Day: September 14, 2020

Be Light of the Kingdom (Sep 14)

Jesus claimed to be the Messiah,
the King of the Jews. And you
will read in Matt 5-7 the Sermon
of the Mount, where He presents
His statement of heaven (Mt 5:3,10)
Relationship to God (not simply
adherence to ritual) and inward
attitude (not merely outward action)
become focus of Christ’s message
for a lifestyle of righteousness.

Lord, we purpose Be Salt & Light:
You are the Salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness,
It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out…
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 & 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 (Mt 5:13-16)
But I say: Love your enemies!… In
that way, You will be acting as true
children of your Father in heaven…
Be perfect, just as your Father in
heaven is perfect (Mt 5:43-45,48)

Dear Almighty God, You sent
Jesus to save us from our sins;
give us eternal & abundant life;
and to be our Master and King.
Your standards are lofty; but in
deep gratitude of what You had
done, we Your people purpose
to Live a Kingdom Lifestyle by
Adopting Kingdom Perspectives,
Be Salt of earth, Light of world
and Aspire to Be Perfect. Amen.

Lord it’s an awesome responsibility
to reflect Your image & Your glory
to the world; but it’s an awesome
privilege too. Give us opportunities
to do so & help us reflect You well.
Lead us Lord to what You’re doing
& use us to bear fruit in Your world.
Help us live in such a way as to
preserve biblical values and let
our light shine for Jesus. Amen.

Lord Jesus, Thank You for dying
on the cross for us so that we
can be reconciled to the Father.
Fill my heart with understanding
for people who are negative of me.
Help me to pray for these people
and not badmouth or curse them.
I can do this only as I look to You
as my example. And grant me Lord
the grace to be perfect for apart
from You, I can do nothing. Amen

Experiencing God thro Obedience

The current series on Experiencing
God through Obedience is perhaps
the main focus of discipleship.
We position to encounter God’s
presence through learning to seek
God’s voice, deepening our trust in
Him and ultimately thro Obedience.
Before moving to New Testament,
let’s pause to reflect our learning
over the last 4 mths from Torah laws,
Israel history, Wisdom and Prophets.

From Genesis, we see Abraham’s
Obedience in Trusting God though
he didn’t have all the answers; so
he went Not Knowing Where; and
sacrificed Issac Not Knowing How
he be father of nations (Gen 12&22)
From life of Moses, we see in the Red
Sea crossing that the Israelites have
to Move Forward to experience the
mighty deliverance of God (Exo 14).
The Israelites were protected from
harsh desert elements by Following
the cloud (Num 9); and Moses
challenged them to Obey the Lord in
order to receive blessings (Deut 30)

Israel history begins with the call to
Joshua to Be Courageous to receive
the inheritance, to obey the law and
to claim the presence of God (Josh1)
David killed the mighty Goliath
because he Remembered God
helped him to kill the lion (1Sam 17)
And then by Inquiring of the Lord,
he won great victories repeatedly
against the Philistines (1Chron 14).
King Jehoshaphat by Seeking the
Lord for help in 2Chron 20 won a
great victory against the combined
armies of Moab, Ammon & Syria.

In the Wisdom literature, David
Sought the Lord and was delivered
from all his fears; and blessed is the
one who Trust in Him (Ps 34:4, 8).
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble…
We just need to Be Still and Know
that He is God (Ps 46:1 & 10).
Solomon urges in Prov 2:1-5: If you
receive my words…If you search for
her as for hidden treasures, then you
will understand the fear of the Lord.
Fear God and keep His commands,
for this is man’s all (Eccles 12:13).

And moving to the Prophets,
those who Wait on the Lord shall
renew their strength (Isa 40:31).
And the Lord has plans to give you
hope and a future… Seek Me and Find Me, when you search for me with all your heart (Jer 29:11-13).
Rid yourselves of all the offences
you have committed, and get a new
heart and a new spirit (Ezek 18:31).
The vision is yet for an appointed
time… Wait for it because it will
surely come… (For) the just shall
live by his Faith (Habakkuk 2:3-4).