Why is the death of Christ a big deal?

Before we answer this question, let's put things into perspective here. For me it is important to know - Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going from here? until I find answers to these basic questions, all that Jesus did for me makes no sense at all.

It is only when I begin to understand that I am a child of God and I am here to do His will until the day I go to be with Him, can I admit that What Jesus did makes sense to me. At the same time, if God had planned this world the way we see it today then why should He have to continue to fight till the last enemy is put to death (1 Cor 15:25-26)?

Obviously the perfect plan of God was intercepted by Satan while man partnered with Satan to destroy the Holy plan of God. You can be forgiven if you asked, 'why didn't God stop man from collaborating with Satan in the first place? and the simple answer would be that it was dependent on man's use of free will. I am sure when God gave man the ability to choose and have a free will, he waited in a hope that man would exercise his free will for a good cause. He hoped that man would choose to work with God's plan rather than Satan's. But man chose to follow the lies of Satan and the wages of sin now has become death (Rom 6:23). The word 'wages' is often associated with labor or laborious. But the second part of the same verse says that the 'free gift' of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. The wages as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience is Sin. This is a total separation from God. On the other hand, whenever I received a gift from someone it is usually one that I need not have to pay them back. We don't have to pay back for a gift we received, a gift is always given free ly, meaning without requiring our effort or labor. God's yoke is light and easy but the world's yoke is heavy and burdensome. Thus 'sin has spread to all men' (Rom 5:12). Furthermore, man's sin did not stop with man, it was to the entire creation, everything that God had created is subjected to sin (Rom 8:19-21)

So, is Christ's death a big deal? It can be a big deal if you have been captured by His love. Christ's death defeated the last enemy death and so your death cannot separate you from the love of Christ (Rom 8:38-39).
A believer's death is not the same as non-believer. Billy Graham (1987), in his book, 'Death and life after' (Word Publishing) gives a nice example of what death really means to a christian, 'Dr. Donald Barnhouse was one of America's great preachers. His wife died from cancer when she was in her thirties, leaving three children under the age of twelve. Barnhouse chose to preach the funeral sermon himself. What does a father tell his motherless children at a time like that?

On his way to the service, he was driving with the little family when a large truck passed them on the highway,casting a shadow over the car. Barnhouse turned to the oldest daughter who was staring disconsolately out the window, and asked, "Tell me, sweetheart, would you rather be run over by that truck or its shadow?". The little girl looked curiously at her father and said, "By the shadow, I guess. It can't hurt you.". Dr. Barnhouse said quietly to the three children, " Your mother has not been overrun by death, but by the shadow of death. That is nothing to fear." (Graham,1987.pp.61)

Nevertheless, temptations, trials, sicknesses, suffering comes to all no matter who we, Christians or otherwise (I Cor 10:13). What an assurance we have in the victory Jesus Christ on Calvary, this is far greater than our minds can fathom. Atheist claim that heaven and hell don't exist, death is not real and all these are mere Christian inventions, we who believe in Jesus Christ claim that all what Atheist believe as false because the truth was revealed by Jesus Christ Himself. What a tragedy it would be if after all you come to know that there is a real heaven and a real earth after you have died, can you change you mind then? Perhaps it would be too late.

There are seven key indicators to prove that Jesus Christ's death is a real deal?

1. He died as a suffering servant (Is 53:3-5)
2. He was an obedient servant (Phil 2:7-8)
3. He made a sacrificial offering (Heb 13:12)
4. He was the one who please the Father to win you over (Mark 15:34)
5. His death was one that paid off the sin debt that was on our head (Rom 5:8, 2 Cor 5:19)
6. He is the one who redeemed you and was paid as ransom to free us (Mark 10:45)
7. He is the one who won the victory by defeating the last enemy death (Eph 6:12, Col 2:15)

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, what an awesome plan you had to free mankind from depravity. We have had some many opportunities to know and accept your son Jesus Christ, but we depended on man's wisdom (1 Cor 2:5), We did not claim the merit of the cross like Peter who simply did not want to accept the death of Jesus (Matt 16:21-22). We have pretended as if death does not exist until in some cases we ourselves have had close brush with death. Transform us the way you did your apostles. Help us to believe and receive your Son, Jesus Christ today (John 1:12) for everlasting life comes only through Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11-13).Yes! your death is a big deal for me. Amen.

