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Whats Been Happening

4 March 2024 blogpastor Leave a comment

I noticed that it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been away in Arizona, USA visiting my son’s family for a month. We had a great time with his family, especially quality time with our grandchildren, who we missed greatly for two years. However, this joy was soured by a strange debilitating back pain that my wife suffered from. She is currently making a recovery from this after a few weeks in the hospital – glory to God and the prayers of church members and many pastor friends. God willing, I will write a blogpost about my vacation in Tucson, and about this medical emergency and God’s timely intervention. May his name be glorified always through our lives, both in joy or in suffering.

I have been in and out of hospital these several weeks, caring for my wife, as well as taking on the care of her older brother. It’s been tiring, challenging and frustrating at times but most times the grace and strength of God kept me going day by day. Sometimes anxious, sometimes full of faith, sometimes blur. The Bible readings during this period fell on Isaiah 40 to 55 and there were so many verses that spoke to my heart, encouraged me and my wife, and gave us faith and hope. The word of God feeds our soul with faith, hope and love. The rhema word helps me move from meditation into prayer seamlessly, and always lifts me up when I set my heart on his promises. The word is strengthening and in this trial I find myself on my knees with the open Bible and asking God to open my eyes and ears to his word.

I am learning how tough caregiving can be. I am now an admirer of all the church members who had to give care to their elderly or/and sickly parents, spouse or siblings. I salute them wholeheartedly with great respect. Now I experience for myself how much grace and strength and patience is needed to do this well. How we need to do it as though to the Lord himself. So much to learn. For one I have taken a day off ever so often to rest completely from caregiving and turn my attention to life-giving and life-lifting activities to attend to my needs. Can be as simple as cycling to Jurong Lake and having a picnic with myself. Take a walk at night with my camera and take pictures. Or having a leisurely breakfast at my favourite coffee and hawker fare. Or do chores and physical labour at home. Or idle and chill. Or learn to draw.

It is also a time I can focus on prayer and the word and some ideas for future books. I began to write out possible outlines for books on the subjects like: A to Z of Receiving God’s Word; the A to Z of Communicating God’s Word, A to Z of God’s Promises. Good ideas but I will see how these ideas develop. In the meantime, I have yet to edit and refine my first draft of the first book: A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work. Hmmm….need to do all these on my knees. Really need to pray for God’s enabling help.

Right now my concern is with some commitments I have made to lead a retreat, and to preach in my home church and other churches. WhatsApp a prayer to God for me in my endeavours and in my continued learning to be a caregiver.

Christ’s Finished Work: Zion

8 February 2024 blogpastor 1 Comment

This final portion of an e-book that I am writing has been a long time coming. With this final deposit, I have completed the first draft of my e-book titled: “A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. I will need to edit and refine and knit them all together before publishing the book.

Z could easily be “zest” or better still “zeal” both of which are certainly fruits of the finished work of Jesus Christ. However, what appeals to me more is “Zion”.

No, we do not mean “Zionism” which is defined by Collins English Dictionary as “a political movement for the establishment and support of a national homeland for Jews in Palestine, now concerned chiefly with the development of the modern state of Israel”.

I am talking about Zion, a geographical location, an emotive symbol and spiritually significant motif. In the Old Testament, we first hear of Zion as the fortress of the Jebusites that David conquered and made into his capital, Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-7). Zion came to be synonymous with the city of Jerusalem, and and its inhabitants. Later, through its association with the Temple it took on spiritual significance as God’s dwelling place on earth with his people. During Israel’s captivity in Babylon, it became the pivot of their hope. Isaiah 65:17-19 states: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress”.

There will be a new Jerusalem at the heart the new creation at the end of this age. This is confirmed in Revelation 21: 1-3 where Isaiah’s vision will be finally fulfilled. “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God”. This end of the age fulfilment could not have come apart from Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead. This is the final purpose and ultimate vision of the Holy Trinity: to dwell with his beloved children in new Jerusalem, in eternal Zion.

The writer of Hebrews talks about Zion as “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). It is the eternal city “for here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come”(Heb 13:14). The writer sees Zion as a city in the afterlife, a physical reality, and part of the new heaven and new earth that God will create.

Interestingly the writer also refers to Mount Zion as a existing spiritual reality too. His purpose was to dissuade Jewish converts to Christ from backsliding into Judaism because of the persecution and pressure they encountered. So in Hebrews 12:18-24 he compared the old and new covenant, the Mount Sinai and Mount Zion experience. On Mount Sinai what they experienced were tangible, terrifying and threatening so much so that even Moses feared for his life.

