Month: March 2020

Picking Up the Mantle

The downward spiral begun in 1Kgs
accelerates as one bad king after
another accedes to the throne.
Standing in the path of this down-
trend are prophets who speak
for God. Elisha takes up the mantle
and ministry of his master Elijah.
Calling upon the God of Elijah,
Elisha watches as God sends
waterlogged valleys as a sign to
Jehoram and blood-red water
signalling defeat for Moab.

Lord, the departure of a well known
leader like Elijah can bring insecurity.
And we learn from Elisha his sense
of unworthiness and his conviction
that God had important work for him.
Help us to Pick Up the Mantle.
Help us to Follow After You.
Help us Seek Your Empowerment.
Help us Draw Near to You. Amen.

Lord, we will Follow After You:
When the Lord was about to take
Elijah up to heaven… Elijah & Elisha
were on their way from Gilgal.
Elijah said to Elisha: Stay here;
the Lord has sent me to Bethel.
But Elisha said: I will not leave you.
So they went down to Bethel…
Then Elijah said to him: Stay here
Elisha; the Lord has sent me to
Jericho. And he replied: I will not
leave you. So they went to Jericho…
Then Elijah said to him: Stay here;
the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.
And he replied: I will not leave you.
So the two walked on (2Kgs 2:1-6).
Lord, we note Elisha was determined
to be all that God wanted him to be
for he remained faithful to God’s call.
He was focussed on getting the
resources he could to complete
the work God had given him to do.
Lord, help me be like Elisha, not
to allow anything to divert me from
following Your path for me. Amen.

Lord, we Seek Your Empowerment:
Elijah took his mantle… and struck
the water; and it was divided this
way and that, so that the two of
them crossed over on dry ground.
And Elijah said to Elisha: Ask! What
may I do for you, before I am taken
away from you? Elisha said: Please
let a double portion of your spirit
be upon me (2 Kings 2:8-9).
Lord, thank You for the ministry
that You have given to each of us.
We realise it is a costly thing to
follow You, especially to follow You
fully. But I want Your presence and
the power that goes along with it.
Please give me more of You. Amen.

Lord, we will Draw Near to You:
So the king of Israel went with the
king of Judah and the king of Edom
and they marched… seven days;
& there was no water for the army…
And the king of Israel said: the Lord
has called these 3 kings together
to But Jehoshaphat said: Is there no
prophet of the Lord here that we
may inquire of the Lord by him?
So one of the servants of the king
of Israel answered: Elisha is here…
Now bring me a musician. Then
it happened, when the musician
played, that the hand of the Lord
came upon him (2 Kings 3:9-15).
Lord, We realise that You speak
to our intuitive side more often
than to our logical, skeptical side.
So sensitize me to Your presence
and awaken my heart to know when
You are speaking creatively to me.
And even as we approach You,
we trust Your Spirit will reveal
Your words for us in season. Amen

Preview on Second Kings 

Dear Friends, 
                                                 As the Bible is arranged by genre, to
enhance understanding of context
we’re covering it by time sequence.
We begin with the 5 books of Laws
to appreciate the Redemptive Plan
of God for mankind and Job (which
occurs in the time of Genesis) to
understand the sovereignty of God.
   In the Second Phase, we meditated
Josh to 2Sam & 1 Chron, up to King
David: the high point of Israel history.
and poetry book of Psalms where
we learn to pray and praise God.
Then we go to the Third Phase on 
the reign of King Solomon in 1 Kings
& cover wisdom poetry in Proverbs,
Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes.

Continuing, Solomon’s zeal for God
cools as pagan wives turn his heart
away from godly worship. The next
century sees the decline of the two
nations,indifferent to God’s precepts.
In 2 Kings, the author weaves the
historical threads of two nations
       into one fabric. In Israel, 19 wicked
         kings in succession led the people
even further from God. Despite the
efforts of Elisha & other prophets,
judgment can no longer be stayed.
Israel finally went into captivity,
being dispersed by the Assyrians.
To the south, Judah survives 150
years longer. But in the end, the
damage done by corrupt leadership
again brings a bitter harvest:
70 years of exile in Babylonia.

We’ll cover 2 Kings over 3 weekends
under the following six divisions:
2Kgs 1-3: Ministry of Elisha
2Kgs 4-8: Ministry of Elisha
2Kgs 9-12: Jehu and Joash
2Kgs 13-17: Assyria Destroys Israel
2Kgs 18-21: Hezekiah the Reformer
2Kgs22-25:Babylon Conquers Judah
Lord, we learn from 2 Kings of the
disastrous end of those who shut
God out of their lives. We believe
in You and help us to live for You
in our lives & in Your church. Amen.