Holy Week

As I prepared to give a message last Friday, I sensed a strong urge by the Spirit of God to speak a few minutes about the Holy week.
Here is what I shared to the congregation:
How about doing something very unique this coming week!
- When you watch your favorite TV show or movies, how about inviting Jesus to sit besides you and watch it.
- When you have that long chat with someone else on the phone, why not engage Jesus in the conversation?
- When you are doing the usual chores around the house, why not allow him to watch you?
- When you are at work, how about finding him a seat so that He can sit besides you and watch what you are doing?

Will he approve what you watch on the TV, what you speak about others over the phone, the discipline by which you get the work done around you house and how wisely you use your time at work?
If you think He would approve then you are walking in the presence of God. Why not extend this over the weeks and give Jesus a chance to change us. Give Him a chance this coming week and see! your life will never be the same again.

God bless you!
Chris

What are you still waiting for?

Journal:

Summary of John 12:42-43
Nevertheless,many of us believed in him, but for fear of our religious leaders we did not confess it, so that we would not be put out of our existing belief systems; for we loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

Our way or God’s Way?

When you switch on your TV or Radio to listen to the news channel, it is depressingly sad news everyday. Wouldn’t you agree? Stories of war and violence, drugs and alcohol, disease and sickness, confusion, depression, cults, deception and the list goes on and on. In spite of all these bad news, God works through these problems because He is still in control. When we diligently seek His face everyday, He is close to you in your daily challenges.

Numbers 13

When we read about great men of God or hear about the testimonies of God’s people. It does not show us the greatness of those people rather it shows how great their God really is. As we read this message, we see how God works through His people to accomplish His task. Furthermore, when God chooses to use us it is an indication of God reaching out to mankind because of his grace. He is merciful and we are undeserving participant in his master plan. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:10).God is working through our problems to make a way for us.


People of Israel now at the border of the river Jordan are due to leave a place called Paran (Numbers 13:3) to take possession of the promised land of Canaan. Paran is located near Mecca in Arabia and it is where Abraham took Hagar as his wife to whom Ishmael was born. The Lord commands Moses to select 12 leaders, one from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The 12 were asked to go and survey the country of Canaan and bring a report to Moses and their people. They return after surveying the land and report that the Canaan was flowing with milk and honey, there were fortified cities and people were built like giants. Ironically, 10 out of the 12 leaders were afraid of the big burly men of Canaan, they were too frightened to possess the land which the Lord has promised Abraham, only Caleb and Joshua saw things differently. As the 10 were giving a pessimistic view of their chance to possess the promised land, Caleb and Joshua were optimistic about capturing Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Numbers 13:30)

All the 12 leaders saw the same truth that is ‘their people were powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. They even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak’ (Numbers 13:28). It depends on whose perspective they saw the problem? If they saw like Caleb and Joshua from God’s perspective, then even the impossible will be made possible. However, if they saw from man’s point of view then the promise of God seemed too distant. The problems will continue to be problems if God is not part of the equation.

In spite of seeing all the miracles God performed in Egypt, the leaders did not trust God. When God said He would give them the Promised Land, the 10 were saying it is not possible. They were implying that God was a liar. They did not believe God is strong enough to fight the Canaanites to fulfill his promise. Often times it is the minority group who will trust God to see the way God sees things. The truth is that God’s words will always produce fruits; He will accomplish what he wants (Isa 55:11). The influence of the architect of lies – Satan, becomes very evident in our lives when we lie about God. It was Satan who tricked Adam and Eve to disobey God. Cain became angry and killed his brother Abel because Cain chose to come to God on his own terms not on God’s terms. People during the time of Noah refused to believe in God’s words but chose to live the way they wanted and then faced God’s retributions. The unbelief and idol worship of the Egyptians continued even after God had shown His mighty power in releasing Israelites from Pharaoh. This is because Satan who is ‘the god of this age has blinded the minds of many (2 Cor 4:4)

