Psalm 110

This psalm segues from being a great testimony of Jesus Christ as the Messiah to Christ's mighty authority over the rulers of the earth.

What a powerful manifestation of God's truth that Christ is indeed the Messiah when nothing can be more blatant than verse 1 in revealing Christ's lordship:

"The LORD says to my Lord:
'Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1)

And in verse 5-7:

"The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
He will drink from a brook beside the way;
therefore he will lift up his head." (Psalm 110:5-7)

Psalm 95

"... Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,

as you did that day at Messah in the desert,

where your fathers tested and tried me,

though they had seen what I did.

For forty years I was angry with that generation;

I said, 'they are a people whose hearts go astray,

and they have not known my ways.'

So I declared on oath in my anger,

'They shall never enter my rest.'" -- Psalm 95:7-11

Psalm 95 is an open invitation to unbelievers and even Christians who "harden" their hearts toward God when they experience hardships in life.

Perhaps it is straight-forward as we talk about the "hardening" of hearts when we do not heed God's guidance and commandments. What about incidents where we have sinned against the Lord but refuse to acknowledge it by finding excuses to justify our actions? What about our self-righteousness and pride that cause us to accuse others of their wrongs in our hearts, even though we do not act it out?

Those are outright evidence of what God terms as the "hardening" of our heart. We may not be conscious of it, but gradually we may not be able to hear from God one day and slip into the danger of complacency with God. The latter may lead to the condition of our hearts turning lukewarm towards God and ultimately rejecting His blessings totally! It can happen to the most faithful of God's people at some stage of their walk with God (eg. King David, who was described as "a man after God's heart", committed adultery and murder during his reign).

Let's make an effort to thank God despite our difficult circumstances before us lest we become complacent in our relationship with Christ. God will surely rest His favour upon us when we remain thankful and faithful to Him.

Psalm 84

George Orwell wrote in one of his satirical novels "Animal Farm", "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". This reflected men's value system in treating one another, especially in today's self-centred society.

Psalm 84 gives relief from our struggles in being mistreated by others among us, especially by our colleagues and superiors at work. We are guilty of pleasing men in order to stay in favour with others. At times, in the guise of our work and family, we even strayed from God's presence and His ultimate blessings by not having a close fellowship with Him!

Let's us be like the sons of Korah (the author of Psalm 84), that we may seek after God's dwelling place, even to the extent of being contented to be a "doorkeeper in the house of the Lord" rather than staying comfortably in the "tents of the wicked" (verse 10). Only when our soul yearns for God's presence may we experience God's peace and protection, favour and honour ("For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless" -- Psalm 84:11).

Resurrection Sunday

Maurice Sklar ministering to the Lord and the church.

Today is Resurrection Sunday! FCBC celebrated this day with pomps and having Maurice Sklar to minister to the Lord and the church with his rendition of "Holy Holy Holy, the Lord God Almighty" on his voilin.

Senior Pastor's message on "Death is So Ugly It Has to Go" carried dollops of God's grace and personality when he talked of Jesus crying for the living (not the dead) in John 11:32-36 ("Jesus wept" in John 11:35), Jesus' dying on the cross for mankind, and Jesus' victory and authority over death. Many came forward to give their lives to Jesus that day. Hallelujah!

The kids had a great time at Sunday School too. Besides having chocolate easter eggs to bring home with, Nathan did a Easter Sunday craft which I thought was very meaningful, especially this day where we seek to remember our Saviour.

Nathan's Sunday School craft work

What's God's Phone Number?

I was browsing through a magazine which I bought last week at "Trumpet Praise" (Parkway Parade) when I stumbled upon this awesome quote from a kid:

"I told my pre-school class that God is always with us and we can call upon him any time. One boy quickly raised his hand and asked, 'What's God's phone number?'" -- Kate Wicker (Children's Ministry, January/February 2008 Issue, Group Publishing, Inc., p. 141)

Isn't it wonderful for us adults to sometimes behave like a child when it comes to fully believing in Jesus Christ without caving in to our self-imposed doubts? As parents, we are accountable to God for our children's salvation, and teaching them the ways of the Lord. It is thus my prayer that my children will truly rely on God's "phone number" whenever they face difficult circumstances in life --- for God is never too busy to answer our calls!

