Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7)

Here are some insights taken from J.O. Sanders, For Believers Only.


Keys to interpreting the Sermon on the Mount:
(i) Constitutes a portrait of the Preacher Himself.
(ii) Not a series of rules but principles for spiritual growth.
(iii) Peotical portions need to be interpreted appropriately. Oriental minds appreciate concrete illustrations of truths much more easily than abstract ideas.
(iv) Extreme hyperbolic way of conveying truths (eg. 5:29-30) and proverbial method of teaching (eg. 6:21).

Two views concerning the Sermon found in Luke 6 and Matthew 5-7:
(i) Discourses reported by Matthew and Luke are entirely separate and distinct. Jesus most likely repeated His teachings concerning the laws of the kingdom many times.
(ii) The two discourses are the same and there are no insuperable problems in reconciling the apparent differences. Luke omitted various matters of special interest to Jewish leaders eg. Mt 5:17-42 and other material which he himself purposed to give later eg. Lk 11:1-4; 12:22,27.

"The Sermon on the Mount was spoken in the ear of the church, and overheard by the world.” Bishop Gore

The Beautitudes (beautiful attitudes) are divided into two groups:

1 Passive personal qualities (5:3-6)

 Poor in spirit: oppositie of pride and self-sufficiency. We can be Chrisitians but still live a life independent of God; depending on our own wisdom and strength.

 Mourn: not of bereavement but over sin or the pain of others. Do we mourn over our lack of spiritual attainment or slowness of growth in divine life? Do we mourn over inward depravity or bondage to besetting sin?

 Meekness: opposite of haughty and self-assertive spirit; it represents forces of character held firmly in hand like the breaking-in of wild horses. The meek person will yield to no one where a point of principle is involved, but he will be strong enough to give way when a matter of purely personal advantage is at stake.

 Righteousness: not conformity to an impersonal law but that of outlook and character (ethical righteousness). Hunger and thirst here are used to convey the passionate desire for holiness. These are two of the most agonising and intense of human appetites.

2 Active social qualities (5:7-12)

 Mercy: something we deserve but God withholds eg. punishment. It can only be exercised to the undeserving. Even though God is merciful, yet He does not condone our unrighteous acts. He is able to by-pass judgment over us because of what Christ has done for us.

 Pure: freedom from alloy; sincerity and integrity. Cleanness of heart brings cleanness of vision. Sin so befogs the heart that God becomes invisible. There are moral conditions for spiritual vision.

 Peace-makers: those who reconcile people who are estranged, in whose healing presence tension and discord give way to peace and harmony. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace (Is 9:6). Children bear the likeness of their fathers; even so we bear the likeness of our Heavenly Father if we are peace-makers.

Jesus stipulated three qualifying conditions for the blessings of the persecuted (5:10-12):

1 It must be for righteousness sake; doing what is right at whatever the cost to himself.

2 The reviling must be falsely based ie. the disciple has not brought it on himself through his own sin or failure.

3 It must be for Christ’s sake; arising out of the disciple’s unwavering loyalty to his Master.

Let us examine our life in the light of what our Master has taught, pressing on into the new year with a resolve to work on our inward beauty so that it can be seen in our outward demonstration. 
Wishing you a blessed New Year 2010 in the Lord!

The Gospel of Matthew

The crux of the gospel:

God
Offering
Sinful
People
Eternal
Life

Matthew was for a long time the church’s “favourite” gospel. It contains one of the fullest accounts of Jesus’ life and teaching (the other gospels are Mark, Luke and John). Most of what is inside Mark’s gospel can be found in Matthew. Matthew arranges everything by topic, especially the teachings of Jesus. He organizes it into 5 sections, each rounding off with the saying “When Jesus finished saying these things …”

1 Sermon on the Mount, concerning the character, duties, privileges and destiny of the believer in Christ
(Ch 5 – 7)
2 Instructions for mission (Ch 10 – 11:1)
3 Parables about the Kingdom of heaven (Ch 13)
4 Teaching on discipleship (Ch 18)
5 Teaching about the end of age and the coming Kingdom (Ch 24 – 25)

Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience sometime after AD 80. One of his key concerns is to show that Jesus’ first coming had fulfilled the promises God gave in the Old Testament. He quoted extensively from Old Testament texts (abt 130 direct or indirect references can be identified). He wanted to reveal the blindness of the Jewish leaders who had waited for the Messiah but missed him when he came. Matthew showed that Christians are the true inheritors of the Old Testament promise.

