same calling, to prepare the way for the Lord by calling and bringing people to Him. Meditate on the call for repentance. Are we still in repentance? Are we turning towards God to follow His way, or has our minds turned back to our own ways, our own desires, our own ambitions?

PRAYER:-

Blessed Lord Jesus, Son of God, Savior King,

You came to save, to give us life,

We praise and thank You, precious Lord.

Lead us Lord, like John the Baptist, to prepare the way for You,

To bring many to your salvation, Lord

Keep us in repentance too we pray,

To turn to You like King Josiah of old.

In Jesus name, Amen.

The Lord’s commission for us

The Lord’s commission for us

SCRIPTURE:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

OBSERVATION:

Different aspects of the Lord’s commission are interestingly given in each of Matthew, Mark and Acts. Matthew’s account begins with the basis of the commission, gives four explicit instructions and ends with a beautiful promise.

The basis first of all is the Lord’s authority that has been given to us who are His disciples. The Greek Word for authority here actually means authority manifested in power. Therefore, the basis of our ministry is the Lord’s power. In Luke’s account of the commission, the disciples were asked to wait for “power from on high” referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit which happened at Pentecost. Therefore in obeying Christ, we do so in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit whom Christ has given us. We are not to go forth in our own human intellect or power but in reliance on the Holy Spirit.

Henceforth, we have four explicitly tasks. Firstly, is to go. It is an active word, meaning that we are to be proactive, to actively go to do what Jesus asks. True Christianity is never passive, but always on the go, always searching and praying for ways to spread the gospel to the nations. Secondly, we are to make disciples of all nations. No human being is to be precluded from the chance to hear the gospel regardless of race or religion or social status. We are to seek to bring the salvation to as many as we can.

Thirdly, we are to baptize them in water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, our magnificent triune God. There should be no delay but baptism should be an urgent event for every new Christian.

Finally, ongoing training in the ways of Jesus Christ, is fundamental. New Christians need to be quickly brought under training so that they will learn the basics, and grow strong in the Lord.

And in conclusion, in all that we do for the Lord, our great comfort and joy is that Jesus Christ is with us always, to the end of the age.

APPLICATION:

Every Christian believer has the authority and power of Jesus Christ given to us. The call then is for us to use what we have. If we have it but do not use it, it is useless to us, but if we apply the authority and power that the Lord has given, we become effective for Him. The manifestation of this authority and power is by faith. We cannot see it physically, but if we trust in God and move out in faith, we will begin to see miracles in our lives.

In this world, there are many distractions that draw us from our calling. We need to pray to God to be passionate and active to do His will, to empower us and give us wisdom in ways to reach out to others. At the same time, we also need to do what we can to teach and encourage those we can to grow in the Lord. Also, needless be said, those of us who have yet to be baptized need to do so soonest!

PRAYER:

You gave us Your power and authority, Lord,

You called us to go, to be active and seek the lost,

To bring as many to the kingdom, and to teach them Your ways,

Ignite that deep passion to serve You, Lord,

And lead us to touch many for Your sake!

In Jesus name, Amen.

Some worshiped but doubted

Some worshiped but doubted

SCRIPTURE:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 

Matthew 28:16-17

OBSERVATION:

Up the mountain the eleven disciples went, hearts beating with excitement in anticipation.  And then they saw Him, their resurrected Master and Lord, they instinctively fell in worship. Strangely, Matthew records at this point that some doubted, an irony that has intrigued many Christians through the ages.

How could anyone possibly doubt when they saw with their own eyes before them the risen Lord? After seeing so many miracles done by the Lord as they journeyed with Him, why would they doubt that He could raise from the dead? The Lord had commanded the storm to be still. He has walked on water. He had raised Lazarus from the dead? Why would they doubt that it was the Lord before them? What was it that they were actually doubting?

One possibility could be that the Lord looked somewhat different in His resurrected body. The Apostle Paul describes the resurrected body as a spiritual body, an imperishable body. The disciples on the Road of Emmaus did not recognize Jesus, and Mary Magdalene in the garden also thought Jesus was the gardener until He called her. Perhaps they saw the difference and were afraid.

No matter what, the fact that some of the disciples doubted shows their humanity and the proneness of our human faith to waver. Even in worship, we may be tempted to doubt. Even with the Lord Himself standing before us, there still may be flickers of doubt in our minds. The Bible is completely honest, recording not only the successes but also the failures and weaknesses of even God’s choicest servants.

