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Becoming An Attractive Community Part II – TWC Daily Devotional 20130523
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Thursday 23 May 2013
To be a light and do good, we need to know the needs of our society. What are non-believers looking to the church for? What do they expect of us? Amongst other things, I believe those outside the church are looking for integrity amongst Christians. They expect the church to have a higher standard. Moral integrity and financial integrity rank high in the list of expectations. When a Christian does something wrong, even when it is not a grave mistake, people will say, “I thought he is a Christian, how can he do something like that?” So you can imagine what they would say when Christians, or worst still, church leaders and pastors commit a serious offence. The church is dragged through the media mud and everything about the church, not only the church embroiled in hot soup, but every church, is perceived in a poor light. In a time like ours, when the pastor and leaders of one of our churches is put on trial for criminal offences, what the rest of the churches must do is to pray for our brothers and sisters who are in trouble whether due to their own foolishness or not. Some have said that we should not pre-judge them and should give them the benefit of the doubt until we know the outcome of the trial. But I’m inclined to say, even if they are proven guilty, we should still love them and pray for them. We do that for close friends and family members, why not extend the same grace to believers on trial? Aren’t they brothers and sisters in the Lord? While we do not condone offences of any kind, while there is need to teach and correct one another, but the teaching and correction must be done in love and with plenty of grace. “He among you who is without sin, let him first cast a stone upon her.” (Jn.8:7) What Jesus said here pretty much sums up the mindset we should have. When we lift up those who are weak, when we carry the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ, when we love without condition, when we correct and even rebuke in love, when we show grace where grace is undeserved, the world will wonder why. Hopefully, they will get a glimpse of God’s love, righteousness, grace and forgiveness in us and through how we respond to such crises. Hopefully, it will cause them to question their own values. As you begin your walk with God today, remember to pray for our brothers and sisters who are under scrutiny right now. Be careful what comments you make about them. Remember to be fair and gracious. Who knows, one day you may be the one who needs the understanding, patience, love, grace and forgiveness. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt.5:14-16)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: Grace and Love …Click here for YouTube link
Becoming An Attractive Community – TWC Daily Devotional 20130522
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. …. let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The church is called to be the light of the world. Light illuminates darkness, draws attention and attracts people. Jesus spoke about how our light should shine so that the world may see our good deeds and glorify God in heaven. Being a light to the world is about doing good in the world, to the world and for the world. To do good, one must not be self-absorbed – that is, a preoccupation with one’s own emotions, interests or situation. Self-absorbed individuals do not care about what others think, feel and want. All they care about is what they think, feel and want. Jesus is the best example of One who looked to the interests of others. Jesus cared about our interests and left the comfort of His world to enter into our sinful, chaotic world so that we are not left without hope and without help. A self-absorbed individual does no good in the long term because pride will always destroy an individual. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Was my action motivated by God’s will or personal pride?” How do we ensure we are on the right track? Easy, what we need is godly counsel. To protect ourselves from pride and self-absorption, we need to have recognized and credible godly leaders above us who can speak into our lives, people whom we would listen to, people whom we have given permission to correct us when we are wrong. As you begin your walk with God today, I would like to encourage you to do good so that others may glorify our Father in heaven. Amongst other things, be careful of self-absorption that manifests itself in many forms – from unwillingness to give to others and serve others to unwillingness to give up precious time for the common good; from being unteachable to being unreachable. Instead, be willing to give and serve, be humble and teachable. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt.5:14-16)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: Heart of worship …Click here for YouTube link
An Attractive Dwelling – TWC Daily Devotional 20130521
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Tuesday 21 May 2013
The mustard seed grows into a big tree so that the birds come and perch in its branches (Mt.13:32). Likewise, the church is to grow into an attractive dwelling so that those who do not know the Lord will come and remain in it. That’s what we want to become – an attractive dwelling place for the sick, the troubled and the needy. May our church be the dwelling place where the sick find healing, the troubled find comfort and the needy find help. How can we become such a church? We need to grow in our faith in God, our love for one another and our ministry to those beyond the walls of the church. As you begin your walk with God today, think about your part in making your church an attractive dwelling. What should you do? What can you do? How has the Lord gifted you for the work of the ministry? What resources has God put in your hands that you can use to bless those who are in need? May the Lord speak to you and grant you grace to do it so that His church increasingly becomes an attractive dwelling place for those who need Him. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Mt.13:31,32)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: Church on fire …Click here for YouTube link