As we approach Christmas and commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us be reminded of what Scriptures tell us about Jesus:
(i) He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary’s womb (1:18, 20, 25).
(ii) His mission was to save people from their sins (1:21).
(iii) He came in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies (1:22-23).
(iv) He was born a king in humble circumstances (2:1-2).

Christ has a kingdom which is not of this world. It is a kingdom in the spiritual realm which He often spoke about in his parables. You and I can be a part of that glorious kingdom when we put our faith in Jesus, trusting Him as our personal Lord and Saviour. This Christmas, make Christ the centre of your celebration by inviting Him into your heart and allowing Him to lead and guide you all the days of your life.
Wishing you all a Christ-centred Christmas!

Who are the God seekers? (Ps 13-14)

God is looking for people who would seek after Him (14:2).


There two groups of people mentioned here:
The foolish generation: people without moral compass, who do wicked things and do not seek Him (14:1,4).
The righteous generation: people who seek God, trusting in His lovingkindness (13:5a).

When we seek God, we can pour out our fears and frustration before Him like David did (13:1-2). Do you ever question God? David did … four times … How long? How long? How long? How long? Christianity is about having a vital living relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This can be exemplified through us having a daily conversation with God through the ups and downs of life. And God who searches the hearts of all men will respond with His salvation (13:5b) and set us free from captivity (14:7). We can then truly rejoice and sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with us (13:6).

May God use us to raise a righteous generation (our children) and to impact & influence others in our sphere of influence for Him. 

The Book of Jude

Written by the half brother of Jesus Christ around AD 70-80.


The thrust of his message: Beware of pretenders who

1. pervert the grace of God into license to sin (v 4).
2. partake of the Lord’s Supper without fear (v 12).
3. are deceptive flatters (v 16).
4. are causers of division (v 19).

The false teachers taught that salvation by God’s grace allowed them to sin without condemnation. Jude countered by using three examples:
(i) Unbelievers were destroyed after their delieverance from Egypt (v5).
(ii) Sinning angels were kept in eternal bonds to await judgment (v6).
(iii) Sodom & Gomorrah were judged by fire (v7).

These pretenders were described in a three-fold term (v8,11):
(i) Defile the flesh (promote loose living) – way of Cain (he had a carnal attitude when he killed Abel).
(ii) Reject authority (truth is not absolute; everything is relative) – rebellion of Korah (rejected Moses' authority).
(iii) Revile angelic beings (no fear of God) – error of Balaam (went ahead despite angelic intervention).

The challenge for the believers is to contend earnestly for our faith (v 3). We are to
(i) fight for sound doctrine on the major issues of faith.
(ii) build ourselves up in our faith by praying in the Holy Spirit (v 20).
(iii) keep ourselves in God’s love (v 21).
(iv) save others from the error of their ways (v 23).

Are you contending earnestly for your faith or do you allow the things of this world to get a hold of you?

How to pray against terrorism? (Ps 9-10 NASB)

Arise, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged before You. Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are but men (9:19-20). Bring to justice those who are bent on taking innocent lives through their senseless acts of wickedness. You see their plots and evil schemes (10:14); may they not prosper but rather be caught in their own traps (9:16; 10:2). Convict those who are behind bars for their part in terrorism. Turn their hearts back to You.


Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, seek out his wickedness until You find none (10:15). Cut off the flow of funding for their diabolical schemes and break up all terrorists’ cells operating in secret places all over the world. Bring confusion in their camps.  Give wisdom and courage to governments to act righteously and against regimes that support terrorism.

The wickedness of man has increased much over the years. But You, O God, are King forever and ever. Every man will have to stand in your presence one day to account for what he has done on earth. O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror (10:17-18).

Book of Hebrews

The writer of this book is unknown though the early church believed Paul wrote it. The reasons why this book is not attributed to Paul are:


1. There’s no customary salutation which includes Paul's name.
2. The Greek used here is polished whereas Paul’s is rugged, though vigorous (Morris, “Hebrews” in Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
3. The Levitical symbolism is not mentioned in Paul’s other writings.

