Take Up My Cross

Gal 6:9 reads And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. This verse sums up a lot of things about this mission trip. Going into the mission trip, we were already told Japan was what we called "hard ground". It was difficult to get people to listen to the Gospel, and even harder to share it fully. Our pastor shared that if we were to share the Gospel once, collectively, as a team, he would consider the trip a success. We did more than that. It started slow and seemingly unproductive. Many of the things we prepared were rejected. A lot of plans were scrapped and we pulled out last minute stuff. Our first event was a kids' programme, aiming to reach out to the children in the pre-fab housings. Needless to say, we didn't get to do much. We played with the kids a bit, laughed a lot, but in the end, there was no Gospel. Then stop and reconsider. What exactly is missions? The original mission was given by...

Okay I know I haven't written anything in ages. It's been tough, busy. A hard time. However, I just have to write something about this. Maybe you've seen this article, heard about it, the accusation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/22/pope-francis-good-atheists_n_3320757.html Pope Francis says Atheists who do good are redeemed, not just Catholics. Firstly it's important to note that the reporting site itself is not known for its' accuracy, but rather its' controversy. Nevertheless, this article has been circulating social media and many would have read and believed it. I'm not so sure on the exact things the pope has said, but nonetheless here's my answer to the things he supposedly claimed. It starts with a correct understanding of sin. Romans 3:10-12 says "as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one....

I had to say this was titled by the ESV Bible. It seems a rather secular looking concept, but Jesus makes the same stand here. John tells Jesus that he saw a person casting out demons in Jesus's name, and tried to stop him because he was not part of Jesus's direct disciples. However, Jesus tells John not to stop such people, because those who serve Jesus will not be able to speak ill of Him, and will not lose their reward in heaven. Apply this today. What does it mean to serve Jesus? A person who serves Jesus must know the full gospel of Christ - from Creation, Sin, Death, Redemption, Resurrection, and Judgement. He must be committed to serving Jesus as Lord of his life. So, the question is, how about people with different practices? Example 1: Catholics. Q: Are Catholics true servants of Jesus? My answer: No. The proclamation of Jesus's death is often tied too closely with the call to acts to earn salvation - failing to do justice to the completeness of payme...

It's been awhile, busy week and all, then with the preparation for various events (cell group, mission trip and the church kid's camp), I've kind of been put off track. Here's back to it. Jesus asks His disciples why they were arguing on the road. Seemingly childish, because they were arguing about who would be greatest, they kept quiet. Probably ashamed over such a childish argument? However, Jesus, being God, obviously knows what the argument was about, and tells them "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He also took a little child and had him stand among them, telling them whoever welcomes the child in His name welcomes Him, and whoever welcomes Him welcomes God the Father. 3 lessons here. 1. Jesus is God. A very subtle lesson in His knowledge about the content of the argument, but nevertheless it is one of the things expressed in this passage (if the readers of Mark haven't already realised by thi...

The promised work of the Spirit. In the OT, The prophets spoke of the pouring out of God's Spirit. It would be shared by all who belonged to God's covenant people, and will be poured into our hearts and be moved to obey and follow His laws and words. The Spirit, essentially, does 2 things. Firstly, it calls us to follow God in the first place - the Spirit initiates regeneration. Following our response in faith and repentance, the Spirit continues to effect this regeneration by constantly calling us to God. This same Spirit "outpouring" is also the basis for the Baptist church's belief in the priesthood of all believers. Acts 2:14-41 describes this promised outpouring of the Spirit, and Peter's explanation for it. It declares the identity of Jesus in power. The Spirit convicts us of sin and righteousness and judgement. He gives us new birth, enabling us to turn back in faith. "No-one can come to the Son unless the Father draws him" ...

This one's for my cell group session for Saturday. The study begins describing a bridge built 2000 years ago, linking the gap between us and God. The question, it asks, however, is how do we, as 21st century Christians, follow Christ? Are we to wear sandals, speak Aramaic, and visit houses two by two, shaking the dust of our feet if we are rejected? Which parts of the Bible are objective, and which are subjective? The book takes 2 extreme stands. Objectivism is labelled as the extensive focus on factual knowledge of Christianity. Christianity becomes about "knowing". On an extreme view, it becomes almost unimportant that the heart of Christianity is the relationship between the Trinity, and the relationship to man. Subjectivism, on the opposite side, is based more on the "experience" with God, the relationship. On an extreme view, it becomes almost unimportant how Christ has died for this relationship to exist. Objectivism does happen to trend toward f...

Jesus and goes on with His disciples, teaching them that He will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after 3 days will rise. However, His disciples did not understand, and were afraid to ask Him. What do we see here? 1. We notice that although Jesus has sufficiently revealed to them that He is the Christ, and they have understood that, they fail to understand the second part of the Gospel, that He must die for our sin and be raised again to conquer it. Acknowledging Jesus as Christ is insufficient.  Christ (Messiah), was simply a term directly translated to be "anointed". Many of the people at that point in time believed the Christ would lead them out of Roman captivity, and would be a great king. However, they fail to see that their captivity was not to the Romans, but to sin; and that Christ's role in this world was beyond their expectations. We should not be placing our human expectations on God, but accepting His greater plan for everyt...