About this time before Israelites entered the Promised Land they were about 120,000 in number. They all complained to Moses and Aaron about the supposedly good life they had in Egypt. Israelites were ungrateful to God. They had no trust in God’s promise in fact they are implying that God is a liar, in capable of fulfilling what He said. (Numbers 14:1-4). We too tend to become like this when our dreams are not fulfilled and when we want everything our way rather than waiting upon the Lord. Our plans ought to be on God’s timetable rather than ours.

God had to deal with a whining and ungrateful generation, let’s see how God deals with Israelites when we meet next time….

Born Again

Born Again

One of the most annoying questions I got asked as a catholic by those one-on-one evangelists at shopping malls or parks was, “Brother, are you born again?”. Instead of going on a lengthy debate, my answer would often be, ‘yes, I am born again’ but not knowing what it would really take to be born again. I also thought it was a good answer at that time to avoid getting any further invitations to their churches and I tried to fend off this question for many years until the Lord convicted me directly. Let us explore more on this topic. It is my honest endeavor to chalk out the fear most catholics have when being faced with this question.

Jesus asked a direct question to Nicodemus in John 3:12, ‘If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? while another version renders the same verse like this - “If I tell you things that are plain as the hand before your face and you don't believe me, what use is there in telling you of things you can't see, the things of God?” (msg)

Before we try to understand this verse, let us bring some context into this topic. Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, who was a pharisee, a teacher of the law, ruler of Israel and a member of the Sanhedrin. In my research on the structure of the Jewish religious schools in those days, it is said that there were four schools of law in the Jewish tradition:

• Teachers of children
• Teachers in the synagogues
• Teachers in divinity schools , Apostle Paul would have graduated from one of these schools.
• Teachers of the nation of Israel (Sanhedrin), the highest level of doctors and teachers attained this status such as Nicodemus.

Furthermore, Nicodemus appears only three times in the Gospels,

• To listen to Jesus' teaching (John 3:1-21)
• During Jesus' arrest (John 7:45-51)
• During the Burial (John 19:39-42)
  

As few as it may seem but his first encounter with Jesus as it is written in the scriptures would have been very profound. The question of ‘how to be born again?’ would have been wringing his mind over and over again but even more disturbing thought would have been this statement from Jesus, ‘unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God’ (John 3:3). In addition to this Jesus clarifies further on this topic of born again by saying, ‘no one enters the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit’ (John 3:5).

Now before going any further, I would like to make two observations about the two verses we have seen in the gospel of John (3:3 & 5). A person who is born again does not only ‘see’ but he or she can also ‘enter’ the Kingdom of God. When I apply this context into my own life, I am certain Jesus wants me to grow in maturity in my walk with God. I want to both see and enter God’s Kingdom and now I realise when I pray the Lord’s prayer ‘thy Kingdom come’, it would mean more to me when I ‘do his will’ that is to be born again.

If you look closely at the dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus more importantly from Nicodemus’s perspective. It would seem that Nicodemus, the teacher of the law and a rabbi would have known about the ‘new spirit’ (Ezek 11:19-20). However, knowing about the ‘new spirit’ to Nicodemus was not enough it seems so he wanted answers to ‘how’ to see and enter the Kingdom of God. Perhaps Jesus was answering a wrong question here but the reality is, Jesus was asking Nicodemus to be more open to things than mere tradition.

Did Nicodemus who was immersed in tradition find answers to his questions? Let’s move further on and see how God will put His new Spirit in us so that we can be born again, but did Nicodemus know about this? Perhaps as a rabbi, he would have known prophet Ezekiel’s words in chapter 37:9-14, ‘God will bring to life the dead, dry bones.’ What this means to us is that God will cause our dead spirit to become anew to love, to find peace, be joyful and to live in the hope to become alive when the spirit resurrects us from our sinful life in our baptism.