Take My Life & Let It Be

British hymnwriter Frances Ridley
Havergal wrote this hymn in Feb
1874. Two months earlier, she
had made a complete surrender
of herself to Christ. She wrote:
I just yielded myself to Him, and
utterly trusted Him to keep me.
And in so doing I experienced
blessedness of true consecration
Ever, only All for Thee.

Lord, we dedicate our lives to U:
And so, dear brothers & sisters,
I plead with u to give your bodies
to God because of all He has
done for you. Let them be a Living
and holy Sacrifice, the kind He will
find acceptable. This is truly the
way to worship Him. Don’t copy
the behaviour and customs of
this world, but let God Transform
you into a new person by changing
the way you think. Then you will
know what God wants you to do,
and you will know how good
and pleasing and perfect
His will really is (Rom 12:1-2).

Lord, I don’t really know what
these days will hold, but I give
myself to You as a living sacrifice.
Renew and Transform my mind
with Your Word of truth; and
make me Lord into a New Person
by changing the way I think.
Show me Lord what You want me
to do: the good work You have
designed me to do & the person You
want me to minister or encourage.
And may You get all the glory. Amen

Lord, do Your transforming work
in me through Your Word that I may
learn to know Your heart desires.
Give me the mind of Christ so that
I will be able to make wise decisions
that will also be pleasing to You.
Guide me in Your way and by
Your Word to embrace Your will.
And work in me Lord not only to will
but to do of Your good pleasure.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, Take my life and let it be
Consecrated Lord to Thee;
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise(x2)
Take my hands & let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee (x2)
Take my will and make it Thine
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne. Amen.

I Stand Amazed In the Presence

Charles Gabriel was born in 1856
Iowa. He is credited with writing
up to 8,000 hymns and songs in
his life. Some of his hymns include
His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Old
Rugged Cross & Away in a Manger.
Gabriel wrote both the words and
melody for I Stand Amazed in
the Presence. Rev Carlton Young,
editor of United Methodist Hymnal,
notes: “This song of gratitude
for the atoning death of Jesus is
a personal interpretation of Luke’s
account of Jesus’ sweating blood
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And we stand amazed at the depth
of God’s love and the way He works.

Lord, we’re Grateful and we Trust:
(Jesus) withdrew from them… and
He knelt down and prayed: Father,
if it is Your will, take this cup away
from Me; nevertheless not My will,
but Yours, be done…Being in agony,
He prayed more earnestly. Then
His sweat became like great drops
of blood falling down (Lk 22:41-44)
Frankly, I Stand Amazed at the
unfathomable complexity of God’s
wisdom and God’s knowledge.
How could man ever Understand
His Reasons for action or explain His
methods of working?(Rom11:33-34)

Lord Jesus, we enter into praise
and thanksgiving because of
Your Deep Love for each of us.
Fact that Jesus says “not My will
but Yours” shows Jesus loves
us more than He loves Himself.
Realising how much Jesus loves
us, challenges us how much
we should love Him in Gratitude.
In remembrance of the Saviour’s
love and also because I love this
hymn so much, I will sing it often.
And one day I will be in heaven
standing before my Savior, thanking
Him for His Great Love to me! Amen.

Lord, I will stop insisting that I must
understand everything You’re doing
before I am willing to accept it.
Forgive me for foolishly thinking
my plans will be better than Yours.
Forgive me for arrogantly thinking
I know more than You about the
solutions to my problems. I may
not understand Your decisions,
but I want to accept them.
And though I may not be able to
trace Your ways, but I want to go
wherever You may lead. Amen.

I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how He could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean…
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior’s love for me!!
For me it was in the garden
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He bore the burden to Calvary,
and suffered and died for me.

And Can It Be: Christ Died For Me

Charles Wesley is probably the
greatest hymn writer the church
has ever known. From the time of
conversion in 1738, Wesley wrote
an average of two hymns a week
for 50 years composing five to six
thousand hymns during his lifetime.
Most of these hymns were written
as he travelled with his brother John,
ministering to thousands of poor
farmers and illiterate coal miners.
These were people at the margin
of society, people most churches
did not bother to think about. It
was for them that Charles Wesley
composed his hymns, where
people experienced the love of God.

Lord, we’re Grateful For Your Grace:
So now there is NO Condemnation
for those who belong to Christ,
who do not walk according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit.
Jesus has Made Me FREE
from the law of sin and death…
God sent his own Son in a body
like the bodies we sinners have.
And in that body God declared
an End to sin’s control over us
by Giving His Son As A Sacrifice
for our sins (Rom 8:1-3). Amen.

