Month: May 2020

Testing of Obedience (May 28)

Backgrounder on Genesis 21-24:
The climax of more than 20 faith-
stretching years for Abraham and
Sarah comes in the birth of Isaac.
But soon Abraham’s faith is tested
again as God calls him to sacrifice
that treasured son upon an altar.
Abraham obeys, showing that the
experiences of the past 2 decades
have not been in vain. For His
faithfulness to the point of death,
God rewards Abraham with
further assurances of blessing.

Lord, we are willing to Obey:
Some time later God tested Abraham.
He said to him: Abraham! ‘Here I am,
he replied. Then God said:Take your
son, your only son, Isaac, whom
you love & go to Moriah. Sacrifice
Him there as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains I will tell you about.
Early the next morning Abraham got
up & saddled His donkey (Gen22:1-3)
Then (Abraham) tied his son Isaac
and laid him on the altar… And
Abraham picked up the knife to
kill his son as a sacrifice.At that
moment the angel of the Lord called:
Don’t lay a hand on the boy!… for
now I know that you truly fear God.
You have not withheld from me even
your son… Then Abraham look up
and saw a ram… He took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
in place of his son (Gen 22:10-13).

Lord, how my life will change
when I say “Here I am” I can’t know
for sure. It might require laying down
a dream that I long held tightly;
but the cost will pale in comparison
to the blessing. For You are good,
You work things for good; and
You’re the one I can put my trust
since it is also well within Your will.
So I present myself to You as an
offering to You: to be moved and
activated by Your voice. Here I am
while I am yielded and still. Amen.

Lord, realise that Abraham saw
Your willingness and ability to keep
promises even if it took a miracle.
Know that You wanted Abraham
to sacrifice Isaac in his heart so that
he learn to trust God completely.
Lord, obeying You may often be
quite a struggle for it may mean
giving up something we truly want;
but U refine us thro circumstances.
Help us Lord when tested that we
will not complain but instead we
will trust and obey You Lord. Amen.

Lord, I know You always ask me
to surrender everything to You –
including the dream in my heart.
And even when that dream is from
You. You will ask me to let go of
my hold on it. So I surrender every
dream in my heart over to You.
I don’t want to cling to something
You will not bless, or give up on
something that is Your will for
my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Seek God’s Grace & Mercy (May31)

The final century of Judah’s national
history reads like a bad dream.
After Manasseh’s 55-year reign of
terror and apostasy, even a godly
reformer like Josiah is powerless
to prick the hearts of the people,
though for a time he is able to stem
the external appearances of evil.
But after his death the nation swiftly
returns to its abominable ways.
Oppressed and finally overthrown
by the Babylonians, the people of
Judah are slaughtered, their homes
and temple destroyed, their city
walls levelled and the survivors
dragged to Babylon for 70 years.
But in the midst of this doom and
destruction shines a ray of hope.
Cyrus king of Persia, issues a decree
to rebuild the house of the Lord.

For Jews, Jerusalem represented
their place of greatest failure.
To stare at the rubble of what was
once mighty Jerusalem, with its
shattered temple and broken walls
must have saddened God’s people.
They had failed God; gone their own
sinful ways and had been punished.
Now through Cyrus, God was calling
His people back to the scene of the
crime, back for a second chance.
Have you failed God in recent days?
God is calling u back to repentance.
Lord, we Seek Your Grace & Mercy;
Lord, we Seek Your Holiness and
Lord, we Seek Your Compassion.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we’ll Seek Your Grace & Mercy:
Manasseh led the people of Judah
to do more evil than the pagan
nations whom the Lord destroyed.
So the Lord sent the Assyrian armies
and they took Manasseh prisoner.
They put a ring through his nose,
bound him in chains and led him
away to Babylon. While in deep
distress, Manasseh sought the
Lord and cried out humbly to Him.
And when he prayed, the Lord
listened and was moved by his
request for help. So the Lord let
Manasseh return to Jerusalem and
to his kingdom (2Chron 33:9-13).
Lord, how amazing Your grace,
forgiveness and restoration are.
We praise You for Your mercy and
loving-kindness offered so freely.
We want to follow You, but
when we stray from Your paths,
help us to humbly cry out to You.
And let us know the joy of Your
forgiveness and healing. Amen.