The writer to the book of Hebrews wrote it for a Jewish audience, exhorting them to spiritual maturity and warning them against apostasy to Judaism. They were told to focus on a Person and not on the temple or its rituals.

The theme of this book is about Christ’s superiority, in particular, over
1. Angels (Ch 1-2)
2. Moses (Ch 3-4)
3. The Levitical priesthood (Ch 4:14-10:18)
4. The old way of approaching God (10:19-13)

The key word of this book is better.

• Christ is better than angels (1:4).

• Convinced of better things, that accompany salvation (6:9).

• Bringing in a better hope, through which we draw near to God (7:19).

• Jesus guarantee of a better covenant (7:22).

• He is a mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises (8:6).

• … purified with … better sacrifices (9:23).

• … better possession (10:34).

• Abraham desired a better country, a heavenly one (11:16).

• … obtain a better resurrection (11:35).

• God had provided something better for us … (11:40).

Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man. As the Son of God, He represents us in the heavenlies. As the Son of Man, He represents God to mankind (1:1-3).
The invitation to us, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (4:16 NIV)

How to pray for protection (Ps 7)

David is appealing to God’s court of justice to deliver him from the schemes of the enemy. This psalm relates to the persistent attempts by King Saul to hunt down David, hence the title concerning Cush, a Benjamite (though we don’t know who this Cush is). Saul was ill-informed that David wanted to seize his throne (1 Sam 24:9-11).


David began his psalm or song with these words:
“O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, or they will tear me like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.” (v1-2)

When we want protection from the influence of ungodly people, the first thing we have to recognise is that God is our refuge (Ps 46:1). Sometimes, we feel that we need a safe place to hide from evil attacks against us. But nothing like hiding in God’s secret place (Ps 91:1). What this means is that we need to turn to God each time accusations are hurled against us. God's invisible shield of protection surrounds the righteous (Job 1:10).

David recognises also that if there’s iniquity within him, he deserves to be taken to task (v3-5). But he appeals to God based on his own integrity of heart (v8); he had no intention to neither kill Saul nor usurp his throne prematurely. God is certainly mighty to save and deliver the upright of heart (v10). The wicked will not prosper in their evil schemes but instead will fall into their own traps (v14-16).

David ends with praise to the righteous God who would be just in his judgment (v11,17).
Are you fearful and in need of God’s protection? Start praying the prayer of David and ask God to help you search your own heart in the matter at hand.

Justified for worship and service (Rom 11-15)

We read in the earlier chapters of Romans how Paul argued convincingly that our justification (right standing) before God is through faith in Christ and not based on keeping the law of God given through Moses. And as a result of this justification, we have received the benefits of heaven as considered last week. Paul concluded his theological treatise in 11:32 by saying that God has shut up both Jews and Gentiles in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.


From chapter 12 onwards, he gave some practical advice on living out the Christian faith. In view of God’s mercy (His withholding of punishment on us due to our disobedience), Paul urged us (the believers) to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God, which is our spiritual service of worship. The word worship is used to connote the kind of work the priests used to perform in the temple. The great difference is in the type of sacrifices used, dead animals as opposed to living sacrifices. In many pagan religions, dead animal sacrifices are still being offered to their gods. But for us believers, God demands us as His living sacrifices. How easy it is for a living sacrifice to walk away from the altar of God (12:1)!

The only way we can yield ourselves to God’s will (as opposed to being dictated by our will) is not to conform our thinking according to the pattern of this world but to be transformed (commitment to a long term way of doing things) by the renewing of our mind. The mind here speaks of our ability to reason and make moral judgments. We can only make right judgments provided we continually make connections with the God of righteousness. In particular, our mind renewal comes through the constant reading and meditation of God’s Word in order to know His will, which is good, pleasing and perfect (12:2).

Question: What proportion of time each day do we spend reading/meditating God’s Word as opposed to reading/watching other things?

Whatever we feed our mind daily, we would invariably be affected by it, whether for good or evil. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Pr 23:7)

God desires first and foremost our worship (being in conformity to His will) and then our service (doing). Jesus commended Mary (who sat at His feet in worship) for having chosen the good part as opposed to Martha, who busied herself with housework ie. service (Lk 10:41-42).