Lord, “NO Condemnation” are two
of the most wonderful words in
the world. And yet some days
they are hard for me to believe,
hard for me to take hold of. On
the one hand, I am quick to blame
someone or something else for
the struggles that I may face.
But deep down I condemn myself.
Help me to live and love in the reality
of the freedom that comes from
Your grace. And may my embrace
of this gospel truth change how
I deal with the self-condemnation
and condemnation by others that
threaten the peace You give. Amen

Lord Jesus, Thank You for paying
off our ransom, thus Liberating
us from the law of sin and death.
Thank You that sin now has no
claim on us because Jesus paid
off our debt to sin on the Cross.
SIN & death have No Mastery over
us because of Jesus’ resurrection.
Thanks for Your work which Frees
us and enables us to stand before
God as His righteous children.
And there is no condemnation
only glory for we belong to You.
Thank You for the confidence we
have because of Your grace. Amen.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s Blood;
Died He for me who caused His Pain
For me, who Him to death pursued;
Amazing love! how can it be That
Thou my Lord, should Die for me?
He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His Grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
‘Tis mercy all, immense and free
For O my God, it found out me.
No condemnation now I dread
Jesus and all in Him is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head And
Clothed in righteousness divine;
Bold I approach th’ eternal throne &
Claim the crown, thro Christ my own.

It Is Well With My Soul

Knowing his friend Dwight Moody
was going to preach in England in
fall 1871, Horatio Stafford decided
to take his family to England. His
wife & 4 daughters went ahead on
SS Ville and he planned to follow
a few days. But on Atlantic Ocean
the ship was struck by an iron
vessel and sank. 260 lives were lost
including Spafford’s four girls; and
Mrs Spafford cabled her husband:
Saved alone. Horatio Spafford
booked passage on the next ship.
Crossing the Atlantic, the captain
pointed the place where he thot
SS Ville had gone down. And that
night Spafford penned the words:
When sorrows like sea billows roll…
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Lord, we look up to You for help:
Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ…
And we can rejoice too when we
run into problems & trials, for we
know that they help us develop
endurance. And endurance
develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our
confident hope of salvation.
And hope does not disappoint
us because God has poured
out His love into our hearts by
the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:1-5). Amen.

Father God, You want me to trust
You even in the difficult times.
But rejoicing isn’t natural for me,
so enable me so that I can make
it the supernatural response to
the difficulties & pressures in life.
Teach me to endure Lord so that
my character will be strengthened,
faith in God to steadily grow even
as Holy Spirit pours out Your love.
In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Lord, we acknowledge that You
are sovereign in all our situations.
In Your mercy, take this trial away;
if not then may Your will be done.
But it’s hard and sometimes we feel
can’t go on for it’s just too painful.
I know that it is not Your intent to
leave us alone in the wilderness.
For all the strength, resource and
wisdom I need are in Your hands.
Provide what I need so that I do
not have to worry about tomorrow.
And keep my eyes on You God,
for all my hope rests in You. Amen.

Lord, When peace like a river
attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou
hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul…
And Lord haste the day
when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound
and the Lord shall descend,
Even so it is well with my soul. Amen

Christ for the World We Live

Samuel Wolcott wanted to be
missionary in Syria, but after 2 years
there he had to return to America.
While attending a YMCA convention
in Cleveland, he was captivated
by a huge banner with the words:
“Christ for the World and the
World for Christ”. As Wolcott left
the meeting, the words for this
hymn took shape in his mind.
Wolcott learned that the “world”
for whom Christ died included
not only distant lands like Syria
where he had tried to serve,
but also the poor, the burdened,
the lost, sorrow-worn in needy
places where he ministered.

Lord, help us live out the Gospel:
I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes,
for the Jew first and also for the
(Gentiles). For in it the righteousness
of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written: The just
shall life by faith (Rom 1:16-17).

Heavenly Father, You sent Jesus
into this world so that through Him
we have been declared righteous
and that we can be freed from sin.
Enlarge our appreciation & affection
for Christ Jesus and Your gospel.
Let the good news of righteousness
provided to us in Christ transform
our interactions and expectations.
And work in us Lord thro the good
news of Your grace toward sinners.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord Jesus, You reach out to the
spiritually poor and comfort the
broken hearted. And we purpose
to do for others what U did for us.
Help us look at others through
Christ’s eyes instead of our own.
Help us not to be overwhelmed
by problems and simply give up.
Help us to live right and pray with
fervent prayer so that it avails much.
Help us sow deeds of kindness
and share the gospel to the lost.
Help us live out the message:
Christ for the world we live! Amen.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With loving zeal —
The poor and them that mourns,
The faint and over-borne,
Sin-sick and sorrow-worn,
For Christ to heal…
Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With fervent prayer —
The wayward and the lost,
Reclaimed from error’s lot,
Redeemed at countless cost
From dark despair. Amen.