Gradual Increase – TWC Daily Devotional 20130520
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Monday 20 May 2013
The Kingdom of Heaven is one of gradual increase. Jesus said it is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds, when planted, it becomes the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree! See how God multiplied Abraham’s descendents, how he multiplied the children of Israel, how the number of believers in the New Testament exploded exponentially from a small band of Christians. The growth of the Kingdom of Heaven is unshakeable and unstoppable. Justin Martyr (2nd century Christian apologist) said, “the blood of the saints is the seed of the church”. Thus, when persecution hit the church in history, the church grew bigger. When the trials came, the Christians counted it all joy. The Kingdom Principle of Gradual Increase has not changed today. God is still gradually increasing the size of the community of God’s people. The church grows when we grow in faith, love and ministry. Growing in faith is about growing in the knowledge of the Word of God, growing in our trust of God, growing in prayer and growing in the discovery and the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Growing in love is about increasing in unconditional love for one another within the church and growing in unconditional forgiveness too. Growing in ministry is about reaching out beyond our natural comfort zone. It is about having an incarnational ministry, like Jesus did. He left the comfort of His world to enter into our world to bring life and truth to us. In the same way, we should leave the comfort of our own world and enter into someone else’s world to bring life and truth to them. As you begin your walk with God today, commit yourself to the gradual increase of God’s Kingdom. Be available to do whatever it takes, go wherever the Spirit leads you and grow into all that God intends for you to be. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Mt.13:31,32)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: Battle Hymn of the Republic …Click here for YouTube link
The Unceasing Love of God – TWC Daily Devotional 20130519
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Sunday 19 May 2013
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end! And because God’s love is steadfast, we never need to be anxious about anything. God loves those who are faithful (Ps.37:28) and He always upholds the righteous (Ps.37:17). So as long as you and I stay on the path of faithfulness and righteousness, God’s delight, favor and blessing will always remain with us. Sometimes, the righteous may falter too but whenever we turn back to God in humble repentance, He is quick to forgive and restore. After King David had committed such hideous sins, the sin of adultery and the sin of murder, yet God forgave him because David sincerely and humbly repented before God. There were consequences that David was not spared of though, but because he turned back to God, God restored him and gave him a second chance. It is the same with us, when we rebel against God and sin against Him, there will be consequences even after we have repented of our wrong. Though God will forgive everyone who sincerely and humbly turns back to Him, yet there can still be consequences. Where possible, sometimes God spares us of the consequences too, but it all depends on the details of each situation. Whether the Lord decides to withhold the consequences or not, it is up to Him. Whatever the Lord finally decides is always the right decision because the righteous God will not do wrong. His final decision is always based on His greater purpose in transforming us and drawing us into His Kingdom. Consequences are God’s servants. If a man would benefit from consequences, God will not withhold them. But if there is no real meaning in the consequences, and God can achieve something else greater by withholding the consequences, then He will spare the guilty of the consequences. Haven’t we all experienced the mercy of God – not being punished when we deserve the punishment? As you begin your walk with God today, remember the steadfast love of the Lord and His never ending mercies. Give thanks to Him and always trust that His favor is over the faithful and the righteous. Walk in faithfulness and righteousness, and bask in the love of God! Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.” (Lam.3:22)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases …Click here for YouTube link
Man Under Authority – TWC Daily Devotional 20130518
TWC – The Word Connects: Connecting you to God and to one another …
Saturday 18 May 2013
A good servant of the Lord is one who is willing to come under God’s appointed authority. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Heb.13:17) As men and women under authority, God calls for us to submit to the authority He places over us. Some may ask, what about an imperfect authority? When Jesus was asked about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mk.12:17) Even though those above us may not be perfect, yet we are called to be faithful servants and we are called to obey. God always honors those who are faithful and obedient. He does not honor the unfaithful and rebellious. But if submission leads to sin, then we are free from submission, for we are to obey God instead of obeying sinful men and women who lead us to sin. This truth applies not only to church leader-member relationship, but also employer-employee relationship, husband and wife relationship, parent-child relationship, etc. As you begin your walk with God today, desire to be a good servant, be teachable and God will honor you. Have a great day!
Today’s Bible text: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” (Heb.13:17)
Pastor Barnabas Chong
Email us at twc@cairnhillchurch.com
Today’s recommended video: What joy! …Click here for YouTube link