Lord, we’ll Seek Your Holiness:
Josiah was eight years old when he
became king & he reigned 32 years.
He did what was pleasing in the
Lord’s sight… He did not turn away
from doing what was right. During
the eighth year of his reign, Josiah
began to seek the God of David.
Then in the twelfth year he began
to purify Judah and Jerusalem,
destroying all the pagan shrines,
the Asherah poles and the carved
idols and cast images. He ordered
the altars of Baal be demolished…
So, he purified Judah (2Chr 34:1-5).
Lord, help us to be like Josiah who
showed greater wisdom than many
other kings who came before him,
because he decided to seek You
God and Your wisdom. We also
realise from passage that You can
use anyone from any age to make a
difference so long as we are willing
to listen and obey Your word. Amen.

Lord, we’ll Seek Your Compassion:
All the leaders of the priests and
the people became more and more
unfaithful. They followed all the
pagan practices of the surrounding
nations, desecrating the Temple of
the Lord that had been consecrated
in Jerusalem. The Lord repeatedly
sent His prophets to warm them,
for He had compassion on His
people… But the people mocked
these messengers of God & despised
their words. They scoffed at the
prophets until the Lord’s anger could
no longer be restrained and nothing
could be done (2Chron 36:14-16).
Lord, You are a relentless Father,
pursuing us in love relationship.
Help us to pursue You in response,
while modelling Your kind of
faithfulness, Your kind of persistence
and Your kind of compassion. Amen.

Renewing Commitment (May 30)

The Assyrian assault & dispersion
of Israel are totally omitted in the
Chronicles account though they
have a profound Impact on Judah.
Inheriting a disorganised country &
a heavy tribute burden to Assyria,
Hezekiah in the very first month
of his administration repairs the
Temple, restores long-neglected
temple worship & declares war on
idol worship. When Assyrian King
Sennacherib besieges Jerusalem,
Hezekiah put his faith to work
in earnest prayer for deliverance.
God answers his plea and crowns
his life with prestige and power.

Lord, thank You for the record of
the reign of King Hezekiah where
he led the people in spiritual revival,
renewing their commitment to God,
and You were gracious & forgiving.
Help us Lord to constantly commit
to obey You God and to rededicate
to carry out Your will in our lives.
Help us to Repent & Worship You;
Help us to Humbly Submit to You;
Help us to Trust You’re On Our Side.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we purpose to Worship You:
In the very first month of his reign,
Hezekiah reopened the doors of the
Temple of the Lord & repaired them..
He said to the Levites: Purify Your
-selves and purify the Temple of
the Lord… Remove all the defiled
things from the sanctuary. Our
ancestors were unfaithful and did
what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
That is why the Lord’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem…
But now I will make a covenant
with the Lord… so that his fierce
anger will turn away from us…
As the burnt offering was presented,
songs of praise to the Lord began
(and) the entire assembly worshiped
the Lord (2 Chron 29:3-10, 27-28).
Lord, cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts that we may magnify You.
Give us loving and thankful hearts;
and let our whole nature be wholly
consecrated for Your dwelling. Amen.

Lord, we will Humbly Submit to You:
At the king’s command,messengers
were sent thro out Israel & Judah.
They carried letters which said:
Return to the Lord so that He will
return to the few of us who have
survived the Assyrian conquest…
Don’t be stubborn but submit to Him.
Altho most people who came had not
purified themselves yet they ate the
Passover contrary what was written.
But Hezekiah prayed for them: May
the Lord, who is good, pardon every
one who sets his heart on seeking
God even if he is not clean according
to the rules of the sanctuary. And
the Lord heard Hezekiah & healed
the people (2Chron 30:6-9, 18-29).
Lord, we’ll submit & return to you:
Thankful even when I don’t do
everything right, You see in my
heart the desire to do so. Grateful
You look past my imperfections &
see Your Son in my heart instead.
Help me to live Your way so that
they are pleasing in Your sight. Amen