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Heb 12:22-24)

The new covenant Mount Zion experience would be totally different because of the mediator Jesus Christ. Note that “you have come” is in present perfect tense, which refers to a past action that has continued into the present. While Revelations sees Mount Zion as a future hope, the writer of Hebrews present another dimension, the here and now, which followers of Christ have entered into.

Through Christ’s blood which speaks the better word of forgiveness rather than the blood of Abel crying out for revenge, we who are followers of Christ, have come to Mount Zion where God dwells. We are in fellowship with God the Judge, and Jesus the Mediator, and with angels though we do not see them, and with the universal church (including past Old Testament believers that are described as “the spirits of the righteous made perfect”). The writer of Hebrews is saying that under the new covenant, all followers of Christ are experiencing a foretaste of the new Jerusalem of Revelations 21. This is Mount Zion. There is much mystery here in this spiritual reality that we cannot fully grasp this side of eternity. But thankful we should be. Made possible by Christ’s finished work.

This is part of a planned series of writings on the topic, “The A to Z of Christ’s Finished Work”. I am writing it alphabet by alphabet. Thus far the others that I have written can be found HERE.

Christ’s Finished Work: Yes and Amen

11 January 2024 blogpastor Leave a comment

The death and resurrection of Christ were foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. Alfred Edersheim found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah. J. Barton Payne found 574 verses describing Jesus’ coming. Conservatively Jesus coming and finished work fulfilled at least 300 prophecies about him. It demonstrates irrefutably that God keeps his promises. God is faithful. This is proven when Christ was born, lived a sinless life, died, rose again and ascended to the Father’s right hand. No wonder the apostle Paul could write to the Corinth church: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). This verse highlights the faithfulness of God’s promises and their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Every promise God has made finds its affirmation and fulfilment in Jesus. In response, we glorify God by acknowledging and affirming these promises with our “Amen”.

The finished work of Christ is proof of God’s faithfulness

Since the death and resurrection of Christ confirmed, manifested, and established God’s faithfulness in keeping the promises that he made hundreds of years before Christ came, we can be doubly assured that he will keep all the other promises he has made about the present and future. All of the promises of God are “Yes”. They are guaranteed, are 100% fool-proof, and we should be agreeing and rejoicing with these statements with a resounding, heartfelt “Amen!” (which means “so be it” or “let it be so”). This is indeed a wide-ranging blessing springing forth from the finished work of Christ.

Just as the sun rises every morning without fail, so are God’s promises unfailing. We can trust in his promises with the same certainty that we expect the sun to rise each day. We see God keeping his promises in many of the events and stories narrated in the Bible. One well-known story is God’s promise to Abraham that he would have many descendants. Even though Abraham and Sarah were old and childless, God fulfilled his promise by giving them Isaac. God’s promises are dependable even when they seem impossible to human logic, and they sometimes require faith and patience to await their fulfilment.

A well-known example of someone who tested God’s faithfulness is George Muller. He ran orphanages in 19^th century England. He never made known the needs of the orphanages nor asked for financial support from anyone. Instead, he wanted to test God’s faithfulness and show the sceptical world that God is real and will provide for all the needs of the orphans. Time and again, he trusted God’s promises and prayed, and the financial and food needs of the orphanages were met through unexpected means. This shows that God’s promises are “Yes” in Christ even in this day and age.

Confidence in times of doubt and difficulties

Knowing that God’s promises are “Yes” in Christ should fill us with confidence. In times of doubt or struggle, we can lean on His promises and find strength. For example, in moments of anxiety and fear, we can recall the promise that we read in Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” and let it bring us peace. Or we can recall God’s promise in Philippians 4:6,7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. We believe these promises and we bring them to God in prayer and end with a firm “Amen”, which means “let it be so”. When we experience the fulfilment of the promises we pray over, we can boldly and happily share our stories with others and so glorify our Father in heaven.

Wide-ranging implication

The implication is that all the promises from the lips of our dear Master about prayer, the Holy Spirit, the abundant life, his coming again, our resurrection from the dead, the end of this age, our eternal home in the new heaven and new earth will be fulfilled because God has already proven that he always keeps his promises. What a great bonus it is that by believing God’s promises we can experience the fulness of all that God has for us. We can grow in faith, hope and love and join God in his fulfilling mission. No matter what trials, difficulties and challenges life throws at us we can rely on the God whose promises to us are “Yes” in Christ. To this, we shout and glorify God from the rooftops with a loud “Amen!!”