APPLICATION:

The fact is, each of us have different faith levels, and most of us may fall into doubt at some point or other in our Christian walk. However, the call for us here, is to press on in spite of our doubt, to continue to worship the Lord, to continue to follow Him. In the Psalms, quite often, the Psalmist starts in a downcast mood, but as he perseveres in worshiping and seeking the Lord, his faith grows and he always finishes by praising God!

A lot had happened to the disciples in those last few days. They had seen their hopes dashed in great sorrow when Jesus had been crucified. They had been filled with fear that they would also meet the same fate as their master. Perhaps they still had not understood fully why Jesus had to die, and were afraid to be disappointed again. Abraham wavered in his faith when he lied about Sarah, and when he took the path of Hagar to get an heir. The important thing is that he did not give up. His faith was not perfect but he pressed on, he continued to believe, and the Lord.

PRAYER:

Blessed Lord Jesus, Resurrected, raised to life, victorious!

You conquered death, Yes, You ascended so glorious!

Strengthen my faith, my heart, precious, holy, Lord!

Let my doubts fade, let me grow strong,

Even as I behold Your presence, Your love, marvelous Lord!

In Jesus name, Amen.

The lie of the chief priests

The lie of the chief priests

SCRIPTURE:

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. Matthew 28:11-15

OBSERVATION:

How hard were the hearts of the chief priests and the elders…. Here was incredible evidence before them that Jesus Christ had supernaturally risen from the dead. Instead of humbling themselves and seeking the Lord for forgiveness for their tragic error, they quickly plotted to cover up the event. They bribed the guards, and promised to protect them from the governor if they would lie.

It is interesting to note how Matthew added the fact that this story had been spread among the Jews up to the time of his writing. This shows us that the Jews were aware that the body of Jesus had disappeared, and that there had been guards at the tomb. Logically though, this was a terribly weak lie, as a Roman guard faced possible death and torture for allowing such a thing to happen, and how could it be possible for the disciples to quietly move such a large stone without waking up the superbly trained Roman guards? The chief priests would obviously have arranged for elite guards to stand guard given their strong concern not to allow any potential indication of the Resurrection to happen.

Moreover, if the disciples really have stolen the body, how could they have possibly be willing to die for a faith they knew to be a lie?  

APPLICATION:

The chief priests and elders were so concerned with saving face, they missed the vitally crucial point of the Resurrection, that Jesus was really the Son of God. Also from the start, they were unwilling to lose their privileges and position among men. And so, they refused to believe the truth, taking their pride and sin to the grave with them. The lesson for us is serious. What good is it if we gain the whole world yet lose our soul? The disciples in contrast, held on to the truth with such fervency they willingly gave up their lives in serving the Lord. Living a lie can be comfortable, and the price of following the truth may seem too high, but ultimately, it is only the truth that can set us free and give us true life, though it cost us everything.

PRAYER:

All truth comes from You, precious Lord. You came, and You died that we might have life. Your enemies tried to cover up the truth, but Your servants painted the truth of Your resurrection with their blood. What good is a life of lies, though it bring temporary comfort and riches? Help us always seek the truth precious Lord! Help us stay true to You no matter what! We praise You and love You, Lord Jesus! In Jesus name, Amen.

He is not here, for He has risen

He is not here, for He has risen

SCRIPTURE:

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10

OBSERVATION:

The garden is quiet as the two grieving women walk towards the tomb. They know it is futile as they had seen the tomb blocked by a large stone. Still, they go anyway, drawn to the body of their Lord who had been so precious to them in life. They bring spices with them for the Lord’s body, hoping that by some miracle, there may be a way to roll the stone away.  But suddenly they stop, astonished and afraid. Shockingly, the stone has been rolled aside but their attention now is not on the stone!  Rather, it is on the incredible figure sitting on the stone. His appearance is like lightning and his clothing white as snow. Before them certainly sits a holy one, an angel of God Himself. The guards nearby are ashen-faced like dead men out of sheer fear for they had felt the earthquake and saw the angelic being powerfully roll back the stone.

Gently, the powerful figure reassures them not to be afraid, but asks them to come and see the place where Jesus’s body had been laid, so that they can see with their own eyes that Jesus has risen. Then, the powerful angel bids them quickly return to tell the disciples the great news! And so they return!

