Matthew 5: 33 - 37

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your`No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
The question that I ask after reading is that making oaths prohibited? If so, then we will have problems making oaths at the Commissioner of Oaths to give evidence on oath in a court of law.
I think to look into the context of the passage, Jesus was emphasizing in his teaching that an honest man do not need to resort to oaths; it was not that they should refuse to take an oath if required by some external authority to do so.

So therefore, oath-taking or swearing will only be pathetic if it is a confession of our own dishonesty. The only reason is that when we know our simple word is not likely to be trusted, so we try to induce people to believe us by adding a solemn oath.

As Christians, we need to say what we mean and mean what we say.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYERLord Jesus, help me to say honestly but yet tactfully. To mean what I say and say what I mean. Amen.

Matthew 5: 31 - 32

"It has been said, `Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

LECTIO & MEDITATIO

Today, many marriages head to divorce. It is sad to see this happening. If everyone were to take these words of Jesus seriously, there will be more commitment to one another. I think this does not only concern marriages but also commitment to one another in word or promises we make to one another. Sometimes I feel many of us do not keep our promises. We simply forget what we promise or simply refuse to keep our word.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to keep my commitment to my wife and my family. Help me also to keep my word and promises I make to the people around me. Sometimes I forget what I promise but Lord, bring back memories so that I can be a man of truth and integrity. Amen.

Busy weekend

Had a very busy weekend.
First someone's father passed away and I conducted the cremation service on Friday morning and Church Prayer Meeting was on Friday evening before picking up Ruth from the airport.

On Saturday morning, conducted a sea burial and then fetched the children for ballet class and Tien Sia. After that went to visit a church member's son's one year old birthday celebrati0n.

Sunday morning is busy with work and then went home. Had to settle some of the children's homework and project work. Went out for dinner and see how my new house is doing. It is looking good.

Architect Drawing









Present State of Building













Next week will be a busy week...
Furthermore I will be preaching for all the Worship Services next Sunday.

Lord Jesus, strengthen me spiritually, physically and mentally as I look forward for another busy but fulfilling week. Amen!

Matthew 5: 27 - 30

"You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
Jesus focus on another of the 10 commandments – Do not commit adultery and even deepen the application of adultery. Even sight and imaginations will cause a person to fall into sin. From this application, Jesus brings to me that it is not just doing the physical action but even in thinking and looking… It is what is in the inside that matters. Sin begins not on the outside but the inside. Sometimes it is so difficult to live this standard Jesus has set, because it means every single second and minute, we need to be cautious of not just our behaviour but our thoughts and words.
To be true to ourselves, where your heart is there your treasure will be also. So the only way to have victory over sin is to surrender totally to His will and to allow Him to help us live this life of holiness.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to live to the standard of holiness you have set through Jesus. Though it may seem humanly impossible to control our thoughts and words every moment, every minute and every second, it is divinely possible. So take control of my mind, mouth and being. Amen.

Matthew 5: 25 - 26

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
Jesus advised that if we have unpaid debts, make settlement quickly especially if the creditor has intention to take us to court.

This illustration that Jesus told is that we must not allow any estrangement to remain but to put right immediately. As soon as we are conscious of a broken relationship, we must take initiative to mend it, to apologise for the grievance we have caused, to pay a debt we have left unpaid, to make amends. If we want to avoid committing murder in God’s sight, we must take every possible positive step to live in peace and love with everyone.

Sometimes it seems so difficult to practice what Jesus had taught. To take every possible step to live in peace and love with everyone is something I yearn to do but in circumstances I am in. I may want the peace and reconciliation but the other party may not respond the same. Sometimes I get so worried that I may be misunderstood if I take such steps. Sometimes it is not that I have caused the grievances but instead I have been grieved or hurt. I always believe that I just need to obey and do what is required of me, then leave the rest to God.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to put things right especially when I am the offender. Help me to be humble to ask for forgiveness. Amen.

Matthew 5: 21 - 24

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
Jesus begins to deepen the demands of the law… he started with the 6th and the 7th of the 10 commandments, the prohibitions against murder and adultery.

In verse 21 – 22, Jesus talked about murder, he made the application of murder much wider than physical murder. It included thoughts and words as well as deeds, anger and insult as well as physical murder. In the Greek manuscript, additional words of “without a cause” puts the anger into perspective. Not all anger is evil as there are righteous anger. Jesus is referring to unrighteous anger, anger of pride, vanity, hatred, malice and revenge.

Insults are mentioned at the end of verse 22. Jesus warns us against calling our brother “Fool” insulting his intelligence.