Our service to God is manifested in our service to humanity and can be seen in the following ways:

1. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (philadelphia) – seek the good fortune of others, exercising our spiritual gifts in love (12:10).

2. Love (agapao) one another – loving others unconditionally as demonstrated by Christ (13:8).

3. Do not judge one another – in non-essentials, let there be diversity but in essentials, let there be unity (14:13).

4. Accept one another – this is the basis of all relationships regardless of nationality, status or gender (15:7).

The last point was elaborated by me on Good Neighbours’ Day on 14 Nov 09 in which I quoted Gal 3:26-28, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” God through the church of Jesus Christ is creating a new humanity (spiritual race) which transcends culture, creed and race. We shall one day be like the angels of heaven, not given to marriage (Mt 22:30).

Rev Michael Ross Watson prophesied over our church that there would be growth and increase. This of course begins with each one of us cultivating the “being” (worship) before embarking on the "doing” (service). Jesus Christ is our supreme example in this area:

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.” Lk 1:80 (NIV)

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”  Lk 2:52 (NKJV)

If you’re faithfully reading God’s Word on a daily basis, you’ve started on a journey to build up your spirit man; to increase in godly wisdom. You’ll gain great stature both in the eyes of God and man; gaining favour in whatever you do.  It is the prayer of the spiritual leadership of Bethesda Cathedral that you'd grow and increase daily in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

How to pray for guidance? (Ps 5-6)

Guidance begins with the acknowledgment that God is our source of direction in life. David begins his day in prayer, seeking grace and mercy (6:1-3), believing that God would hear and answer him (5:1-3; 6:9). He also worships God in his temple (5:7).


God takes no pleasure in

1. those who do wicked things (5:4),

2. arrogant people (5:5),

3. people who lie and deceive others (5:6,9).

Surely these are the people God would not guide. The prayer of guidance is found in 5:8, “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies – make straight your way before me.”

If we decide in our hearts to follow the way of the world in being unrighteous, then this prayer is not for us. This prayer speaks of God’s righteousness that we seek (see Mt 6:33). The enemies of God, represented by the ungodly, seek to ensnare Christians in their way (see Rom 1:28-32). When we pray this prayer, we’re praying for God’s righteousness to reign in us and to follow in His upright (another word for straight) ways. Thank God we’re made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ. And the promise is that God would surround us with favour as with a shield (5:12).

Results of Justification (Rom 5-10)

As we continue our reading of the book of Romans, we can anchor our thoughts on the results of justification in each chapter. I am listing one for each chapter as an illustration:


1. Peace with God (5:1) – having access and right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Eternal life (6:23) – life in the presence of God, again through the finished work of Christ at the cross.

3. Bearing fruit to God (7:4) – as opposed to living carnally (in the flesh).

4. No condemnation (8:1) – declared not guilty.

5. Children of God (9:26) – our status in God’s kingdom.

6. Salvation (10:10) – saved from the penalty and power of sin.

Do take time to meditate and dig out more gems out of your daily reading. Thank God for the wonderful benefits of being justified before Him.

Paul used a number of imageries to illustrate spiritual truths such as

1. Baptism (6:1-11) – our identification with Christ in His death & resurrection.

2. Slaves (6:15-23) – our subjection to a master in subservient obedience.

3. Marriage (7:1-6) – covenant remains in force as long as spouse is still alive.

A beautiful justification imagery comes to mind as found in Zechariah 3:1-5. Joshua the high priest had his filthy clothes removed (this signifies his sins being removed ie. no condemnation) and rich robes being put on him (this signifies Christ’s righteousness being imputed on him). This is exactly what God has done for each one of us as we put our faith in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

How to have a sound sleep? (Ps 3-4)

King David, who wrote the two psalms, was fleeing from Absalom (his son) who conspired with others to take over his throne. Indeed, there are many things in life that can make us fearful and anxious, thus depriving us of precious sleep.


David mentions some of these things:

1. People seeking to do us harm (3:1,6)

2. Naysayers (3:2; 4:6)

3. Distressful situations (4:1)

4. People who seek falsehood (4:2)

Despite the crisis, David was able to declare:

“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.” (3:5)

“I will both lie down in peace, and sleep. For you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” (4:8)

Why this confident proclamation?