This is a account of the casting out of a demon by Jesus. There was a crowd arguing with the disciples, and Jesus came down to see what it was about. A father brought his son down to see Jesus, to ask Him to cast out the demon. However, the disciples were unable to do so. The man pleads with Jesus to have compassion on them and help them. He uses the phrase "If you can". Jesus replies him, saying "All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately, the father cries out declaring his belief, and asking Jesus to help his unbelief. Jesus then proceeds to cast out the demon, then pick the seemingly dead boy up to life again. Later on, the disciples ask Jesus why they could not cast out the demon, and Jesus tells them it could only be cast out by prayer. 1. All things are possible for one who believes. This man clearly doubted Jesus's full authority over the demon. However, when Jesus prompts him, he realises that he needs Jesus to help him first ...

This question was posed in my youth group today. Give an answer... And it's immediately wrong. Why so? The question in itself is wrong. What is a "better" Christian? What defines a Christian? The Bible is pretty straightforward with it - you are Christian, or you are not. There is only one way to achieve peace with God, and it has nothing to do with us. Our salvation, our identity as Christians - "little Christs" - depends fully on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If there was anything that we could possibly do to strengthen this identity in God's eyes, or weaken it, for that matter, then Christ's death was insufficient payment for our debt . That aside, we do practice certain acts - coming to church, loving one another, praying, reading the Bible. These have no value to our salvation . They do not in any way cleanse us from sin. A person can read the Bible everyday, pray 23hours a day (exaggerated much), but ...

This passage tells of Peter, James and John following Jesus to a high mountain alone. Again, it is only the "inner circle" of the disciples who get to witness this event. As Jesus prayed, His appearance was changed to one radiant and intensely white - an allusion to His holiness. Moses and Elijah also appeared and talked to Jesus about His coming death. Why Moses and Elijah? (note: speculation here) Moses is the giver of Old Testamental law and is instrumental in Christ's fulfillment of the OT Law, and His replacing of it. Elijah is the symbol of faith of the OT - never going against God but suffering many things for His sake, and at the end being taken up to heaven without actually dying. They talk to Jesus, and Peter suggests that they make 3 dwellings for them to stay. However, that is clearly not God's intention, and God speaks clearly to them, telling them Jesus is His beloved Son, and to listen to Him. At this point, Moses and Elijah disappear. Jes...

Been talking a lot to one of my church youth group leaders recently because of a lot of work that needs to be done. Here's a little something I noticed from her that really caught my attention. She begins/ends like 99% of her messages with a thankyou note for something I've done well - and it's a pattern consistent with her messages to other people as well! From a secular perspective, yeah, of course, you want someone to listen to you, you've gotta appeal to their "I like this" side. How bout a Gospel perspective? Paul in Romans 1:8 - First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. Paul in 1 Cor 1:4 - I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus 2 Cor 1-2 expresses the same idea of thanksgiving and appreciation of the Corinthians but it has to be read as a whole. Won't write here, it's too much to copy and paste. Just a few examples! Paul re...

Well, this verse belongs in the previous passage. The downsides of using a digital Bible that shows chapter by chapter. Jesus tells His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power." An interesting statement again. "Truly I say to you" is kind of like Jesus's trademark statement. He uses it when He speaks a truth that is important. Most commonly it is seen in the Gospel of John, which is (in my opinion at least) the most thickly theologically packed gospel account. The other thing Jesus says is that some will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power. What does Jesus mean? Every single person present at that point of time (except Jesus, and even Jesus has "tasted" death by dying on the cross) is now dead. Has the kingdom of God come with power already? Clearly the answer is yes, or Jesus was a liar ...

Today was tough. Can't deny it. Started the day seemingly fine. Prepared for the announcement I was going to make, etc. Went to church, made the announcement... No issues. Problem is, we inserted a piece of paper into the church bulletin. Printed on the paper happened to be a rather controversial quote. We quoted from Ralph Winter, saying "The Bible is not the basis for missions, missions is the basis of the Bible." On first glance when I printed these papers yesterday, I thought it was weird. Wrong teaching. Idolizing missions over the Word of God. It can be read that way if we don't really know what it means. What it means, however, is that the entirety of the Bible points to God's salvation plan, and God's mission - to select a people for Himself. In that light, we do see that missions is indeed the basis of the Bible - God gave us the Bible to call us to Him, and we should be calling others to Him as well! Of course, not everyone saw it tha...

