When I became a Christian in my secondary school days, this was the first book introduced to me. I remember being given a booklet on the Gospel of John before being given a Bible of my own. And certainly this was a good book to start for a new believer because the apostle John aptly wrote, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (Jn 20:31 NIV).
Whether you are reading this gospel for the first or umpteenth time, it is good to be reminded of the wonderful Person of Jesus Christ - that He is our Saviour. John's gospel is different from the other three gospels in a number of ways. Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as synoptic gospels as they have similar characteristics exemplified through events and teaching that are being recorded. The three writers recorded from a historical perspective Jesus as the Son of Man, while John recorded from a theological perspective, Jesus as the Son of God. Listing the contrasts of the four gospels, we have the following (see Rev 4:7):
Matthew (King/lion), Mark (Servant/ox), Luke (Son of Man/man), John (Son of God/eagle)
There are two special sevens in the Gospel of John:
(I) Seven Signs of the Son of God
1. Jesus turns water into wine (2:1-11). Jesus’ blood replaces the Jewish purification system and brings God’s forgiveness, healing and new life to the entire world.
2. Jesus heals the official's son (4:46-54). Jesus, in whom is life, is sent by the Father at the perfect hour to give life to the children of God.
3. Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda (5:1-15). Jesus offers oceans of living water, not small pools, for healing and wholeness to the people who are willing to be made well.
4. Jesus feeds the multitudes (6:1-14). Jesus is the bread that the Father has sent from heaven to give nourishment and spiritual life to the world.
5. Jesus crosses the sea (6:15-21). Jesus is God, inside of his creation, during the backdrop of the Passover, crossing his people over the sea again. The enemy is no longer Pharoah, but now sin itself. Jesus is the bread that gives cure to sin.
6. Jesus heals the blind man (9:1-34). Jesus, the Light of world, gives sight to a hopelessly blind world.
7. Jesus raises Lazarus (11:1-44). Jesus, the Shepherd who calls his sheep by name, will himself walk out of the grave, having conquered death. Those who choose to follow him now will follow his resurrection from their own grave and graveclothes.
(II) Seven I am's of the Son of God
1. I am the bread of life (6:48) - Our Sustainer
2. I am the light of the world (8:12) - Our Illuminator
3. I am the door (10:9) - Our Mediator
4. I am the good shepherd (10:11) - Our Caretaker
5. I am the resurrection and the life (11:25) - Our Life-Giver
6. I am the way, and the truth, and the life (14:6) - Our Leader
7. I am the true vine (15:1) - Our Success-Maker
Jesus' eternal existence was seen in the statement He made to the Jews, "Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (8:58). Indeed He is the Great I AM.
Seven is the number of perfection and John the apostle uses sevens or multiples of it again in the book of Revelation.
May the Lord fill you with special revelation as you read this inspired book!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
What promises are there for those who fear the Lord? (Ps 33-34)
The eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him (33:18).
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them (34:7).
For those who fear the LORD, there is no want (34:9b).
From the above three verses, those who fear God can be assurd of His protection and provision.
The psalmist David spoke of teaching us the fear of the LORD (34:11). This would result in long life and goodness being bestowed on us (34:12). Those who fear God would refrain from speaking and doing evil (34:13-14). Instead they seek and pursue peace.
The fear of the LORD is to have a holy reverence of Him. This is very much different from the fears that are borne out of the need to avoid punishment. Our God is certainly gracious and loving; He delivers us from all our fears (34:4).
Another wonderful promise found in Isaiah 33:5-6 relating to the fear of the LORD is that it brings salvation, wisdom and knowledge (Pr 1:7; 9:10). Don't we all need them - deliverance from evil and daily wisdom and knowledge to accomplish our work.
May God's fear (and blessings) be upon you.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them (34:7).
For those who fear the LORD, there is no want (34:9b).
From the above three verses, those who fear God can be assurd of His protection and provision.
The psalmist David spoke of teaching us the fear of the LORD (34:11). This would result in long life and goodness being bestowed on us (34:12). Those who fear God would refrain from speaking and doing evil (34:13-14). Instead they seek and pursue peace.
The fear of the LORD is to have a holy reverence of Him. This is very much different from the fears that are borne out of the need to avoid punishment. Our God is certainly gracious and loving; He delivers us from all our fears (34:4).
Another wonderful promise found in Isaiah 33:5-6 relating to the fear of the LORD is that it brings salvation, wisdom and knowledge (Pr 1:7; 9:10). Don't we all need them - deliverance from evil and daily wisdom and knowledge to accomplish our work.