You may be wondering why is it important to be born of water and Spirit? Well the scripture says that water is the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26), being washed by water our focus of worship changes (Ezekiel 36:25-27) and water cleanses our evil conscience (Hebrews 10:22). Furthermore, Spirit of God helps you to effectively use the gifts of God for His glory (Acts 2:38) and finally only soul & Spirit can onlt inherit heaven.

Lessons learned:

• Even though Nicodemus was of high social standing, when he came to Jesus his basic need was revealed – ‘be born again’
• When you give heed to Jesus’ teaching, firstly you become his follower like Nicodemus, secondly, you stand-up for him even passively at times (John 7:45-51) and finally at other times more actively persuing Him until His death and beyond (John 19:39-42).
• Tradition and /beliefs may teach about the ‘new spirit’ but how to be born again and how to be dead to the old spirit and become alive to the new spirit only comes by doing the will of God that is to be born of water and Spirit.
• Nicodemus would have taught well, attended synagogues services regularly, kept the laws, followed all his religious beliefs with zeal but he was still spiritually dead as far as Jesus was concerned.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we’ve come to see you even by trying to avoid traditionalism and belief systems. Some questions have been bothering us but we know it is only you who have answers to our questions. Our intellect, our standing in our society, our educational background or even our position or power we’ve attained may mean nothing if we fail to do your will, i.e. to be born again. Thank you for teaching us through the scriptures how you will enable us to be born again. Help us to trace our way back to you and to be in agreement with your words. This we ask in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Belief is Jesus Christ is the real deal!

At our night vigil prayers we had a lively discussions with our fellow brothers about the way God had been working in our lives to reveal His presence in our lives. The discussion culminated with a reflection on our belief in Jesus Christ.

We meditated on these four verses from the Gospel of John regarding 'Belief' in Lord Jesus Christ.

• John 3:16

The most commonly quoted verse from the Bible is John 3:16,' for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life', If we look deeper into this verse a striking truth about the nature of God is revealed.

- God's invitation is to the whole world, it does not matter if you are a Christian or not, it does not matter if you have anything to do with christian faith or any faith. All it matters to God is that you are invited to either accept His love for you or reject it. He hopes that you will make a wise decision.

- The prerequisite to have eternal life or everlasting life with God is "belief" in Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with anything we do but a sincere belief in Jesus Christ. This belief is not an effort based task, it is the willingness to agree with God. Belief is not laborious but a change of our position with God by realigning our priorities. There are two type of religious groups in this world, one is the group that strives to do something to please God. Let's call them a "doing" religion and the other group the 'done' religion. Therefore, this verse tells us clearly that to have everlasting life, God is not expecting us to please Him with things we do such as fasting, praying, going to church and many other religious tasks. These religious tasks are good in it self so that we condition ourselves to be close to God but these are not the prerogative to have eternal life. So what should we do to have eternal life? It is simply by believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. This He did by defeating the power of Satan and Sin and making a way for us sinners to come into a relationship with God.

• John 3:36

Many christian families whom I've closely studied over the years tend to carry what I call as the 'generational curse', they may be devoted Christians believers but they may carry a curse of lack of peace, years of finance struggles, difficult marriage relationships and many other such curses over many generations. These people may know about eternal life but they may not see eternal life. Knowing is one thing, seeing is another thing and experiencing is yet another thing. Believing in Jesus Christ not only allows us to see eternal life but the wrath of God will be removed, the generational curses will be removed and we will be continually sanctified because we believe in Jesus Christ.

• John 6:35

The water that the Samaritan woman wanted was the one that will not make her thirsty again. We are constantly thirsty for the things of this world. Thirsty for fame, thirsty for power and thirsty for pleasure like the Samaritan woman, who was living with five husbands. The water that we consume today will only fulfill our worldly desires. Jesus promised us that the water which He will give will quench the desires of flesh. It is in believing in the words of Jesus Christ which is the symbol of divine water one can have eternal life. When we hear and believe the words of Jesus, the words become a spring of living water that will sustain us up to eternal life (John 4:10,14)

• John 6:40

It is also in believing in Jesus christ we will be lifted up on the last day. We will resurrect with our Lord. Believing in Jesus Christ will take you into a full circle of hope. He gives you an unbiased invitation to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, the wrath of God will not remain in you and spring of living water will ebb from within until the day you will resurrect with the Lord to glory.

