One Thing -- A Matter of Priority

"But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” -- Luke 10:40-42

Fast forward to our present time, as with Martha, we may be distracted from laying down what we are doing to be with Jesus Christ, our LORD and KING.

While what we are doing may be important, I would infer that our priority may at times be out of alignment with Jesus' priority. This is the Son of God who spent time regularly communing with His Father while going about doing His Father's business on this earth with a clear sense of purpose, determination, discipline, direction, dedication and devotion.

We cannot afford to be so busy that we have no time to spend in the presence of Jesus who is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We need to catch hold of this revelation:-

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!" -- Psalm 46:10

God is still God whether we take heed or not. But, if we retreat from our distraction and rest our soul, we will know that God is with us for real and He is more majestic and glorious than what we can ever think or envision. 

And, yes, God is certain that He will be exalted among all people and throughout the earth; every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is LORD!

It is time for us to draw near to Jesus daily and eat of His Words (spiritual bread and water) which are life and spirit. 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." -- Matthew 11:28 

Let's take heed and make it a priority to accept God's Invitation To An Abundant Life as outlined in Isaiah 55:

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, 

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear, and come to Me.

Hear, and your soul shall live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—

The sure mercies of David.

Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people,

A leader and commander for the people.

Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,

And nations who do not know you shall run to you,

Because of the Lord your God,

And the Holy One of Israel;

For He has glorified you.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,

And do not return there,

But water the earth,

And make it bring forth and bud,

That it may give seed to the sower

And bread to the eater,

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void,

But it shall accomplish what I please,

And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

“For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills

Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,

And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;

And it shall be to the Lord for a name,

For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

It is well and good for us to come to Jesus and be blessed. When we come to Him, Jesus will speak His specific words for us which we could learn to well recognise like a sheep knowing the shepherd's voice. 

To the rich young man who had kept the commandments, Jesus had this to say to him:

"Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” " -- Mark 10:21 

God has no problem with us having wealth (look at Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), but we have a problem when we are possessed by our possessions. As explained by Jesus in Mark 10:23-31, it is hard for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God and the reason is that they tend to place their trust in riches (rather than God). 

But, with God, all things are possible. This means that with God, we can learn to trust Him and still be able to handle riches with proper stewardship; godliness with riches without losing our consecration. It is, after all, the love of money that is the root of all evil and not money, in and of itself.

May we soldier on to make our time with God (Quiet Time, church service, prayer meeting, etc) a top priority. We may then partake of King David's pursuit of God and godliness:

"One thing I have desired of the Lord,

That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord,

And to inquire in His temple." -- Psalm 27:4

Note: All Scriptures shown here are from the NKJV version.

God Helps Those Who Can't Help Themselves

'God help those who help themselves' is a mistaken theology which many an earnest Christian subscribes to. It sounds so right, but it is actually of this world and not Scriptural. Truth be told, God helps those who can't help themselves. 

When we face an impossible situation, we could try whatever is humanly possible without even seeking God's help and remain stubborn that we need to do 'something' to save ourselves by the skin of our teeth. For sure, if we can brush our teeth, then we can do it on our own without seeking God. But, if we are unable to brush our teeth, then surely we need God's help rather than struggle or strive on with our carnal wisdom.

Naaman was a powerful man of great stature. He was "commander of the army of the king of Syria" (2 Kings 5:1), but he could not rid himself of leprosy. His saving grace was the divine connection he had through his servant girl who let on there was a prophet in Israel who could help. 

When Naaman came (by faith) with his horses and chariot (think of a Rolls Royce in modern-speak) to the house of Elisha the prophet, he was expecting an audience with the prophet in person. However, he was met by a messenger who conveyed Elisha's instruction to "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” (2 Kings 5:10b)

Naaman flew into a rage as his exacting expectations were not carried out in that the prophet neither met him nor invoked the name of LORD to heal him instantly. Moreover, he reasoned that there were other rivers with better water than the Jordan. Thankfully, his servants persuaded him to obey the prophet's instructions. "So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean." (2 Kings 5:14)

When we are at our wits' end, we learn to be still and know that God is God. God helps those who can't help themselves; if Naaman could help himself, he would not have needed God's help.