1. His positive confession and trust in God (3:3; 4:5)

2. His deliverance comes from the LORD (3:7-8)

3. His remembrance of God’s past mercies (4:1)

4. His meditation and worship of God (4:4-5)

Notice that David was as human as all of us. He was angry at what had transpired but he chose to be still before God (4:4). He chose to pray and cry out to God for salvation (3:7; 4:1) and not allow the circumstances to make himself sick with worry. Because of that, he enjoyed God’s blessing of a good night’s sleep (Ps 127:2).

Are you troubled by sleeplessness? Then begin to follow David’s example.

Praying for the church

At the Prayer and Praise yesterday, the prayer-warriors prayer walked the church compound to pray and release God's blessings. There were 5 different stations (taken by an elder each) to pray for different strategic things.  At my station, I summarised with the acronym SHIFT:

Spiritual growth - as we pray, read, meditate, study and memorise the word, we will grow to become mature men and women of God who would do exploits for the Master.
Hunger for God - pray against worldliness, laziness and indifference to the things of God; that there'd be a thirst and hunger for righteouness instead.
Increase - in glory, anointing and numbers in all our ministries; God to anoint every leader and empty seats.
Favor - with God and men; we'd experience success as we witness and build up the lives of people around us. God's favor will surround us like a shield.
Thanksgiving - thank God that He's going to bring spiritual growth, hunger, increase and favor in Bethesda Cathedral.

So keep praying, that God would bring a spiritual shift in the atmosphere of our land that His glory will descend.

The Glory of God

Based on the message last Sunday, I thought of sharing some thoughts on the glory of God.

Glory (Hebrew kabod; Greek doxa) has the meaning of ‘heaviness’, ‘weight’ or ‘worthiness’

Glory of God: revelation of God’s being, nature and presence to mankind, often with physical manifestation such as a cloud (Ex 16:10; Mt 17:5).

The glory of God speaks of His character as in Ps 57:10-11, talking about God’s love and faithfulness being over all the earth. This is a case where one verse of psalm restates the other to help us get a better understanding of the thought of the Psalter.

Another scripture to look at is Ps 145:8-12

8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;

he has compassion on all he has made.

10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;

your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Here we see that all creation would praise God (v10) for His character – gracious, compassionate, goodness. The glory of God’s kingdom is associated with His might and mighty acts (v11-12).

In the NT, the glory (character) of God is seen in Jesus Christ (Heb 1:3), through His signs (mighty acts) in Cana of Galilee (Jn 2:11). Man has been made in the image of God and reflects God’s glory (1 Cor 11:7) – this was true of Adam before he fell. Adam and Eve were covered with glory and had no shame, even though they were naked. However, when they sinned against God, the glory covering was lifted and they hid themselves (Gen 3:8-10). That’s why Paul declared in Rom 3:23, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” But God is in the business of restoring us back to the days of glory by His Spirit which He has poured out on the day of Pentecost. He has anointed each one of us for works of service to reflect His glory (character & mighty acts). The way to do so is to build up our spiritual house by reading, meditating and memorising God's Word; and to pray continually.  This is the direction of the church for this season to help usher the glory of God in our midst. 

The Book of Romans

The theme of this book is justification of the believer by faith. Paul wrote to a church he had not met. From ch 1 – 11, he laid down the doctrines concerning our position in Christ and from ch 12 – 16, he gave practical advice. The key verse is found in Rom 1:17, “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."


This was a verse that propelled Martin Luther to bring about the Reformation movement. His eyes were opened to see that God’s righteousness did not condemn but rather justifies the sinner. He was freed from the idea that we need to do our very best before God will help us. Instead he saw God as one who freely justifies us by faith in Christ Jesus.

Justification has two aspects:

1. Believer having his sins removed (just as if he’d never sinned).

2. Believer in “right standing” before God (declared righteous in Christ).

A quick overview as you read this book:

The need for right standing is argued in Rom 1:18-3:21
What is right standing before God? (Rom 3:21-5:21)
How does this right standing affect me? (Rom 6 – 8)
If this right standing is so simple, why didn’t the Jews accept it? (Rom 9 – 11)
Practical rules for a person in right standing with God (Rom 12 – 16)

The book of Romans claarly spells out that none of us are in right standing before God (Rom 3:23) and that we need to put our faith in Christ, in order that He may impart His righteousness and Spirit in us. It is the Holy Spirit who would enable us to live a life that is pleasing before God. As we listen and yield to the Holy Spirit, we would produce fruits in keeping with repentance. This is what James was trying to get at, that we should show forth our faith with actions. Hence James’ treatise on justification by works does not contradict Paul’s eloquent argument on faith in Christ being the basis of our salvation.  If we say we're Christians, then we should show forth our faith by our love for God and our fellow men.