Jesus begins to teach His disciples that He must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after 3 days rise again. And He said this plainly to them. Peter, however, took Jesus aside and rebuked Him. From a plain man's view, the Messiah was not the one meant to die. He was the one to restore Israel, to save them. To Peter, Jesus's death would make this impossible. Furthermore, it would likely have been discouraging to the disciples to hear this. Jesus rebukes Peter instead, telling him to get behind Him, for Peter set his eyes on the things of man and not of God. He then tells the crowd - if anyone is to follow Him, he must first deny himself and take up his cross and follow Him. For whoever loses his life for Jesus's sake will save it - and what good is it for a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul? Jesus tells them that our soul is most important, and to follow Him, we need to give up many things ...

This is a curious case. Of the four gospel books, only Mark records this incident. It is also the only incident of an incomplete healing; the only incident when Jesus asks His "patient" if he is healed. Jesus does heal the man fully at the end. However, why the initial partial healing? There are 2 explanations for it that are more common. The first, and more traditional one, was that this man had no faith in the beginning. He did not come to Jesus on his own accord, others brought him to see Jesus. Thus, Jesus, sensing the man's little faith, partially healed him. Upon receiving partial sight, he then believed, and Jesus healed him fully. The second explanation is this - that it is another parable as an example to the disciples. Although there is no strong proof for this in the passage itself, it does fall into the context of the previous passages. Jesus points out that we were once blind. He gives us partial vision, that we know some things of what God re...

Jesus asks His disciples who they think He is. Peter answers - You are the Christ. From here, the direction of Mark changes. No longer does Mark focus on Jesus's ministry, but instead on His theology. The curious thing is this - if Peter knows Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah they've been waiting for... Why did they always seem to doubt Him? Well. Do we know Jesus is the Christ? Do we still doubt Him?

This passage is slightly easier to read in the NIV. Jesus and His disciples were on a boat, with only one loaf of bread because they had forgotten to bring it. Jesus warns them, saying, beware the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod. What does Jesus mean? His disciples think He said it because they had no bread. Jesus asks them if they do not yet understand, citing the examples of the two time He fed the crowd with almost nothing. Let us first examine Jesus's response. Jesus responds asking the very questions the previous 2 passages have been pointing out - that the hearts of the disciples are hardened, and have eyes but do not see, have ears but do not hear, and do not remember, do not understand. Obviously He isn't talking about the bread itself. His original message for them was this - Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life. However, to take the bread of the Pharisees and of Herod is to settle for less, to settle for things that are false. The Pharisees, as we se...

Only 3 verses. The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, asking Him for a sign from heaven to test Him. Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." And He left them. Really. After 7 chapters worth of signs, they still ask for signs? It's kind of similar to the previous passage on Jesus feeding the four thousand. Be it disciple, apostle, Pharisee, or common Jew, even common Gentile - people are stubborn. They refuse to change. That's us. What is one thing you've refused to change? Is your belief in Jesus tied to things that He shows you, or in full faith?

Again, a short episode of Jesus teaching in a desolate place. They were gathered, and Jesus taught them for three days, and the people had nothing to eat. He had compassion on them and said that if He sent them away hungry to their homes, some will faint on the way. Point of note 1: Jesus does care for our human needs. We sometimes think that God is too great, and His plan is too vast to consider our human needs. Let us be reminded that God does care. HOWEVER, our needs are not what we want. We have to be very careful to distinguish the two. His disciples ask Him how they can feed these people. Well, just right after one episode of this... They're still asking the same question. Stubborn? Well, on this end of the Bible it's easy to judge them. Imagine yourself 100 years down the road, in heaven or hell or wherever you end up. Hopefully heaven. And you re-watch your life - watching God prove Himself to you over and over again. Watching Him call you to Him over and ov...

A rather simple story of Jesus again. When He returned to the decapolis, the people brought Him a man that was deaf and mute. Jesus healed the man, and told them to tell no one about this incident. However, the more He told the people this, the more they proclaimed it - proclaiming Him a miracle worker. Spot the mistake? 1. There is no obedience to Christ. Christ is Savior, but Christ is not Lord to these people. They only want Him for His miracles, not His Lordship, and definitely not... 2. There is no repentance, no gospel in the story. No belief in Christ's forgiveness of sin. Who is Jesus to us? Is He Savior AND Lord? Does His "Savior-ness" go beyond a "friend in time of need", to a forgiveness of sin?

This tells of a short story, where Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. He tried to secretly enter a house, but instead a Gentile woman came and fell at His feet begging Him to heal her daughter, who had a demon. Jesus's answer seems a little shocking. He tells her that it is not right to take the bread of the children and feed it to the dogs. He means that His purpose here is for the Israelites first, and not for the Gentiles. Racism? No. Scripture has many times reiterated that Christ came first for the Israelites first, before the Gentiles. Israel was God's first chosen nation, before He extended His love and grace to the rest of the world. In Romans 1:16, Paul again writes that the gospel is the power of salvation - first for the Jew, then also to the Greek. Favoritism? No. God has extended His grace to all who believe - as unworthy as we are. Why are we complaining? The woman responds to Jesus - that even the dogs wait beneath the table for the leftovers...