Even a person who has a decent livelihood or much wealth would not be able to help himself or herself due to an incurable sickness. Consider the woman with the issue of blood. "Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped." (Luke 8:43, 44) 

The doctors couldn't cure her and she no longer had the means to pay for further medical treatment. Even if she could, there was no guarantee that they would be able to cure her. Only God could help. She recognised this and reached out (by faith) to touch the hem of His garment.

Jesus said to her,  “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:48b) There is a clear distinction between being unable to help ourselves and being able to help ourselves, and we need to humbly recognise that when we are weak, God's strength is perfected in us. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

In the case of the boy with the mute spirit, his father was desperate for Jesus to intervene. "Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23, 24) Jesus cast out the deaf and mute spirit, and the boy was restored.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life; His Words are spirit and life. And, He has the power of the Holy Spirit within Him. We need the Word of God and His Holy Spirit to overcome our impossible situation. It is God who has the power to help us when we can't help ourselves. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to us. Linger in His Presence and let Him show Himself strong on our behalf. We need Him more, more than yesterday. Be blessed in Jesus' Name!

Daily Devotional -- God is Our Sun and Shield

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts,

Blessed is the man who trusts in You!" -- Psalms 84:11,12 (NKJV)

God is light and He is brighter than the sun. The sun, as we know it, lights up the earth that we live in. The sun never sleeps, as with God, in that it is ever shining even when we rotate on our axis and turn our backs to him. Moreover, the sun, among other things, gives energy and allows for photosynthesis to take place. 

To digress, as gleaned from TheFreeDictionary.com, during photosynthesis:

"A. sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll in a leaf

 B. carbon dioxide is taken in from the air

 C. water is transported from the roots

 D. glucose is synthesized and distributed throughout the plant

 E. oxygen is released"

The sun is already awesome -- how much more awesome by far is our God who created the sun!!

I would also add the sun is highly noticeable and we have enjoyed the uplift of bright sunny days. Yet, we may at times forget to give thanks for the sun and take it for granted. Or, we may even wanna shun the sun which could eradicate the fungi or mold infecting our garment.

In Genesis 15:1, "... the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”" 

Just ponder and forget your seaside villa, Bombadier jet plane, Bugatti Veyron or Patek Phillipe Henry Graves Supercomplication which are but a speck in comparison to divine fellowship with God Himself.

Consider this sampling of the Psalmist's testimonies:

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2 (NKJV)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him." Psalm 28:7 (NKJV)

Speaking of giving, we can never out-give God -- He had already given us His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And, God is a giver of good things. Reflect deeply how significant it is for God to give us grace (mercy) and glory (honour) to those who walk uprightly.

God is the LORD of hosts. According to gotquestions.org, "The word LORD, capitalized, refers to Yahweh, the self-existent, redemptive God. The word hosts is a translation of the Hebrew word sabaoth, meaning “armies”—a reference to the angelic armies of heaven. Thus, another way of saying “LORD of hosts” is “God of the armies of heaven.” "

Indeed, how blessed is the man or woman who trusts in the LORD of hosts. After all, when all is said and done, we enter the realm of eternity with God. With wisdom, we might as well start living in the knowledge of the backing of the LORD of hosts while on earth, walk uprightly and start rehearsing for the life we are meant to live.

Living The Dream (Broken Crayon Still Colour) by Bishop Dale Bronner

The following is a sketchy recollection, with adaptation, of LIVING THE DREAM as preached by Bishop Dale Bronner at City Harvest Church on 25 June 2016 for your refreshing.

"Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!” Genesis 37:9 (NLT)

The sun, moon and stars are all sources of light (and in the context of this verse they connote Joseph's parents and his eleven brothers). Even before the sun, moon and stars were created on the fourth day, light already existed for God Himself is the true source of all lights. God called light into existence on earth on the very first day. "Then God said, "Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:3 (NKJV)

The Word of God gives us light for our path. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 (NKJV) 

You dream in living colours. Interestingly, a spectrum of light consists of seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (ROYGBIV).

A dream is caught (not taught). When an idea or Word comes from God, we gotta pay attention and register it in our being. Moses took notice of the burning bush. Samuel heeded the Voice of God when he was just a boy. 

A dream is carried. Just as in pregnancy, there is a gestation period; your dream needs time to grow. You don't become successful overnight. That so-called overnight success is a result of hours and possibly years preparation. 

Don't skip (or despise) the carrying stage of your dream before it can be conveyed or delivered. Joseph kept his dream alive even when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. 

A dream is conveyed. The blessing of God is carried before it can be realised. It depends on your capacity to carry. If the blessing of God poured on you is all 3 litres and your capacity is 1 litre, you will retain that amount which you can carry. The problem is fixed in size, but you have the capacity to grow. Have a growth mindset; not a fixed mindset. You can improve with effort.

Dream preplays our future. Memory replays our past. Don't just live on memories and wake up to a nightmare. Live your dream regardless of your age. Catch a new dream. You are only as old as your last dream.

Preparation is the key to make your dream a reality. It's the idea that starts the money and not the other way round. Money follow vision. Tell it well to sell it well. You always sell from your heart. Tell it in such a way that prospects could see that you believe in the dream that you are articulating and be moved to support your dream.

Dreams are the substance of all achievements. God's answer to every problem is a person. That person is one who is at the right place at the right time doing the right thing.

Step out in faith and stand on the Word of God. The faith is worthless without the faithfulness to stick it out! "But Jesus quickly spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then command me to come to you on the water.”  Jesus said, “Come.” And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus." Matthew 14:27-29 (NCV) 

Hope is the blueprint (big picture of your dream) and faith is the building materials. People may steal your building materials, but you can replenish them. Don't let anyone steal your blueprint; guard it well.

There are three types of dreamers:

1. Those who wish for it.

2. Those who wait for it.

3. Those who work for it.

Has God asked us to do anything that was easy?

God brought life out of frustrated womb. Consider Sarah giving birth to Isaac, Hannah giving birth to Samuel and Elizabeth giving birth to John the Baptist. These were miraculous births made possible by the spoken Word of God. Don't let your dreams frustrate you; hold on to your hope.

The Word of God came in a vision to Abraham and proclaim that God is his shield, his exceedingly great reward. "And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:4-6 (NKJV)

According to scientists, there are about 10 sextillion stars and 5 sextillion grain of sands. God showed Abraham the full magnitude of his promised son in the heavens as well as down here on earth.

Faith is the vision of God. You show what you are waiting on by what you are working on. Dream requires risk; risk requires faith; faith requires the Word of God; and the Word requires your undivided attention. Dream in living vivid colours; the clearer the dream the better so that your whole being can align with it. Your mind cannot differentiate between a dream and reality. When we are asleep, the unfolding events in a nightmare is as if they are real to our brain.   

Bishop Bronner drew two revelations from his granddaughter's broken crayon. Firstly, you got nothing to share unless you have been broken. Secondly, there is still as much efficacy in a broken crayon; broken crayon still colour. 

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our life of faith. Let's keep our hope, our dream alive in vivid colours. It may have been broken along the way, but broken crayon still colour the same. Keep standing on the promises of God and work with Him as you keep pursuing your dream.

[Feel free to check out The Ink Room, if you are interested to purchase a CD copy of this sermon.] 

Thank You For The Cross

Today is Boxing Day where we open our Christmas presents, but I suspect many of us would have opened up our presents ahead of time in this present time and age unlike in the past.

