What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 and Psalm 118:6)
Wednesday, 20 November 2024
My helper - your helper!
What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 and Psalm 118:6)
Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Wisdom has no expiry date - it remains a gift throughout the generations
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:5)
Monday, 18 November 2024
Putting things together
As his final words to the first century Hebrews, the writer reminds them that God is the one who can put all things together. This is something we also ought to remember - when it seems that all is lost, we must remember that Christ is the one who can make us whole again. In Him, all things can be made new.
"May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!" - Hebrews 11:19-21 (The Message)
Living in Grace
D3LM3
Sunday, 17 November 2024
Keep on loving one another
In his final charge to the Hebrews the writer makes a number of profound statements in chapter 13. The very first words he utters are: "Keep on loving one another" (v.1). While these words may not seem earth-shattering for us, they are still very important for all believers to hear.
Jesus had already told his disciples that the world would witness our love for each other and know that we belonged to him. He said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Sometimes I feel that if we could just put this into practice more often, our communities would be very different. I like what C.S. Lewis says about loving each other:
"Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love'
your neighbour, act as if you did! As soon as we do this, we find one of the
great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will
presently come to love him.”
Action: Who is God calling you to love today?
Living in Grace
D3LM3
Thursday, 14 November 2024
Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees
In sharing on Hebrews 12 this week, I definitely feel that verse 12and 13 are my highlights. I offer them to you and pray that they may be a blessing to you."Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (NIV)
"So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. (NLT)
"So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!" (The Message)
I pray that God would strength your tired hands and shaky knees. May you know his strength as you walk forward in faith.
If you would like to listen to the audio podcast of the Bible Study, you are welcome to click here.
Living in Grace
D3LM3
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Robert Falcon Scott and the Apostle Paul
On this day (12th November) 1912, the diary and body of Robert Falcon Scott were found in Antartica. He had been dead for 8 months already, but no one could retrieve his body because of the extreme weather conditions.
One of the intriguing things about Scott is how he faced his last few days on earth with fortitude and bravery. There was a certain peace in his heart about the inevitability of death. These are some of his last words, as longed for his loved ones to be taken care of:
"We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. For God's sake, look after our people."
His words remind me a little of the writings of St. Paul. Even when Paul was in prison, he wrote letters filled with hope and always thought of others. Take for example these words from the first chapter of Philippians.
"I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus."
Monday, 11 November 2024
Remembrance Day and the 1000-year-old Rose
The 11th of November is marked as Remembrance Day and most of us are aware of the history attached to this auspicious day. It is always a good practice to pause and remember the impact of war; to be thankful for the freedom's won; to mourn the millions of lives lost; to ponder whether we have learnt anything from these cataclysmic events; to pray that we will never allow them to occur again.
I recently finished a remarkable book on the Second World War, and I came to learn about the 1000-year-old rose (see the picture attached). This rose is also known as the Rose of Hildesheim, and it grows on the apse of the Hildesheim Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral in Hildesheim, Germany. Some scholars believe it may have been alive even as far back as 815 AD which is truly phenomenal.
The reason I am mentioning this remarkable rose is because during the Allied bombing of Hildesheim in 1945, a large portion of the Cathedral was destroyed, including the visible part of the rose. All seemed to be ruins, until a while later, the rose began to grow and blossom again. It stands over 20 meters tall to this day.
As a Christian, I believe that we should reflect on the tragedy of war, death and disaster with a different perspective. Of course, we are not immune from the pain and heartache of this broken world, but we should always hold onto the hope of the New Life in Christ. The Resurrection speaks to this truth, every day of our earthly existence.
Let us remember, that just when all seems to be lost, Christ can still bring renewal and life.
Titus 3:5 - "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."
Living in Grace
D3LM3
Friday, 8 November 2024
Motivation
Motivation is a strange thing. Sometimes we wake up feeling motivated for the day or some meetings we know are coming up. However, the very next day, we can wake up and feel flat - there is zero motivation to do anything.
So, if our motivation is not going to come from how many hours sleep we had last night, where is it going to come from? Perhaps it needs to come from another person? Someone who knows us and who wants the best for us. Someone who believes in our potential and can see that we are struggling. What do you think of that?
The same reasoning applies to our faith. Read this verse:
"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works." - Hebrews 10:24
The writer clearly believes that acting in love and doing good for others is an important part of following Christ. However, in the same breath, he also implies that this doesn't always come naturally for us. One day we may feel excited to do this, but the chances are, that we may not feel like it on another day. We need Christian friends to help motivate us towards these end goals!
Thought: Who needs some motivation today? How can you 'spur' them on towards love and good deeds?
Living in grace
D3LM3
Thursday, 7 November 2024
Holding Fast
On more than one occasion, the writer of Hebrews encourages his listens to hold onto their faith. Clearly this was something that they were struggling with and needed to be motivated to keep the faith.
"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." - Hebrews 10:23
I am convinced that these words ring true for many of us today too. We profess our faith in Jesus Christ, but there are many things and people that can cause us to waver. Let us remember that the 'hope we affirm' is not in our own ability, but rather in the greatness of God.
The Lord is the one we can trust to keep his promises. Other people and institutions will disappoint us, but Christ remains faithful.
David Wilkerson - "Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail-his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world."
Living in grace
D3LM3
Wednesday, 6 November 2024
What is Faith?
In answer to the question, What is Faith? there are thousands of responses. The Bible gives us many insights into the experience of faith, as well as examples of many faithful people. If I asked you the same question today, what would your response be?
What is faith?
Hebrews 11:1 gives us one of the clearest answers to this question. It says:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." - NRSV
Putting this into contemporary language, J. Packer writes:
“Christian hope expresses knowledge that every day of his life, and every moment beyond it, the believer can say with truth, on the basis of God's own commitment, that the best is yet to come.” - J. I. PackerTuesday, 5 November 2024
Overcoming the worst in ourselves
In a blog post attributed to the late Frederick Buechner, I stumbled across these words:
"'Fight the good fight,' he says (1 Timothy 6:12), where it's not the fight to overcome the best of the competition that he's talking about, but the fight to overcome the worst in ourselves."
The words in italics are the ones that stood out for me. How often is it that I need to overcome the worst in myself, in order to fully rely on God's grace. The worst in ourselves (which I believe is our deepest sin) threaten to keep us away from the loving embrace of our heavenly father. And the lies of the evil one add weight to the battle we fight - he tries to feed our minds and hearts with these lies, in order to keep us from running to the arms of Jesus.
Thought: May you rest in the strength of Christ, as you fight the good fight of faith. Remember that Jesus is already aware of the 'worst in us' and he died for these sins. Lean on his mercy and grace.
John 16:33 - "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Living in Grace
D3LM3
Monday, 4 November 2024
Will and Testament
I found the following verse to be very helpful as we contemplate the death of Christ. Often, we wonder why it was necessary for Jesus to die, in order for us to receive the promised inheritance of grace and mercy. This scripture helps us understand:
"Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect." - Hebrews 9:16-17
Very simply - we could only enjoy the great benefits of our eternal inheritance once Christ had died. The Divine will and testament only came into being, once Jesus had died on the cross.
Charles Spurgeon put it like this: “If there be a question about whether a man is alive or not, you cannot administer to his estate, but when you have certain evidence that the testator has died then the will stands. So is it with the blessed gospel: if Jesus did not die, then the gospel is null and void.” (Spurgeon)
Living in Grace
D3LM3