May God's fear (and blessings) be upon you.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Character & Leadership Development
Gave a talk to JC1 parents a few hours back regarding the above. Our college, like most other schools, provide various platforms for students' character and leadership development. It very much depends on each child how he/she wants to seize these learning opportunities. Character development takes place in the classroom as well as outside the classroom. In the classroom setting, students hone and build up their EQ through relating properly with their peers and tutors, apart from the intellectual stretch that is afforded by the curriculum. Confidence and skills set are developed when students initiate and take the road less travelled. In our Asian context, students fight shy in volunteering themselves to present their answers before their class. But when they do overcome their shyness and start asking questions or volunteering themselves, they build confidence within themselves. At the same time, important soft skills, like communication and presentation, are acquired along the way.
Outside the classroom, through community involvement projects, CCAs and overseas trips, students' learning and horizons are stretched even more. Through working together to prepare for concerts, competitions or overseas expedition, students learn to work together as a team. Some will lead and others will follow. It goes without saying that those who are involved in the planning and execution of programmes would invariably develop much in their character and leadership qualities. It is in getting their hands dirty, so to speak, that students learn the finer art of relating to one another and feeling the sense of achievement when a job is well done. The important thing for a child is still to learn how to balance their academic commitment with their co-curriculuar activities. Even children who are not doing well academically can learn to develop resilence and tenacity in the face of setbacks.
I would like to share a website with you under the link, Tim Elmore Leadership. This is a good site to learn more about grooming leaders among our youths. Do check it out!
Outside the classroom, through community involvement projects, CCAs and overseas trips, students' learning and horizons are stretched even more. Through working together to prepare for concerts, competitions or overseas expedition, students learn to work together as a team. Some will lead and others will follow. It goes without saying that those who are involved in the planning and execution of programmes would invariably develop much in their character and leadership qualities. It is in getting their hands dirty, so to speak, that students learn the finer art of relating to one another and feeling the sense of achievement when a job is well done. The important thing for a child is still to learn how to balance their academic commitment with their co-curriculuar activities. Even children who are not doing well academically can learn to develop resilence and tenacity in the face of setbacks.
I would like to share a website with you under the link, Tim Elmore Leadership. This is a good site to learn more about grooming leaders among our youths. Do check it out!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Book of Ephesians
This epistle was part of what is known as the Prison Epistles, all written by the apostle Paul.
"A trio of men left Rome in the year AD 62, bound for the province of Asia, which was located in what is currently designated Asia Minor. These men had on their persons four of the most sublime compositions of the Christian faith. These precious documents would be invaluable if they were in existence today. Rome did not comprehend the significance of the writings of an unknown prisoner. If she had, these men would have been apprehended and the documents seized. When they bade farewell to the Apostle Paul, each was given an epistle to bear to his particular constituency. These four letters are designated 'The Prison Epistles of Paul' since he wrote them while imprisoned in Rome, awaiting a hearing before Nero, the Caesar at that time, to whom Paul as a Romon citizen, had appealed his case." (adapted from J Vernon McGee, Exploring Through Ephesians)
Epaphroditus, from Philippi had the Philippian Epistle (Phil 2:28; 4:18); Tychicus had the Ephesian and Colossian Epistles (Eph 6:21, Col 4:7); Onesimus, a slave from Colossae had the Epistle to Philemon and the Colossian Epistle (Col 4:9).
The theme of Ephesians is The Christian Walk or what I would call the Walk, Sit, Stand Epistle.
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called ..." (Eph 4:1 NKJV)
" ...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6 NKJV)
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Eph 6:11 NKJV)
Outline of Ephesians
1. The Christian's Wealth (ch 1-3)
a. Intro (1:1-2)
b. Praise for blessings in Christ (1:3-14)
c. Prayer for understanding (1:15-23)
d. The People with Position (2:1-22)
e. Paul's stewardship (3:1-12)
f. Prayer for power and understanding (3:13-21)
2. The Christian's Walk (ch 4-6)
a. In unity (4:1-6)
b. In diversity (4:7-16)
c. In holiness (4:17-5:17)
d. In the Spirit (5:18-21)
e. In relationships (5:22-6:9)
f. In warfare (6:10-20)
g. Conclusion (6:21-24)
In contrast to Ps 1:1, we are instructed in this epistle how we can walk, sit and stand. As you read the Book of Ephesians may you be inspired to walk in pursuit of holiness, sit with Christ in position of authority and stand against the schemes of the devil.