This year I received the following Prayer Cross from my immediate superior and it is a perfect visible reminder for me to look at the Cross where Jesus' blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins and where His body bore 39 stripes for each of the 39 main classification of sicknesses so that "by His stripes we are healed". 

Inspired by the Cross, the following lyrics on the power of the Cross is for your contemplation so that you may find rest and fellowship with God as you meditate on what Christ Jesus had accomplished through His death and resurrection.

Thank You The Cross
By Mark Altrogge

Thank You for the cross
The mighty cross
That God Himself should die
For such as us
And everyday we’re changed
Into Your image
More and more
Yes by the cross
We’ve truly been transformed

And we’re so amazed
And we give You praise
That You would save us
At such a cost
We’re so amazed
And we give You praise
For the power of the cross
For the power of the cross

Consider the Word of God

The following is an adaptation on selected highlights of Rev Dr Kong Hee's preaching on Faith, Trust & Rest (Part 1) in City Harvest Church on 7 November 2015 for your edification. 

For the full sermon, please surf to The Ink Room http://www.theinkroom.com.sg/ 

"Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." Romans 4:16-21 (NKJV)

By grace and through faith, and by believing with full conviction on the promises, we shall surely obtained God's promises for us. Many of us missed out on the promises of God due to unbelief. Not so with Abraham, who did not consider his old body, but kept believing the God will indeed make him a father of many nations. As with God, he calls those things which do not exist as though they did.

Here then is an important principle: 

WHATEVER WE CONSIDER, OUR HEART WILL BECOME OPEN TO; WHATEVER WE DON'T CONSIDER, IS WHAT WE WILL BECOME HARDENED TO.

Consider means 'think and ponder carefully, give attention to, direct our entire mind or focus on'.

In the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6:30-39), Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, ".. looked up to heaven and said a blessing of praise and thanksgiving to the Father..". (Mark 6:41; AMP) Jesus did not consider the apparent lack and chose to look to the Father for heavenly provision.

After the feeding of the feeding of the five thousand, "Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd. And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray. 

Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land. Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them. But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror]; for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, “Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid.” 

Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed, because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works]." (Mark 6:46-52; AMP)

Did you read that Jesus insisted that His disciples get into the boat while he retreated to the mountain to pray? Perhaps He already knew that a storm would be looming and it would be an opportune time to see how well they would fare this time round without Him in the boat. Earlier on in Mark 4:35-41 when the disciples encountered a storm, Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat before they woke Him up to calm the storm.

The storm was so severe that the disciples were straining at rowing. Straining as in 'tortured, in pain, torment'. Nevertheless, Jesus did not intervene then, and when he walked by on the water at the fourth watch, He would have walked passed them had they not cried out in terror, supposing Him to be a phantom. The disciples had seen many of Jesus' miracles, but they did not consider Jesus' deity and power in the light of their subsequent challenges.

"Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as [your fathers did] in the rebellion [of Israel at Meribah], on the day of testing in the wilderness," Hebrews 3:7-8 (AMP)

When the disciples could not cast out the boy with a mute spirit, his father brought him to Jesus. "Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” Mark 9:23-24 (AMP) 

Then, Jesus commanded the deaf and dumb spirit to come out of the boy for good.

To digress from the sermon, here is a refresher on faith. "Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]." Hebrews 11:6 (AMP)

Back to the sermon. Jesus said: "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will]. For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you." Mark 11:23-24 (AMP)

Even when Jarius' daughter had died while Jesus was on the way to heal her, Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid; only keep on believing [in Me and my power].” Mark 5:36b (AMP) 

Abraham was fully convinced of God's ability. "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness." Romans 4:20-22 (KJV)

As believers, let us remember to:-

"Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." Psalm 103:1-2 (NKJV)

Selected Worship Songs

For your edification, you may wish to watch the following YouTube clips of worship songs:-

Kari Jobe - Forever


Francesca Battistelli - Holy Spirit (Official Video) 


NewsBoys - We Believe (Official Music Video)