This section is commonly seen together with the previous - in continuation to what Jesus explains of the tradition of washing of hands not making a person clean, nor any other thing a man does. He goes on to condemn the crowd. He tells them nothing outside a person can go in and defile him, but instead what comes out of a man that defiles him. He later goes on to explain to his disciples - telling them anything that goes into a man goes into his stomach and not his heart, and comes out again. It seems to say that what we eat is not a spiritual affair, but a purely physical one. He then goes on to tell them explicitly, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. A long and non-exhaustive list - but these are the things in the heart of man. Clearly, the first lesson is this - all foods are permissable. There is nothing wrong with eating anything - this act doe...

I heard this from a youth leader in my church recently. She says that being one of the guys in church, or in the Christian community in general, willing to take up responsibilities, there is a demand for our work - as we know the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Especially guys - when we consider the additional responsibilities that God has designated to the men. She then said that because there are so many things to do, and so few of us - it is not good enough to do what is good, or what is beneficial. We have to be selective, and choose what is best . Best meaning we have to give up certain things we want to do, certain things we don't want to do. And to do what is best for everyone.

I thought I should write this down, in case somewhere in the next 2 months I turn around and ask myself why I made this choice. I chose to be part of my church youth group's mission trip. Why? Bible truth #1 Matthew 28:18-20 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." If all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus, then He has authority over us (well duh!). Therefore, His command is with ALL authority - and is to obeyed. He tells us to GO  and make disciples of ALL nations. Now we don't get there by sitting in our rooms. We go. And He promises to be with us always. My major concern for this trip was this - that we would be wasting not only our time, but the t...

The Pharisees question Jesus over the breaking of one of their traditions. Jesus replies them with a prophecy of Isaiah - that people honor God with their lips, but not with their hearts, and they abandon the commandments of God for the tradition of men. He accuses them of replacing God's commandments as human tradition, and letting it be so. We've been guilty too. Have we slipped into tradition? The monthly observance of the Lord's Supper merely being a moment for us to consider a little harder on our actions for the past week? Or have we really performed this ordinance in remembrance of Christ, and proclaiming His death until He returns? Our all-so-standard prayers before meals - tradition or true thanksgiving? Where it is not wrong to have habits and traditions - we have to keep in mind - what's important is not the action itself - it's the motive. We don't do things to please man, or to just "go with the flow". We do it because of God...

A short narrative, on Jesus reaching Gennasaret. The moment He and His disciples get off the boat, the people recognized Him and ran about the whole region bringing the sick to Him, and asking Him if they could even touch His clothes to be well again. A short narrative, showing the power of Jesus. Ever written a short story that was so short that you completely missed the point of the story? A second look at this passage shows us this. Mark does not use the words "teach", "repent", "believe" in this passage at all. There is no gospel in this passage. All that's mentioned is healing. All the people cared about was healing. It is centric on human pleasure and human definition of goodness - overlooking the message of Christ. What is the gospel to us? Is it healing and joy and happiness and satisfaction? Or is it "Repent and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand"?

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." - Matthew 5:6 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." - John 6:28-29 "Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." - Matthew 28:19-20a Jesus clearly tells us the direction of our lives. He tells us what we should seek - namely righteousness, to believe in God and His Son Jesus, and to make disciples of all nations. Is this reflected in our lives? Do we seek righteousness the same way we seek lunch and dinner? Is it of equal importance, essential to our lives? Do we love the things God does? Have we gone out to achieve the purposes of God in our lives, or are we seeking our own pleasures, our own lifestyles? ...

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matt 6:33 What do we look for in our daily lives? Many of us wander around life rather aimlessly - especially so in Singaporean culture. Culture here dictates this. You grow up, when you hit 7, you enter the schooling system. You follow through to at least 18 (rarely less, mostly more), enter National Service for 2 years (for the guys), continue with studying (for the uni / higher diploma people)... And finally, at the age of 24, graduate. (Assuming a 4 year uni course and all.) It's a fixed, rigid lifestyle. We are brought to appreciate things society dictates as "good". For example, straight As in school. Scholarships. Internships. Job offers. High paying careers. Is that what God says is good? We were designed to live in a good world - Genesis 1:31 - God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. We were created, primarily, for fellowship wi...

Jesus tells His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd. He went to the mountain to pray. In the night, He saw they were having trouble sailing and He walked out meaning to pass by them, but they saw Him and were terrified as they thought it was a ghost. Jesus tells them "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." He got into the boat and the wind ceased, and they were astounded - for their hearts were hardened. A shocking thing written by Mark - that the hearts of the disciples were hardened. Point of note #1 - He meant to pass by them Mark probably knows this from Peter, who has earlier been shown to be part of Jesus's "inner circle". Point of note #2 - They thought He was a ghost Well, no surprises there. I'd be freaked too if I saw a guy walking on water - and we do know ghosts exist. Well,  demons and stuff. However, there is no need to fear - especially because earlier in the chapter they have al...