A little later, Jesus meets them personally and the overjoyed women worship at His feet. The Lord bids them not to fear but to tell His disciples to go to Galilee, where He will meet them.

APPLICATION:

What can we learn from this passage? Firstly, it is an account of the Resurrection, which is together with the most Crucifixion, the important thing in our Christian faith. Because Jesus died for our sins, we have forgiveness from our sins. Because Jesus was raised back to life, we too will rise from the dead to eternal life.

Secondly, we see that the women were there first, before any of the men disciples, which shows us the depth of their devotion and passion for the Lord. In the church, we would do well to learn from the godly women who had such devotion and passion for the Lord. 

  

Thirdly, it was important for the women to see the burial place with their own eyes and verify that the body of Jesus was indeed no longer there. We must understand that the resurrection is a concrete fact of history and not a myth. The early disciples were so convinced of this that they willingly died for their faith. They knew for a fact that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, and they had seen Him with their own eyes.

Fourth, we must never forget that God can deliver supernaturally at any time. With human eyes, a situation may seem impossible. Humanly, a tomb under guard covered by a large stone could never be opened by a bunch of discouraged disciples. However, God can easily send an earthquake and an angel. We need never be discouraged for God is able to deliver us from any situation. We need only to trust Him and not lose faith.

Finally, consider how the women worshipped at the feet of the resurrected Lord. This is a most appropriate way of worship for us, imagining ourselves worshipping at Jesus’ feet, for indeed our resurrected Lord deserves all the worship, all the honor, all the glory!

PRAYER:

We thank You and praise You, Lord Jesus, for You rose from the dead, firstborn of all who will inherit eternal life! The grave could not hold You! Death had no power over You, because of Your righteousness and holiness and power! Indeed, Father God, we praise You that Your have all power, and can do all things. Let us never be discouraged, let us always trust, for You created the whole earth, and hold all things by Your grace and power and wisdom. Teach us Lord to worship You, to be passionate and devoted to You, for indeed You deserve all praise and honor and glory! We worship at Your feet, Lord Jesus! In Jesus name, Amen.

DAY 40: BE THE SALT AND LIGHT

DAY 40: BE THE SALT AND LIGHT

SCRIPTURE:

Matt 5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

OBSERVATION:

One of the first things the Lord told His disciples in the Sermon of the Mount was to be the salt of the earth. Usually, salt has two main purposes, to give taste and to preserve. When we live according to the Way of the Kingdom, we show the world the flavor of righteousness, to show the world how life is meant to be lived, and how man can live in peace with God. At the same time, salt also preserves the standard of God’s righteousness for the world to see. In an age, where Satan has bewitched the world to think no longer in black and white but in various shades of gray, our consistent and faithful walk before God preserves the way of God’s righteousness as a testimony to them.

However, if we as Christians become conformed to the world, to begin to think and walk and talk and eat like just everyone else, it is as if the salt has lost its saltiness and is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. When we give poor testimony like that, we let down our precious Lord, and let His name be ridiculed by others because of our hypocrisy and arrogance.

Throughout Scripture, there is a consistent message that we are saved for a purpose, and that is to be the salt and light for Christ in the fallen world. Where there is darkness, we are to shine our light, and show them the way of peace in a world of turmoil. If we lose our purpose, we fade away, and there is a stern warning that any tree and every branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off.

APPLICATION:

How do we keep ourselves “salty” and “purposeful”? Only through our close relationship with our Lord. Jesus said “I am the vine. You are the branches. Remain in me, and you will bear much fruit”. So important in our Christian walk, is to be able to remain in Christ. What does that mean practically? It means to constantly have the Lord in our minds, considering each and every moment whether what we do pleases Him. And He has given us a precious guide, the Holy Spirit, our counsellor and friend, who is always with us and shows us the way how to please God. In our own strength, we can never please God, but when we follow His Holy Spirit in faith, He joining with us enables us to bear fruit that pleases Him.

PRAYER:

We thank You, Lord Jesus, that it is in remaining in You that we can bear fruit, and fulfill our purpose as the salt and light of the earth. Teach us and incline our hearts O Lord, to listen to Your Holy Spirit which You have given us. Strengthen us and give us peace, that we may serve You faithfully and bear good testimony according to Your will. Protect us and inspire us, move us and empower us, that we may live lives worthy of Your calling we pray. In Jesus name, Amen.