Psalm 1: The blessings of meditating on God's Word

This is a short beautiful psalm encouraging us to follow the path of godliness rather than evil. The contrasts between the godly and the ungodly are mentioned.  I would summarize them as such:
The godly exhibits the following characteristics:
Torah: lover of God's Word; meditates on it day and night (v2)
Rooted: in the soil of God's love; not easily shaken or moved by adverse circumstances (v3a)
Evergreen: fresh and vibrant; bearing God's fruit and healing to others (v3b)
Efficacious: succeed in whatever they do (v3b)

The ungodly exhibits the following characteristics:
Counsel wickedness: plans and plots evil (v1)
Haughty spirit: quick to judge others (v1)
Attuned to sin:: easily led to do things that are displeasing to God (v1)
Follow the world: blown by every wind of doctrine (v4)
Fully condemned: unable to stand before God in judgment (v5)

May we all grow to be a planting of the Lord that He may be glorified (Is 61:3b). And the way to do so is to read and meditate on God's Word.

James 1: The tests of life

This is a book filled with lots of practical wisdom.
When you encounter trials in life, see it as opportunity for faith and character development (Jas 1:2-4). We can always ask God to give us wisdom in dealing with difficult situations, but we have to ask in faith and not doubt (v5-8). God’s perspective of our position in life is different from human standards (v9-11). A reward awaits the one who perseveres under trial (v 12).


The difference between trial and temptation is highlighted (v13-15). God is a giver of good gifts, and in particular, eternal life (v16-18). God effects eternal life through his word. The sin principle in our life can be curtailed if we are not just hearers of his word but doers of it (v19-25).

James gives three practical tests to confirm true faith in God (v26-27):

1. Bridle our tongue – elaborated more in ch 3.

2. Visit orphans and widows – helping those who are not as fortunate in society; this thought is expanded in ch 2.

3. Keep oneself unstained by the world – influenced by the pleasures of this world, leading to covetousness and self-righteousness (ch 4-5:6).

Two Old Testament figures were held up as models of faith-ful people:

Job – endured great suffering and passed the test (5:10-11).  Are we in a similar situation?  Maybe not comparable in magnitude to what Job has gone through.  Take heart, God blessed him twice over in the end.

Elijah – prayed earnestly and in faith (5:17-18).  Have we prayed fervently enough to receive from God? 
If not, keep praying as God is in the faith stretching business. Our faith will grow as we do or say things in accordance to God's word.

Daily Bible Reading Programme

Today marks the start of our Bible Reading Programme at Bethesda Cathedral. Here are some of my thoughts to help you get going. Above all else, ask God to speak to you personally so that you may grow both in knowledge and grace (character).



Book of James: Justification by Works

Written by the half-brother of Jesus to encourage Jewish believers scatterd outside Palestine to view sufferings as a test of their faith. This faith can be seen through the outworkings of their words and deeds. The key thought: “Faith without works is dead.” (Jas 2:26)

True saving faith is so vital that it cannot help but express itself in godly action or devotion. When we asked somone to receive Christ, often we’d ask them to raise their hand and come down to the altar to make a confession of faith. That is faith in action. The dying thief said to Christ, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

As you read this book, take note of the acts of faith that God’s people are to demonstrate. For example, you’d read that if anyone is happy, he should sing praises. If he’s sick, he should call for the elders of the church to pray. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick whole.

The Book of Psalms: Part of it is used as hymns sung in the second temple

Contain spirit-inspired prayers, praise and confession, expressing deep inner human emotions to God. It begins with a blessing to the one who does not keep company with the wicked but delights himself with meditating on God’s law.



How to read the Psalms?

It is a poetry book, so writers employ parellelism of thought i.e. second or subsequent lines restates, contrasts or completes the thought. For example in Psalm 1,

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.


The answers to the question posed each week can be found in the Psalms passages you'd be reading each week. So take time to read and enjoy God's Word.