This is a miracle of Jesus. The story goes of how Jesus and his disciples wanted to go to a desolate place and take a rest. However, they were spotted and many went there ahead of them. Main story point #1 - Jesus saw them like sheep without a shepherd, had compassion on them and began to teach. Imagine a life without Jesus. A life unchanged. A old Testamental life - following laws because the king says so, or because the high priest says so - without really knowing God. Then Jesus came and changed that. That is us today. Today we know why we serve a God who is not just a great God, but also a good God. We leave behind legalism and forced worship for a life where we choose to follow Him - by His grace. Main story point #2 - It got late, and his disciples urged him to send the people away to the nearby villages to get something to eat. Jesus replied them, "You give them something to eat." Why, this man is crazy. These disciples have given up their trades, their inc...

These verses narrate how John ended up dead, despite being under the protection of Herod. He gave a banquet for all his bigshots and the leading men of Galilee. At this point, his brother's wife (now his)'s daughter came in and danced for  them - leading Herod to tell her he would give her anything she wanted, up to half the kingdom. Note again - Herodias's daughter, not Herod's. Again this insult is used in the book of Mark, probably insinuating the girl's father is unknown. Q: Why does Herod make this promise in front of everyone? A: To demonstrate his "generosity" and appreciation for her dancing, kind of a show-off thing She goes to consult her mother, then returns and asks for the head of John. Herod seems to have no choice but to agree. Q: Does Herod have a choice? A: Yes. We ALWAYS have a choice. The choice Herod makes here is the one that "saves his face", and keeps his reputation rather than disgracing himself and doing the r...

This short story opens with a narrative of Herod's fear of Jesus. He was told, and believed that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead - and Herod was in fear, for he himself had John beheaded. It goes on to recount the story - Herod imprisoned John because John told him it was unlawful to take his brother's wife as his own. Clearly, it is an act of adultery. However, Herod did fear John, and kept him under protection despite his imprisonment. He was perplexed yet glad to hear John's preaching. What could this really mean? Herod obviously acknowledges the God of John the Baptist - to fear this man and to recognise him as a prophet of God. However, he is the passive believer.  He hears the Word of God, yet does not act on it. Don't many of us? We claim to believe in God. Some of us really do. However, we hear but we do not act; we know but we do not obey. What kind of faith is that? Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ wi...

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 6, 14, 17 ESV For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Paul wrote this regarding Christ's death and resurrection. Firstly, he confirms Christ died for our sins The next thing he does is to accord it with Scripture - thus confirming it as truth. He goes on to state the next fact - that Christ was buried. Then, he makes the claim - that Christ was raised on the 3rd day in accordance with the Scriptures. Despite Old Testamental Scriptures never really explicitly saying this ...

The virgin birth of Jesus - through His mother Mary - is one statement widely accepted as a key component of Christian doctrine. It is also highly contested by non-Christians, cults and Christian spin-offs. Take a second look at the gospel message. The key focus in the gospel is that God sent His Son, the man Jesus Christ into the world to die on the cross for our sins. The key here is this - that God sent His Son. The method of which He sent His Son is not the priority - it is the act itself. The Blueprint: Chapter 4: Chapter 4 opens up with a short discussion of what is important to Christians - drawing a comparison of the statements of "Jesus is Lord" vs "Jesus lived in Galilee". Where both are irrefutable truths, one is crucial to know and believe, the other is a mere statement with little importance to the overall Gospel truth. Similarly, the virgin birth is true, yet of little importance to the overall gospel message. However, it is one of the cru...

Here is the account of Jesus sending out His twelve disciples to spread His message - to proclaim that people should repent. A few things to note here. 1. Jesus charged them not to take anything except a staff. Why? - It is not to "act" poor, but to be humbled. Not to rely on their own material wealth, but to trust in God to provide. - We see similar traits in many Christian organisations today, when we are expected to raise our own allowances. On one hand it teaches us to trust God's provision, on the other hand it gives others the opportunity to contribute to our ministry. Of course, this system can easily be misused for other purposes... But let's just think of the right and proper use of it. 2. He tells them if they are not received in any place, shake off the dust on their feet as a testimony against them. - This phrase needs to be cross-referenced to Matthew 10. Jesus also tells them (albeit not recorded in Mark), that it will be more bearable for Sodom a...

This accounts Jesus returning to His hometown of Nazareth. When the people heard Him preaching, they were astonished and asked amongst themselves where He learnt all this, and how He does these works - remembering Him as the carpenter (His earthly father's trade), and as Mary's son (in remembrance that the father is not Joseph). Jesus says in reply to their offensive behavior that only in a prophet's own hometown is he without honor. The next sentence is intriguing. "He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them." Was Jesus really powerless? My belief is that Jesus would not help those who had no faith - thus no mighty works were done. Not that Jesus cannot help them, but more of He will not. And the next sentence as well - "And he marveled because of their unbelief". That is to the extent that we have gone - so far that we cause God Himself to marvel at our unbelief and foolishness. ...