If you are still not sure of your position with God, then recite this small prayer and find yourself in a good Bible believing church group. This will be your first step towards eternal life.

Prayer:
Dear God, I understand that my belief in Jesus Christ is the only way for me to have eternal life. I have tried in vain many other ways but today I am willing to obey your words and believe in Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. I know you won't disappoint me, please take me as I am Lord in Jesus' holy name.
Amen

Worship - Part#3

Worship in our churches:

Joy becomes the core of a believer's heart and sorrow at the periphery, but in a non-believer's heart sorrow is the center of his being and joy is at the outer edge. What you are today depends on where you place the very thing that gives joy,peace and happiness. The more we embrace joy at the center of our being, the more we see even our enemies with a good heart. A sense of certainty and life begins to show-up in our otherwise mundane circumstances.

Today with an increase in worship which looks more like the pop concerts, we tend to forget that we are putting ourselves in the limelight. Worship has given a different meaning to our younger generation. It is very timely that Malachi, the last Prophet in the old testament reminds us of God's dissatisfaction by the way we worship Him.

Let us ask ourselves if we show the following four elements in our worship services today. If not, let us correct and change our perspectives.

1. God says,'I have loved you', but we ask 'How have you loved me Lord?' (Malachi 1:1-2a).
Love is an expression of one's emotion and today it seems as if it is out of trend when one shows their emotions during the worship services.Our worship lacks emotions.

2.We confess in our lips that God is our Father and Master, but where is the honor and reverence that is due to the Father and Master (Malachi 1:6). The reverence that we show when we worship through kneeling and waiting upon the Lord in patience is too seldom in our worship services today. We have become too sophisticated, we would rather make our worship more interesting for the worshiper than honoring and showing reverence to the Person of our Worship - God.

3. We come to worship with no sacrifice in mind that is submitting all our nature unto God. Granted God does not need the blood of lamb anymore in our Worship (Malachi 1:8) but we bring ourselves as a living sacrifice to worship. We carry the church within us, however we bring ourselves as if we are useless, dead, lame and sick sacrifices. We tend to add worship element in addition to our chores or entertainment. How often we hear people say that they have to rush to a function, shopping or a birthday party immediately after the worship services. God demands a God plus nothing notion but we say it should be God plus something. coming to God in obedience, fully trusting Him and agreeing with Him is better than Sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22)

4. Finally, God yearns to see us come to Him with a pure heart (Malachi 1:10). Those with a pure heart shall see God (Matt 1:8), impurity cannot mingle with purity, unholiness cannot partake with Holiness. We have become callous in a worship routine so much so that we cut out God's guidance and leading in a worship service. We want to create a feeling of sensationalism and feeling of satisfaction to ourselves rather than doing everything by His divine guidance. The purity of heart God expects of us has been marred with a need to satisfy the appetite of the worshiper's feelings, hence our worship becomes our way and not His way.(Heb 10:1-10)

As we look back on the three parts of this message on Worship, generations may come and go. way of life and way of thinking may change with times but the God's requirements when we come to worship Him has never changed. He will go to any extent to redeem us and make us his own people. God moves in our families to redeem us (Hosea's family), rescues nations to a covenant relationship (Ref Ezek 16) and demands His way when we come to worship him in our churches (Malachi 1)


Prayer:
Lord, we tend to think we've got it right with you in our own understanding, but today you have shown that it only takes very little from us to move so far away from your ways. We feel distant from you because of our rebellious and proud way of thinking. We have become too dependent on ourselves and we without knowing elevate ourselves ahead of you. Thank you for correcting us and helping us to realign our priorities with you. May we never forget that we are the temple of God and God dwells in us. Instead of going to places to worship You , we want to carry You in us as we worship You with the others. This we ask in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.