"A trio of men left Rome in the year AD 62, bound for the province of Asia, which was located in what is currently designated Asia Minor. These men had on their persons four of the most sublime compositions of the Christian faith. These precious documents would be invaluable if they were in existence today. Rome did not comprehend the significance of the writings of an unknown prisoner. If she had, these men would have been apprehended and the documents seized. When they bade farewell to the Apostle Paul, each was given an epistle to bear to his particular constituency. These four letters are designated 'The Prison Epistles of Paul' since he wrote them while imprisoned in Rome, awaiting a hearing before Nero, the Caesar at that time, to whom Paul as a Romon citizen, had appealed his case." (adapted from J Vernon McGee, Exploring Through Ephesians)
Epaphroditus, from Philippi had the Philippian Epistle (Phil 2:28; 4:18); Tychicus had the Ephesian and Colossian Epistles (Eph 6:21, Col 4:7); Onesimus, a slave from Colossae had the Epistle to Philemon and the Colossian Epistle (Col 4:9).
The theme of Ephesians is The Christian Walk or what I would call the Walk, Sit, Stand Epistle.
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called ..." (Eph 4:1 NKJV)
" ...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6 NKJV)
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Eph 6:11 NKJV)
Outline of Ephesians
1. The Christian's Wealth (ch 1-3)
a. Intro (1:1-2)
b. Praise for blessings in Christ (1:3-14)
c. Prayer for understanding (1:15-23)
d. The People with Position (2:1-22)
e. Paul's stewardship (3:1-12)
f. Prayer for power and understanding (3:13-21)
2. The Christian's Walk (ch 4-6)
a. In unity (4:1-6)
b. In diversity (4:7-16)
c. In holiness (4:17-5:17)
d. In the Spirit (5:18-21)
e. In relationships (5:22-6:9)
f. In warfare (6:10-20)
g. Conclusion (6:21-24)
In contrast to Ps 1:1, we are instructed in this epistle how we can walk, sit and stand. As you read the Book of Ephesians may you be inspired to walk in pursuit of holiness, sit with Christ in position of authority and stand against the schemes of the devil.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
FISH! For Life
I read the above book by Stephen Lundin, John Christensen and Harry Paul late last year. It tells the story of two people who met at Seattle's famous Pike Place Fish Market and later fell in love. The FISH! philosophy, which started at this Fish Market, became a world-wide phenomenon. What was so successfully applied in the work place can now be transposed to that of the home. The book narrates how the two people endeavoured to apply the philosophy in the area of stress, weight control, personal finance and much more.
What is the FISH! Philosophy then? It is encapsulated in these 4 points:
Play: Carry a light heart with you wherever you go
Make their Day: You can make someone's day simply by the way you engage them
Be There: Bringing consciousness, body and spirit into the same space is a gift to yourself and to the world
Choose Your Attitude: The attitude you have right now is the one you are choosing; choose wisely
Play talks about not taking things too seriously all the time; sometimes humour can liven up the atmosphere and change the course of how things would eventually turn out. Children are naturally good at this. They can diffuse a tense situation with their innocent comment.
Make their Day means to be others-centred and not focused too much on oneself. If we carry this mindset with us, we can certainly influence and impact alot of people in a positive way. And as believers in the Lord, this should come naturally to us.
Be There has to do with giving our undivided attention to a matter or person. How often times in worship services are we present to truly worship God? We cannot worship God aright if our mind is forever thinking of lunch or work matters or problems that bug us. Being present for our loved ones is also vital, to be fully engaged with them in work and conversations.
Choose your attitude - yes this is a choice we have to make as well. What kind of attitude do we want to bring with us to work, church or home? We can choose to be angry (and stay angry) or we can choose to forgive (and move on). A lot of circumstances in life would militate against us choosing a positive attitude. But the Bible tells us to have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5) whereby He humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. Often times, our pride gets in the way of a positive gracious attitude.
Recently our children we very sad and grieved over the condition of one of their hamsters. It was suffering from fur loss and was looking rather sickly. This caused them to research on hamsters on the web and call up a vet to enquire about it's condition. As parents, we were not prepared to waste money bringing it to the vet as it probably was nearing its life expectancy. But they persisted and continued to dig up information and bargained with us. You see they were there for their pet hamster and very much wanted to make the day for their hamster by seeing to it that it is nursed back to health. To cut a long story short, they did bring it to the vet eventually on their own and was given medication for it. The hamster is now on the road to recovery, separated from the other hamster of course. They chose an attitude of compassion and love towards their pet hamster while we chose one that is disconnected from the hamster because we had no relationship with it. Certainly children can teach us much in life as we do to them.