This is the story of the first (seeming) resurrection performed by Jesus. Jairus comes to Jesus in faith, asking Him to lay His hands on her that she may be made well and live. Jesus agrees, and goes with him. On the way there is the woman with the blood disease. After that short episode, some came from Jairus's house that said that his daughter had died. However, Jesus tells Jairus not to fear, but to believe. He allows only Peter, James and John to follow Him into the house of Jairus. There, He tells the people inside that the girl is not dead but sleeping. The people laugh at Him, but He takes the child's parents and His 3 disciples with Him into the place where the girl was, took her hand and told her to get up. The girl obediently got up and started walking - amazing everyone there. Jesus told them not to spread the news. Well, the first obvious question is, was the girl really sleeping or dead? I believe to us normal people, she would be dead. To Jesus, death is n...

I skipped a couple of verses cos this one is sandwiched inside another story. Basically Jesus is just squeezing His way through a crowd when this woman who believes she'll be healed if she just touches His clothes comes along and touches Him. Jesus, knowing that someone had been healed by Him, asks who it was - not because He didn't know who it was, but wanting her to confess her faith. She comes out with fear and trembling, falling down before Him and telling the whole truth. Jesus tells her that her faith has made her well, and go in peace. So what do we learn? Not that faith heals us, but 1. Jesus wants us to confess our faith, and not just hide it away and keep it to ourselves 2. Our faith in Jesus leads to treasure in heaven, not the short-sighted healing that is displayed here. Faith is key in the Christian life - and to be confessed to the world!

This story here is another interesting one. At the other end of the lake, there were this bunch of tombs where Jesus disembarked His boat. Then this demon-possessed man comes out. This man is feared by the local people - he could not be bound, he could not be subdued, and was known to be violent (even to himself). Yet when he saw Jesus, he ran and fell down before Him - asking what Jesus wanted with Him, and pleading for Jesus not to torment him. The man says - "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" Again, Jesus's identity declared by a demon. Jesus, interestingly, asks for the demon's name, and the demon tells Him that it is Legion, for it is many, and begs Jesus to let it go into the pigs. Jesus gives the demon permission, and the pigs commit suicide. The curious thing that happens next is that the people begin to fear Jesus, instead of the ex-possessed man. Where Jesus is shunned and asked to depart, the man is welcomed back and e...

This episode highlights some very important things. It opens with "on that evening" - a day when Jesus spoke many parables and teachings to the people. It goes on to the boat trip - where Jesus slept through the storm. The storm in particular, is a rather rough one. In all my ventures out to sea I've never come across a situation where the waves could actually break the surface of the boat and fill up a boat with water. And Jesus, being fully man, fully exhausted from the day's teachings - slept through the storm. His disciples panicked and woke Him up, asking whether He did not care that they were perishing. These fishermen too, with all their experience in the waters, felt fear in the storm. Jesus, however, told the sea to be still - and it was. This, in turn, demonstrates His divinity - fully God. He then asks a pressing question - Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? Now the question is posed to us as well. We often hit storms and struggles in...

Jesus tells His next parable - of the mustard seed to describe the kingdom of God again. He says it is the smallest of all seeds when it was sown, yet it grows to be the largest garden plant. What can this short parable mean? The mustard seed sown was Jesus Christ. He alone came to this world, rejected by almost all of mankind - even his blood family. Son to a carpenter, He was nobody, insignificant. But we've seen how His church has grown. Today Christianity is a major religion in the world. Point of note: why garden plants? I think Jesus uses a garden plant as an example because the seed was sown by a gardener - by God - and at the end of the age the gardener will harvest His garden. Just a thought. Verse 33 finishes with the short conclusion of the past few parables - that Jesus spoke more unrecorded parables, but did not explain it to the people, but only to His own disciples. If I'm not mistaken, when Mark writes disciples, he means those who have truly chose...

This parable refers to the kingdom of God. Jesus tells His disciples - that the growth of the kingdom of God is like scattering seed. Our duty, as Christians, is to scatter this seed in people around us. Whether it grows, whether it sprouts, is not up to us - it is up to God. The next thing Jesus says is that when the grain is ripe, God will harvest His kingdom - what we know as the end of the world. This in mind, we have to be very intentional on growing God's kingdom, yet not letting the setbacks disappoint us as they are out of our control anyway. We are to prepare for the harvest. How can we scatter seed in the lives of people around us?

Jesus tells the parable of the lamp. He asks His disciples - whether the lamp is brought in to be hidden away. He tells them nothing will be hidden away - all secrets are to be exposed with the light. Jesus is the light - through Him the truth is revealed, as well as God's plan for salvation for all man - and the lies of the Pharisees and such are exposed as well. The next thing He tells them is that they are to pay attention to what they hear - for those who seek to hear will learn much from Him, but those who are uninterested will learn nothing. This teaching here goes well with the whole idea of divine sovereignty and human responsibility - God gives us the free will to choose, and He seals our choice. Those who reject Him He will harden their hearts, those who love Him He will draw near. So, lesson. Be sure of what we are doing - that we are not trying to hide away our secrets, but be honest - for God's light will one day expose everything anyway. At the same time, be...

