Archive for July, 2005
Do you believe in miracles?
Miracles are generally known as something impossible becoming a reality. It is associated with the supernatural. God is supernatural . He exists and He is certainly able to pull a rabbit out of His hat (if He wears one).
God by His very nature as our Creator is omnipotent, ominiscient and omnipresent. Miracles are not a problem for Him. He is able. The question is, is it His will to perform miracles the way we want it?? !!
Let’s distinguish between ability and will. Do I have the ability to buy a half a million dollar car in Singapore? I suppose if I sell my flat and camp at the Padang I will be able to afford, but is it my will to do so?
Even if I am able to pay for it, does my son have the right to go ahead and insist I should buy such a luxury? It would be presumptuous of him, wouldn’t it?
Presumption is a sin. Sin is ‘harmatia’ which simply means ‘missing the point’. We miss the point of who God is and who we are and how serious the implication is on our eternity.
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Psalms 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
Just because God is able does not necessarily mean it is His will. The Holy Spirit is God , not an impersonal force or a thing . He is not a genie in a bottle at our beck and call to be switch on or off just because a pastor has scheduled “healing session at 3pm on Saturday at the auditorium”.
Yes, God has the power to perform miracles. To believe in Ephesians 3:20 , is to believe in His power of miracles
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us”, is to believe in miracles.
How , when and in what manner God intends to do it is up to Him. Of course we may request, but we are not to act presumptuously.
Jesus could performed miracles but refused to the devil’s temptation to display His powers with razzmatazz , bells and whistles! He prayed for His “cup of suffering” to be removed and God could have certainly send 10,000 angels to rescue Him from the cross but His Father’s will came first for Jesus.
Paul certainly could perform miracles but was unable to remove his ” thorn in the flesh” 2 Cor. 12:7 ands his infirmity Gal. 4:13.
What then was the purpose of miracles? To confirm the Word.
Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him
Do miracles exist today? YES! but not in the manner many people claimed. God in His own time will act according to His will.
The greatest miracle is the miracle of repentance based on the only sign that matters i.e. the “sign of Jonah” ( death , burial and resurrection of Jesus)
Matthew 12:39-40 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
If the resurrection of Jesus does not convince a person to repent, no other miracles will. As a matter of fact to ask for other signs makes you part of an ‘evil and adulterous’ generation( vs.39)
Beware of false signs and wonders!
2 Thessalonians 2:8-9 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
July 29th, 2005
http://members.aol.com/d4web4sm/muqaddas/bttrbods.htm
Alcohol:Does the Bible really condone alcoholic drink ?
Allan and Gretchen Ashusrt
In the Authorized Version of the Bible the word wine is translated
from several Hebrew words in the Old Testament and two Greek words
in the New Testament.
“WINE” IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The words most frequently translated wine are Yayin and Tirosh.
Yayin is a generic term which can refer to either non-alcoholic or
alcoholic grape juice. It is one of the words used where God’s
disapproval. is expressed.
Tirosh refers to fresh non-alcoholic grape juice. It is never used
when expressing disapproval except in Hosea 4:11. Even there it is
not referring to drunkenness [”whoredom and wine and new wine take
away the heart (understanding)” The phrase “take away the
understanding” cannot mean “makes drunk” because whoredom does not
inebriate].
It is evident that God disapproves the drinking of alcoholic wine in
the Old Testament. The variant meanings of the several Hebrew words
translated wine are lost in English translations.
“WINE” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Greek word gleukos - meaning fresh sweet grape juice - is used
once - sarcastically - in Acts 2:13.
The only other Greek word translated wine - oinos - is a generic
term like tirosh, So it is wrong to assume that “wine” means
alcoholic wine unless the context requires it.
THE CUP AT THE LORD’S SUPPER
The content of the cup is consistently refered to as “fruit of the
vine” and never called “wine”. It is wicked to offer alcohol to
someone who has problems with alcoholism.
For more detail discussion , go to Fred Miller’s site
http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/winebk.htm
July 11th, 2005
Last Sunday we had a dialogue on passion. Passion is what you are very interested or has great enthusiam for. It somehow comes from your character or deep within you.
Are you passionate?
What is your passion?
TeckSu
Likes to fix things. When he repairs something he is in a world of his own.
Repairing his roof will be his idea of fun. Maybe his theme song is James Taylor ” Up on the roof” !
James
Passion is to sing and dance. If given a choice, I want to go for dancing class
Grew up with with Broadway musicals. Lose myself and in a world of my own. My idea of de-stressing. See movements and colours in music. Makes me feel happy!
Marissa
Same as James. Did a lot of performance in school.
Dennis
Football. Whether injured ankle or not, he is ready to play. Would gravitate
towards sports shop. Must touch football boots and new footballs to enjoy the moment with his passion. May huff and puff about a football game but it’s part of the joy of it
Lian Chye
Likes to conceptualise, analyse. It looks like his mind is his playground of ideas
Peng Liam
Golf. He has a ’sabbath’ from his wife where he is left on his own to do what he wants for one day a week. Does not matter whether he wins or lose a gold game. He loses himself in golf and able to relax
Weiyang
Hordes of classical pieces and operas, some of them make him cry when he
listen to the music. Heavy, man!
Philip
Enjoys singing
Passion makes you lose yourself (or false self?) to expresss your real self.
There might be discouragement to stifle passion but it is hard to kill. Passion
causes you to aspire for higher goals. You impose performance on yourself . If someone forces a performance measure on you ,like you must score A for this or get 100% , it kills a budding passion.
Passion consumes you. You feel incomplete or there is a yearning taht needs to be fulfilled. It may influence what you see first, hear first, touch first like Dennis gravitating to sport shops, I will go for musicals or book shops, or Teck Su will walked down the aisle of the hardware section of a supermart.
Can we direct our passion to God’s work? and be eaten up by it ?
John 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after
a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of
yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement
desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved
yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Zeal is infectious. When we show passion, zeal and fervour, others just want to join us
2 Corinthians 9:2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I
boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and
your zeal hath provoked very many.
Have you ever been with a passionate person? You can’t help but be drawn to him, hating or loving him!
Zeal must be with knowledge. We must not be afraid of emotions, be afraid of only senselessness !
Romans 10:2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not
according to knowledge.
Lets’ stir each other up with our singing, with edification , with our labour of love
2 Timothy 1:6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
2 Peter 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both
which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
james
July 1st, 2005