Here's wishing you a blessed and fruitful Lunar New Year! 新年快乐
What is the FISH! Philosophy then? It is encapsulated in these 4 points:
Play: Carry a light heart with you wherever you go
Make their Day: You can make someone's day simply by the way you engage them
Be There: Bringing consciousness, body and spirit into the same space is a gift to yourself and to the world
Choose Your Attitude: The attitude you have right now is the one you are choosing; choose wisely
Play talks about not taking things too seriously all the time; sometimes humour can liven up the atmosphere and change the course of how things would eventually turn out. Children are naturally good at this. They can diffuse a tense situation with their innocent comment.
Make their Day means to be others-centred and not focused too much on oneself. If we carry this mindset with us, we can certainly influence and impact alot of people in a positive way. And as believers in the Lord, this should come naturally to us.
Be There has to do with giving our undivided attention to a matter or person. How often times in worship services are we present to truly worship God? We cannot worship God aright if our mind is forever thinking of lunch or work matters or problems that bug us. Being present for our loved ones is also vital, to be fully engaged with them in work and conversations.
Choose your attitude - yes this is a choice we have to make as well. What kind of attitude do we want to bring with us to work, church or home? We can choose to be angry (and stay angry) or we can choose to forgive (and move on). A lot of circumstances in life would militate against us choosing a positive attitude. But the Bible tells us to have the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5) whereby He humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. Often times, our pride gets in the way of a positive gracious attitude.
Recently our children we very sad and grieved over the condition of one of their hamsters. It was suffering from fur loss and was looking rather sickly. This caused them to research on hamsters on the web and call up a vet to enquire about it's condition. As parents, we were not prepared to waste money bringing it to the vet as it probably was nearing its life expectancy. But they persisted and continued to dig up information and bargained with us. You see they were there for their pet hamster and very much wanted to make the day for their hamster by seeing to it that it is nursed back to health. To cut a long story short, they did bring it to the vet eventually on their own and was given medication for it. The hamster is now on the road to recovery, separated from the other hamster of course. They chose an attitude of compassion and love towards their pet hamster while we chose one that is disconnected from the hamster because we had no relationship with it. Certainly children can teach us much in life as we do to them.
Here's wishing you a blessed and fruitful Lunar New Year! 新年快乐
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Ps 28:9
I like the NKJV rendering of the above verse in our reading today.
"Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever."
This is a prayer of David beseeching God to hear his supplication. Notice the action verbs used:
Certainly in times of difficulty, we want the Lord to save and deliver us; all the more so because we are the apple of His eye (Dt 32:10), His chosen people. We are also the inheritance of the Lord whom He will bless; blood-bought by Jesus Christ Himself (1 Pet 1:18-19). God is also our shepherd and leader who will guide us into all truth and in the way we should go (Ps 32:8). And He is the glory and lifter of our heads, who will bear us up forever on eagles wings (Ps 3:3, Ex 19:4).
Would you like God to deliver you from whatever situation you are in?
Would you like Him to bless you richly and abundantly?
Would you like Him to provide you with direction in life?
Would you like to come under the protection of His wings?
Then pray this psalm of David earnestly and God will act on your behalf.
This week has been a busy week of meetings and working on time-table schedules for staff and students. Through it all, God has been leading and guiding me each step of the way. There were also moments of great learning when God has been teaching me how to handle certain things correctly. We have to learn how to savour the good times and reflect on the not so good times, to see how we can grow and improve. Of course, ultimately to become more Christ-like in our nature and behaviour.
"Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever."
This is a prayer of David beseeching God to hear his supplication. Notice the action verbs used:
Certainly in times of difficulty, we want the Lord to save and deliver us; all the more so because we are the apple of His eye (Dt 32:10), His chosen people. We are also the inheritance of the Lord whom He will bless; blood-bought by Jesus Christ Himself (1 Pet 1:18-19). God is also our shepherd and leader who will guide us into all truth and in the way we should go (Ps 32:8). And He is the glory and lifter of our heads, who will bear us up forever on eagles wings (Ps 3:3, Ex 19:4).
Would you like God to deliver you from whatever situation you are in?
Would you like Him to bless you richly and abundantly?
Would you like Him to provide you with direction in life?
Would you like to come under the protection of His wings?
Then pray this psalm of David earnestly and God will act on your behalf.
This week has been a busy week of meetings and working on time-table schedules for staff and students. Through it all, God has been leading and guiding me each step of the way. There were also moments of great learning when God has been teaching me how to handle certain things correctly. We have to learn how to savour the good times and reflect on the not so good times, to see how we can grow and improve. Of course, ultimately to become more Christ-like in our nature and behaviour.
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