Angry and insulting words or thoughts may not lead to the ultimate act of murder but they are tantamount to murder in God’s sight. Our thoughts, words and looks all indicate that as sometimes we dare to say, “we wish that person is dead.” Such an evil wish is a breach of the sixth commandment.

Sometimes it is so difficult to go to that person I am angry with because of some misunderstanding or even are real mistreatment done to me but the scripture tells me that I need to surrender it to God. If there will be an opportunity, God will give me the strength and the love of Jesus to approach that person and reconcile.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, I am sorry and I ask for your forgiveness for this anger I have in my heart. Help forgive and help me reconcile. Amen.

Matthew 5: 17 - 20

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
So far Jesus has spoken about Christian Character and Christian Influence. Now he goes on to the practical actions to reveal the Christian Character and the practical aspects of Christian Influence.

He began with righteousness. The ‘good works’ refers to works of obedience. Jesus begins the sermon with a third person (Blessed are the poor...). He continued with the second person (You are the salt…) Now he uses the first person (I say to you…)

The passage can be divided into two parts:
First Christ and the law and then the Christian and the law.
Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill the law that He will be the Righteous One who will bring justification for the sins of the whole world so that we will all be justified for heaven. So as Christians who have been set free from the bondage of sin, we live in His righteousness and in His power we live righteous lives in this world. Sometimes it is so difficult living the righteousness of God as fallen people, that is why we continue to live in His grace and mercy, yet working hard to be sanctified daily, striving towards perfection, always improving ourselves to live for God.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to live in Your righteousness and even when I fall, pick me up and sanctify me that I may continue to strive towards perfection in Your grace. Amen.

10 things God won't ask me

I received an email with this topic on 10 things God won't ask me on that great day.
It is a reminder for me and all that God looks differently at things...

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2. God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3. God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4. God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5. God won't ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

6. God won't ask how many friends you had. He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.

8. God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.

9. God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

10. God won't have to ask how many people you going to encourage, He already knows your decision.

Matthew 5: 14 - 16

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
When Jesus to us being the light of the world, He is referring to the good works we do in the world. Let men see your good works, then they will give glory to your Father in heaven. The Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 49: 6 refers to God’s Servant would be a light to the nations which is fulfilled only in Christ Himself and also by Christians who bear witness to Christ.

The salt and light which Jesus used have much to me about Christian responsibilities in the world:

1. There is a fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians, between the Church and the world.

2. We must accept the responsibility of this difference.
The function of salt is largely negative – it prevents decay.
The function of light is positive – it illumines the darkness.
Jesus calls us to exert a double influence on the community by arresting decay and bringing light in the darkness ie. to stop the spread of evil and to promote the spread of truth and goodness.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me be an influence to the world.
Amen

Matthew 5: 13

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

LECTIO & MEDITATIO
Jesus went on to talk about Christian influence.
If the beatitudes describe the essential character of the disciples of Jesus, the salt and light metaphors indicate their influence for good in the world.
The world will undoubtedly persecute the Christian, yet the Christian’s calling to serve this persecuting world. This must be our only retaliation.

Every home however poor, used and still uses both salt and light. Salt had a variety of uses. It is both a condiment and a preservative. Before the refrigerator was invented, salt was used to keep meat wholesome and to prevent decay. The effectiveness of salt is conditional; it must retain its saltiness. Strictly speaking, salt can never lose its saltiness.

I am given to understand that sodium chloride is a very stable chemical compound which is resistant to nearly every attack. Nevertheless, it can become contaminated by mixtures with impurities, and then it becomes useless, even dangerous. Desalted salt is unfit even for manure. In the past there were no refineries. Around the Dead Sea which while contains sodium chloride, also contained much else. Of this dust sodium chloride was probably the most soluble component and so the most easily washed out. The residue of white powder still looked like salt, and was doubtless still called salt, but it neither tasted nor act like salt. It was just road dust.

So too, a Christian. Christian saltiness is Christian character depicted in the beatitudes, exemplified in both deed and words. For effective Christian influence, one must retain one’s Christlikeness, as a salt retains its saltiness. If Christians become contaminated with the impurities of the world, they lose their influence.

Someone once said,
“If you want to find the Church, look in the world. And if you want to find the world, look into the Church.”

We are in the world but we must be able to distinguish and be discerning how we live our lives that we are not contaminated by the world.

CONTEMPLATIO / PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me not lose my saltiness by the contamination of the world. Help me to live a life of Christlikeness and follow You. Remind me each day that how I live will determine my Christian influence in the world I live in.
Amen!