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." -- Matthew 19:14

Psalm 82

Psalm 82 (A psalm of Asaph)

"God presides in the great assembly;

he gives judgement among the "gods";

How long will you defend the unjust

and show partiality to the wicked?

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Rescue the weak and needy;

deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

They know nothing, they understand nothing.

They walk about in darkness;

all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

"I said, 'You are "gods";

you are all sons of the Most High.'

But you will die like mere men;

you will fall like every other ruler."

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,

for all the nations are your inheritance.

This psalm reminds us of God's sovereignty and that even though He has ordained selected kings and judges to represent Him in executing judgement on the people, He has the ultimate judgement over us and the earth.

The psalmist termed the earthly rulers and judges "gods" where at that time, they showed partiality to the unjust and wicked, and oppressed the poor.

Throughout history, many unjust kings and rulers were overthrown by the people as the latter revolt against them through violence. Let us be still before God and like the psalmist, present any injustice and wrongdoings unto Him and not take things unto our own hands. For the "gods" are mere mortals and surely God will deliver His people out of darkness.

Touchpoints of Love

Biblical love forms the foundation of a child's perspective and comprehension of giving and receiving of love (Gary & Anne Marie Ezzo, "Growing Kids God's Way", Growing Families International, 2007, pp. 47 & 53). When biblical love is in the life of a child, he or she will not be held back by the shackles of self-love, self-interest, and self-protection --- for "biblical love looks outward, not inward; yet at the same time, it satisfies all the inner needs".

I agree with the Ezzos that it is important for parents to know each family member's love languages. People express love in different ways. For example, some children's primary love language is gift-giving, that is, they affirms love from others when they receive little gifts. Failure to recognise this form of love language often lead parents to interpret children's requests for buying things at shops and stores as a sign of abnormal materalism. My elder daughter often has such requests when we are out shopping, which on hind sight, could be her affirmation of our love when her requests are granted. It's not the things that she yearns for, but our "I-love-you"s!

Other children may interpret love through the spending of quality time with their parents, their parents' words of encourage, or simply an exchange of hugs and kisses. The Ezzos have this advice for all parents: "Knowing a child's language of love is critical to the developmental process and pave the way for understanding and communication in the teen years".

Jesus Himself had demonstrated love with different love languages. He showed His disciples love through the pouring out of His life to them --- coaching and praying for them. More significantly was His agape love for mankind, when He gave His life at the cross as a ransom to redeem us of our sins so as for us to receive God's blessing of eternal lives when we believe in Him.

Dear Jesus, thank you for this valuable lesson on the touchpoints of love. Love languages is God-given and can be learned. Teach us not only to speak the language of love to our loved ones and those around us, but also to receive graciously all the expressions of love from others. Amen.

Agon: The Spirit of Competition

I had a very interesting lesson on ancient Greek culture last weekend. I brought Naomi and Nathan to the National Museum to visit the gallery and exhibition on Greek civilisation --- the "Greek Masterpieces From the Louvre". The exhibit ends its tour in Singapore on 16 Mar 08.

The museum guide explained that Greek civilisation was "agonistic", that is, founded on the spirit of competition. Rivalry is one of the driving forces of existence, and hence the emphasis on sports. Even the gods worshiped by the Greeks competed among themselves! Greek religion was polytheistic and there were more than 200 deities in Attica itself. Half of the Athenian calendar was devoted to the gods.

What does the Bible tell us? In Acts 17, Paul was greatly distressed to see that the city of Athens was full of idols, subtlely referring to the polytheistic religious practices of the Greek civilisation. Paul even mentioned in Acts 17:23 that the Athenians had even built an altar worshiping literally "an unknown god"!

As the world marvelled at the political and artistic achievements of ancient Greek civilisation, let us not forget God's reminder that it is He "who made the world and everything in it" (Acts 17:24). Images made by man's design and skill are worth nothing in God's eyes, no matter how magnificient they look. Our God desires true worship from His people.

Psalm 65

Recently, I read an interesting metaphor in an article published in a blog: "Even in his last years, grand pappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut". The writer painted a vivid image with a touch of humour.

In Psalm 65:12-13, I am equally amazed at the metaphors used:

"The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing".

It's heartening to know that despite our sins, God wants to bless us if we believe in Him:

"... We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple" (Psalm 65:4).

"You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance" (Psalm 65:11).

Let us come before God with a heart of thanksgiving --- that we will never face financial difficulty when we set our sights unto our provider.