A father’s legacy

A father’s legacy

Last Friday, we were privileged to have brother Frederick Segar share with us. Brother Frederick’s father was a Hindu-Sanyasi-like person, someone who put on yellow robes and keep a long beard and go about walking barefoot. People like that sought to set themselves aside from being polluted by the world, and become close to God. He had a regular job but after work would don his “holy man” clothes and go from house to house and teach people from the Hindu scriptures how they could be close to God, and they also would give him an offering. 

He became a trusted person in the community, and when he came upon the idea of collecting funds to improve the road to the local school for the children, the people trusted him and gave funds freely for the cause. However, a more educated friend whom he had trusted to hold the funds took all the money for himself. Distraught at what had happened, brother Frederick’s father gave up totally on his religion and tried to commit suicide by drinking acid. Fortunately, someone found him shortly after consuming the acid, and quickly rushed him to the hospital. He was later transferred to General Hospital in KL, and was in a bad state as many of his organs had been corroded by the acid. His brother who was working in KL was a taxi driver and became very sad because of what happened. 

Now, it was his normal practice to fetch a particular Christian family to church every Sunday, and when they saw his countenance that particular week, they were concerned, and asked him why he was so sad. He shared the situation with them, and they invited him to go to church that Sunday. Usually, he would not go, but he was so sad that he agreed. In the church, he did not understand the sermon but was attracted to a window painting that had the picture of a man taking off his burden and putting it at the feet of the cross. After the message, the pastor shared his situation with the congregation, and they prayed fervently, even crying for his brother. He was amazed at how these people could cry for a complete stranger. After the service, the pastor and a few members followed him to the hospital to pray for Frederick’s father, and he was completely healed.

Thereafter, Frederick’s whole family became Christian, and his father exclaimed how the Bible was the answer to life. After his conversion, he again went back to his house to house excursions but without the robes, and now telling people about Jesus. As for brother Frederick, he grew up with the church and became a youth leader and Sunday School teacher. 

He also went on to become involved with promoting the music and songs of the Sastriar family which originated form the great songwriter and poet Vedanayagam Sastriar. He was a devout disciple of the Lord who composed many great songs which continue to be sung to this day. He was also active in preaching the gospel and wrote many books. Famously, he prophesied before he died that there would always be a descendant who would continue his ministry of song, poetry and preaching the gospel until the day the Lord returned. Interestingly, for the next 6 generations up till today, there has arisen at least one family member each generation who has taken up this mantle to continue the ministry.

Brother Frederick also shared an interesting story when Vedanayagam was a poet and songwriter in the king’s palace. The king liked him very much above all the other poets and called him “brother”, as they had gone to school together. One day, out of jealousy, the other poets came across a plan to get Vedanayagam out of favor. They suggested to the king that he should compose a song to praise the god that the king worshipped, and the king thought it was a good idea. However, Vedanayagam apologized to the king that he could only write songs to praise Jesus. The king persisted, asking him to just compose 4 lines, but Vedanayagam would not give in. Then the king became angry and ordered Vedanayagam to leave immediately. As he left, the great poet composed a sweet song “I only praise Jesus, only Jesus, only Jesus, I only praise Jesus, no one but Jesus” and this song has continued to be sung through the decades and is popular among the Christian Tamil congregations up to this day.

  

DAY 39: THE KINGDOM AT WAR

DAY 39: THE KINGDOM AT WAR

SCRIPTURE:

If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you (Matthew 12:28)

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

OBSERVATION:

Once every Christian receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, he not only enters the kingdom of God, but becomes part of God’s army. We are saved for a purpose, and one of those primary purposes is to push back the kingdom of Satan.

When Jesus started His ministry on earth 2,000 years ago, he immediately proceeded to attack the kingdom of Satan, healing the sick, casting out demons, and turning around lives wherever He went. The devil comes to steal, to kill and to destroy, but our Lord came to give us life, and life to the full. Wherever we give life, and undo the works of evil with good, we are advancing God’s kingdom.

When we drive back poverty, and give the hopeless hope, when we teach the poor children, and give them hope for the future, when we reach out to the drug addict, and bring him back to usefulness in society, we undo the works of the evil one. When we live lives of prayer for our nation and our leaders, when we worship and commit our workplaces to the Lord, when we stand firm in righteousness in a world of compromise, we likewise push the kingdom forward!

