Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
In the last service of January, Pastor Melinda focused on Psalm 90, emphasizing the contrast between the eternal God and transient man, and the brokenness of the world due to sin. The psalm also highlights the mercy of God and the blessing of a relationship with Him. Moses’ prayer for God to change the times of their lives is transformed into a promise through Jesus.
One of the key causes of disharmony in our soul is a guilty conscience. We need to acknowledge that in spite of our own good intentions, we will still do things that are wrong and a sense of guilt comes upon us.
Today we shall be using this passage as a launching pad to look into the metaphor of light and darkness in the Bible.
As I reflect upon the kind of church God wants Tabernacle of Praise to be, I have come to realise that the kind of church that TOP becomes is inextricably tied to the kind of people we all are as members of TOP.
Through the years it is a joy to see familiar faces in church. At the same time, it is very sad to find that there are those who are no longer with us for a number of reasons. But one of the saddest stories to hear is of believers who have just left the church altogether or may not even be worshipping God anymore.
You may be trying to live right, do right, and obey the Scriptures and there have not been any evident blessings or rewards. It may even result in grief and heartache.
When we are exhorted to grow in holiness, often there is a sense that we think holiness is unnatural and beyond us. The reason for this is that we often misunderstand what holiness means and we often do not desire holiness to the same extent that we desire love because of such a misconception.
This Sunday morning even as we have partaken of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of him it is timely that we bring into focus the following question, “What is the one thing that God desires of us, with which God will be well pleased?
This Sunday morning, as we reflect a bit more deeply into life, we may be able to perceive that beyond all the myriad choices in life and the many decisions that we make daily, all these choices and decisions can fall neatly into two paths.
Peace is not about the absence of war, peace is more than a word, and peace is more than a feeling. It is possible to be in the calmest of situations, and yet there is no peace inside of us. In contrast, it is also possible to be in a situation of great chaos, yet we can still experience in our hearts and peace in our minds.
Then shall we see God! What does it actually mean? In this present world, it will refer to our subjective experience of the presence of God in our lives.
My friend, every genuine child of God wants to get up out of the dirt. That is the reason we are given a desire to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him — that we may get up out of the mire of life. We have been set free to “fight the good fight” (2 Tim 4:7) and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1).
Termites can destroy a house or even a tree one little bite at a time. It may go undetected for years and yet do irreparable damage. Even if the termites are exterminated, it is always a great loss and great cost.
Today is Pentecost, the day on which God fulfilled His promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the church was born. Today, we celebrate that God has not abandoned us, but continues to be with us by His Holy Spirit
Today is Father’s Day, a special day when we want to remember our fathers and celebrate fatherhood as a gift of God. Even as we remember our earthly fathers we need to acknowledge that the idea of fatherhood is drawn at its source from our perception of God as our heavenly Father.
Today, the Sunday before Easter, is known as Palm Sunday because in John 12:13 we read that the people broke palm branches from the trees and lined the streets in front of Jesus Christ, welcoming Him as He made His triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem.
We are indeed going through difficult and uncertain times. Unprecedented times. And a lot of us may be wondering what the future holds. What the future few weeks will be like. What will happen and actually what will be the settlement for this virus crisis and the economic crisis that is coming on.
I believe everywhere you go these few days, everyone of us will be confronted with dialogues and conversations about the current political tension. We have all had a challenging week with the political uncertainty that is enveloping the country. Times have been hard but in this past week, we sense that times have become even harder, in a time of the economic downturn. Uncertainties have suddenly become the order of the day, as we do not know what to expect.
Evangelism must begin from the church. The church must first and foremost have that loving relationship and to care for one another. Only then can the church love beyond its wall and share the gospel effectively.
I want to stress that while we are living in two worlds, there is only one destination. Like Joseph, let us not murmur and complain each time we feel life has not been fair towards us, but realise that WHATEVER circumstances we are in, we can glorify him with our decisions and actions. We can make a difference.
How do you react when your eyes are opened to you sin? Do you hide in fear? Do you become defensive and blame someone else? In your moments of agony over sin, you have a God who will deal with you in truth and compassion, and who offers you his perfect covering. You can come to him in repentance instead of hiding from him. You can ask him to work his glory and victory over your shame. You can ask for his covering of grace.
We are not perfect including me. We will have that tinge of religious holiness but we need to grow to spiritual holiness that makes people comfortable. How do you know, you ask me. He is a man without sin yet tax collectors feels comfortable with him, wayward women too and he’s even been called friends of sinners.
Which is why Grounding is important. Because you will ask questions (rather, have questions about your faith, about what you’re really believing in). If you don’t, others will ask you the questions. And that’s why we need to have Accountability. We need to stay uncomfortable.
Did Jesus hang out with sinners and tax collectors? Should Christians hang out with ungodly friends? What’s up with Jesus hanging with the sinners? Why would Jesus hang out with sinners if Christians should not?
Why does pain happen? Have you ever wondered how nice it would be if there was no hurt, no suffering and no PAIN in this world? I am sure you have, at one juncture or another. Why do certain people have no food to eat? Why do some people have to beg on the streets?
But this morning I want us to look at what kind of a leader Jesus was. Everywhere he went, people followed after him. Why? Yes, he performed many miracles, he was there for the needy, he told stories and he spoke with authority, yet he came as a humble servant.
But I want to look at God’s word not from a theological aspect but from the perspective of our Christian walk on a daily basis. I want to look not so much at you having the word of God but does the Word of God have you? What do I mean by that?
We are to be a light that shines in the world. We should shine before men. How do we shine? By the good deeds that we do. When we do good deeds in the name of Jesus Christ the glory goes to God. The glorifying of God is affirmed through the good deeds that we do.
God invites everyone, you and me, just as we are, but God expects us to put on new clothes to enter the kingdom. It may be a “Come as you Are” party, but once we arrive, we don’t “Stay As We Are.”
Our self-worth is too often based on what other people tell us about ourselves. The one, true authority on our self-worth is Jesus Christ, and since He gave His own life up for us by dying on a cross, that should tell us just how valuable we really are.
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