Well, I'm due to be baptised on easter. Had my interview a couple of hours ago. First few questions were the expected stuff - what do you believe in, are you sure about your faith... Towards the end, one of the church council members asked this question that left me answer-less. What took you so long? Well I'll talk a bit about this guy. His daughter is 3 years younger than me (i think), and he later explained that growing up in a Christian family, he does expect and hope for her to be sure about her faith, and baptism is clearly one way of expressing that. So he applied it to me as well. Truth be told I dislike the idea of being subject to others' expectations - do my parents even have the right to demand such things from me? On the other hand, it is a thought-provoking and legitimate question. What took me so long? We see examples of people in the Bible who are baptised the moment they believed . Yet it took me 18 years to realise what Christ's death meant, an...

This is a famous parable of Jesus - the parable of the sower. Here Jesus tells the people of a sower, who sowed his seed on all kinds of ground. Some fell on the path, some fell on rocky ground, some fell among thorns, and others fell on good soil. I don't think there's much to elaborate. The Word of God is given to all men - but we are the soil. The seed is sown in us - whether it grows is up to us. I believe if we truly want it to grow, it will. We control the soil we are - no one who goes to the Father is rejected. What catches my eye in this passage is in verses 11-12. Jesus tells His disciples - that to them has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. Firstly, Jesus reveals that the parables are not simply stories He tells - they contain the secret of the kingdom of God for those who are dis...

Well, back to Jesus's family - the people who thought he was crazy. So they called him, and Jesus uses the opportunity to teach the people something new - by making a seemingly very snide comment - that those who do the will of God are His family. Take it back 2000 years and probably it wouldn't have sounded so rude and snide I guess. But, lesson here! That's the important part, right? Jesus is NOT teaching us to be rude to our parents - please don't ever use this as an example. Jesus teaches this - that we were made to be God's children - along with Jesus as our brother. The relationship we have with God is mirrored in earthly relations to our parents - and Jesus uses this as an example. We've all been rebellious kids at one point or another. We've all rebelled against our parents, refused to do what they tell us to. We all grow out of it someday too. When will we grow out of rebelling against our heavenly Father? When will we start obeying Him? O...

Here comes the next accusation against Jesus. The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said Jesus was possessed by Beelzebul ("prince of demons", or literally "Lord of the flies". Anyone read that book?), and by this demon he casts out other demons. Jesus then tells them a parable. Or at least the Bible calls it a parable, but this is one of the most straightforward. He says Satan cannot cast out Satan, or else it is pointless - the kingdom is divided and it will fall soon. He tells a second short story - that no one can enter a strong man's house unless he first binds the strong man. I would assume that the strong man Jesus speaks of is Satan - that Jesus plans to enter the house of the devil - the world, and to plunder a people chosen for Him, defeating Satan in the process. This would also explain why Jesus is casting out demons. Finally, Jesus says to them that all sins will be forgiven. However, He also warns them that whoever blasphemes against the...

A short 2 lines - with a shocking truth. Mark 3:20-21 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." Just these 2 lines here, and we see Jesus's return home in a shocking way. Normally when we return home after a long trip, we expect to be welcomed and everyone to be happy.But look at the reaction of Jesus's family! They not only not welcome him, they even call him crazy! Could you imagine your own parents calling you crazy? We see in these short verses the ultimate rejection of Jesus - by even those he was bounded by blood to. This man, God himself in flesh - rejected by not only the nation he came to save, but everyone save his own apostles. What is the significance to us? Many of us reject Jesus and His teaching. We say, "but we're Christian!". What is Christian, really? Are we Christian if we simply be...

Attended SYFC's staff meeting this morning, and the message came from Judges (it's the book they're covering this year) Judges 8:29 comes after the story of Gideon. Basically Gideon is nicknamed Jerub-Baal by the people of Shechem. Jerub-Baal is a name in insult to the false god Baal - that Gideon can challenge it and defeat it. Basically, it opens with Gideon dying and leaving behind his family of... 70 sons. If he had a daughter for every son (50/50 chance, right?)... He'd have 140 kids! Now how on earth did this guy get 140 kids? He had many concubines - some of which even from the people of Shechem. One of these sons bore to him by a Shechem woman was named Abimelech - which means "My father is king". From a judge raised up by God... Heresy indeed. Someone has definitely forgotten what good God has done for him in the past! He wants to be King, no longer under God's rule - and we will see more of this. Not only that, Israel also prostituted ...

Attended a session on Colossians 1 today. It went on for awhile, then came to this point on Christ reconciling us with God - and this point was made. "We were once God's enemies; we do things against God. But through Christ we are made God's friends." Is God really our friend? I'm not saying that we are unforgiven and Christ's death was pointless. I'm saying that we become overly casual by declaring God our friend. Our relationship with God was meant to be as a parent to a child. Ephesians 1:5 - He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will Do you call your father by His first name, like you do your friends? Do you slap him on the back and make all the jokes in the world, do all kinds of things in the world? Parenthood is a social construct mirroring the relationship between God and man.  If we are confused about our relationship with God, we should only look at the relationship wit...