How truly important here is our mindset! Do we even realize we are at war? Do we realize that the devil sends forth snares and traps to distract us and make us ineffective? Every moment, every situation is an opportunity for us to advance God’s kingdom in one way or another, to strike blows against the enemy, to reclaim lost territory and bring light in darkness.

APPLICATION:

Fix firmly in our minds the reality of our position as part of God’s army. God has given His Holy Spirit, and the Word of God to us. We have everything we need. However, it is up to us to take the initiative to go out and work with God to engage the enemy and extend His kingdom. The evil one sets up traps and snares to entangle us. We need to be aware of this and capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ Jesus! Praying in tongues is so important in our spiritual warfare, for it builds up our Spirit man and makes us strong in the Lord! We also need to know the Word of God well, to read it often and always, for it is the Sword of the Spirit. And there is our primary weapon, prayer, which we need to cultivate as a lifestyle, for prayer in faith moves angels and advances God’s army in ways we could not imagine. In fighting distractions or problems, there is always the fight of our will. The old man in us waves about trying to exert himself to get us to go back to our old ways. We need to constantly reckon him dead by faith. Here is where we need to exercise our will in strength to crucify our old man, to consider him dead.

PRAYER:

We praise thee and worship thee, Father God, for You are the Lord of Hosts, our great Commander in Heaven. You hold all things in Your hands, and in Your wisdom, You have also allowed us to join with You to war against the evil one. Give us that strong mindset O Lord, to remember and know that we are at war, and that we need to be constantly involved in prayer and advancing Your kingdom. Inspire us O Lord, and lead us, that we might work with You to do much good, and grow from strength to strength, from glory to glory. May Your name be praised always, precious Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

DAY 38: THE KINGDOM’S MESSAGE

DAY 38: THE KINGDOM’S MESSAGE

SCRIPTURE:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15

OBSERVATION:

When John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord, he preached fearlessly “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near”. In another translation, it is written “the kingdom of God is at hand”. What is it about the nearness of the Kingdom that would cause people to repent? Inherent in this message is the call for people to get themselves right before the King comes into His Kingdom! Among the Jews, they also knew from the Scriptures that the coming of the Messiah would also herald a time of judgment and an appraisal of each one as to whether they would be worthy to enter the kingdom. That’s why it was important for people to turn away from sinful ways and turn back to God’s ways.

In the Greek, the word translated “repent” literally means to “change one’s mind or mindset”. As for the Hebrew, the word translated “repent” gave the connotation of “turning around”. For example, a person may be headed north, but turn around and head south. Put together, the Biblical term “repent” gives us the idea of a person changing one’s mindset from living just from his own pleasures to wanting to live a righteous life according to God’s ways. He would thus turn around from his old way of doing things and instead start doing things God’s way again.

In the Greek, the verbs used as “repent” or “believe” actually means to keep on repenting or to keep on believing. Thus, the picture of the believer should be one who constantly turns towards God, like King Josiah did, and who keeps on believing. The ultimate test as to whether we can hold on to our faith is whether we are actually ready to die for it, being fully confident that death for Christ only means greater reward later.

What is the gospel? It is basically believing in 3 things. That Jesus Christ died for our sins. That He was buried. And that He rose again on the third day. If we truly believed that the Son of God Himself came down to earth to die for us that we might receive forgiveness from our sins, and that He rose back to life and is ascended again to Heaven, how would we live? How truly thankful would we be? Would be truly dare to go back and live sinful lives for only our own pleasure?

APPLICATION:

To believe in the gospel is to believe Jesus Christ is Lord, and that it is only in Him that we can find salvation. We need to continue to trust Him, no matter what. Also, in this world, there are many temptations that bid us turn away from God and His ways. We need to discipline ourselves to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading to turn away from these distractions and instead focus on doing God’s will. At the same time, we also need to be mindful of those around us and who cross our path, looking for opportunities to share with those who do not yet know the Lord.

PRAYER:

We praise You and thank You, Heavenly Father, for inviting us into Your kingdom, for enabling even humble folk like us to join You in Your royal family. All you do Lord is perfect and just! Help us O Lord, keep in repentance and produce fruit that glorifies You. Create in us too that deep trust in You and Your love that You will never leave us nor forsake us because of Your great faithfulness