Back from the Mark hiatus. Here Mark describes the occasion where Jesus chooses His twelve. It happens on a mountain, and He calls them to Him - so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. The mountain is probably nothing but a symbolic high place - often used in older cultures. Our first takeaway here is that Jesus calls out His apostles  first . They do not choose to go to Him, neither do they have some form of competition amongst themselves etc. This ties in with the doctrine of election - that God chooses His people. Although we are not chosen to be apostles, we have been chosen to be God's people. It is a choice on which God alone has authority. The next takeaway is that these elected came to Jesus. This then ties in with the doctrine of human responsibility - that given free choice and being elected by Christ's death on the cross, it is our duty to respond faithfully and correctly in all...

Yesterday, I attended a session on Christianity and culture - and in particular, social media. Here's some of the key pointers the speaker made. 1. Culture must be discerned and engaged - Culture is not something we abstain from because it is bad - Culture is from God - when God commanded us to rule over the earth, to subdue it etc, culture comes about. - Behind every culture is a set of beliefs, which drives our purposes and our values. However, due to the corruption of mankind, our culture is also corrupted. He then went into how social media, if not used properly, can be an absolute waste of time - and draws us away from God and into the world. But this is the line that caught me. "This is not to go hard on men, but here are some examples that men or young men may be able to engage in the real world. Men should take responsibility in their homes, churches, workplaces or neighbourhoods. But many young men today are spending hours on their xbox and never really g...

"Sports are the greatest teacher for wrestling with one's faith" http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/ 2011/08/16/ christian-pro-soccer-team-scori ng-souls-not-goals/ Been playing a lot more football than in my army days. I used to volunteer at Singapore Youth for Christ, coaching football at a school I can't name. The aim at the end of it was to build a relationship through sport, for the purpose of sharing Christ with the footballer. But here's the problematic part about this. It is easy to build a relationship with a fellow footballer, but the crunch kicks in when we want to share the gospel. Where does God come into play with football? The article above does have some tips. Not only that, over these few years I've been trying to link my love for football with my faith in Christ. Here are some of the potential gospel links God inspired football - recreation is a gift from God Character values, like shown in the article God gifted talent for football ...

Finally, we see a small episode where Jesus is not rejected - instead made some sort of celebrity. However, in a short moment, we realise how this goes wrong as well. He was followed by people all over Israel, Judea etc... And when the great crowd heard all that He was doing, they came to Him. This is the mistake - the key sentence that shows how wrong the motivations of the crowd was. They were here not to hear the message of repentance and forgiveness - they were here just to get healed, get rid of their demons... God was secondary; man first. Do we make this mistake today as well? Some of our megachurches are megachurches not because they preach God's word well, but because they preach "Jesus will heal you, Jesus will make you rich". Have they not fallen into the same trap as these people here? Have we followed Jesus for reasons other than out of repentance and a desire for forgiveness?

Again, another story of how the people of Israel rejected Jesus. This one begins in a more sinister way - the people watching to see if Jesus would heal a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. Here the plot against Jesus is first explicitly declared by Mark. They watched - hoping to accuse Him of further blasphemy. Jesus asks of them this question - whether it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill. The people did not reply Him - and Jesus was angry and grieved at their hardness of heart . Jesus of course, heals the man. The Pharisees then exit and immediately held counsel with the Herodians (king's men) against Jesus, and how to destroy (some versions kill) Him. Have we similarly plotted against God's will? Are our hearts hardened against God's calling and teaching? I do realise that I've rejected certain things I'm sure God has been trying to tell me. Many things I've preferred my own way, preferred my own de...

This is another question posed to Jesus as part of the rejection "plan". It ties in well with the previous story - on why Jesus is "above" the law - where they question why Jesus' disciples pick grain on the Sabbath. Jesus here answers that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Two answers here again. The first one is that Jesus explains the law of the Sabbath - it was not made as a restriction to man, but instead a aid to us - to help us remember to worship God. It was a day for good rest and good fellowship - but it became ritualistic. We have to be careful how we treat our "Sabbaths" (Sundays). Although we do not practice it ritualistically in church, we do sometimes impose on ourselves this expectation - that church becomes a chore and a tradition. Remember the true purpose of the Sabbath. The second is that Jesus himself is Lord of the Sabbath. What this means is this ...

Yesterday i mentioned about the people not recognising God's Saviour - and asking how we can recognise what is good. After some thought, this is my belief. We recognise what is good in 2 ways. Firstly, we are taught what is good by the coming of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  (Titus 2:12) Secondly, many things can be discerned by the reading of God's word. In the Bible, Jesus clearly fulfils much of the OT prophecies - and also points people to God the Father. It is a clear indication that He is of God. With this in mind, can we make better decisions in our lives, knowing what is good and bad for us in God's terms instead of our own?