Lord, we trust You’re On Our Side:
King Sennacherib of Assyria
invaded Judah. He laid siege to
the fortified cities, giving orders for
his army to break thro their walls.
Hezekiah further strengthened
his defences by repairing the wall,
and adding to the fortifications…
Then Hezekiah encouraged them
with this address: Be strong and
courageous! Don’t be afraid of the
king of Assyria & his mighty army
for there is a power far greater
on our side! He may have a great
army, but they are just men. We
have the Lord our God to help us
and to fight our battles for us!
These words greatly encouraged
the people (2 Chron 32:1-8).
Lord, thankful You’re with us and
more powerful than everything.
I ask You to be with me in the
things I face this coming week.
And I praise You & Your greatness
in the midst of all that seems
large & looming in my life. Amen.

Reflections on Genesis (May 30)

God is everywhere; but there is a
difference between His Presence
and our actual experience of it.
In this series, we will learn from
scripture to become more aware
of God’s presence and position
ourselves to encounter His presence
We will also learn to recognise His
voice and deepen our trust in Him.

During this week we learn several
lessons to position ourselves in
order to encounter His presence.
On Monday, we learn in Gen 5 that
Enoch Walked Constantly with God.
On Tuesday, we learn in Gen 12,
Abraham Followed God’s calling.
On Wednesday, we learn in Gen 18,
to Trust God to Fulfil His Promise.
On Thursday, we learn in Gen 22,
to Obey God even sacrificially.
On Friday, we learn in Gen 37 & 41
that Joseph Held On to Given Dream.

Friends, God is working more
mightily these days than ever.
He is breaking down barriers to
the gospel message and is calling
people to join Him in His work.
Let’s together learn to position
ourselves to encounter His presence
And I pray you will be responsive
to Him in this season of last days.
May the grace, joy & peace of God
be yours thro Christ our Lord. Amen

Holding On to Given Dreams

Backgrounder to Genesis 37-41:
Though the favourite son of his
father Jacob, Joseph alienates
himself from his brothers by his
forthrightness of his two dreams.
Envy grows into hatred until finally
the brothers sell him into slavery.
Taken to Egypt, Joseph suffers
injustice at the hands of Potiphar’s
wife & later from forgetful butler.
Through it all, God has a good plan
for both Joseph as well as Israel.
A difficult dream sent by God to
Pharaoh jars the memory of the
chief butler; and Joseph is promoted
from prisoner to prime minister
because of his God-given insight.

Lord, we’ll Wait for Your Promise:
Then (Joseph) dreamed still another
dream. This time the sun, the moon
and the eleven stars bowed down
to me. So he told it to his father
and his brothers; and his father
rebuked him… And his brothers
envied him, but his father Kept
the matter In Mind (Gen 37:9-11).
Pharaoh said to Joseph: “I had a
dream last night and no one here
can tell me what it means. But I’ve
heard that when you hear about
a dream you can interpret it.”
It is beyond my power to do this,
Joseph replied. But God can
tell you what it means and set
you at ease (Gen 41:15-16).

Lord, You were with Joseph
and made all he did to prosper.
Joseph kept integrity, running from
Potiphar’s wife & ended in prison.
It was a long wait of 13 years when
he received the two prophecies.
As a slave & as a prisoner, Joseph
could have seen his situations
as hopeless. But he remembered
the prophetic dreams and saw the
favour of men as signs of promise.
Holy Spirit, help us be like Joseph,
Not to Doubt but Believe, Waiting
for God to fulfil His promise. Amen

Lord, grant Be Thou Our Vision:
From the Joseph story, we learn
that You do not just speak into
individual lives or immediate future
for Your agenda is much broader.
When we listen for Your voice, we
need to listen with grand purposes
and long-term frame of mind.
So raise our vision beyond self
and our immediate needs & future.
Show us more Lord and draw us to
Your purpose & assignment. Amen

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you
for Your good plan for mankind.
Help us Persevere by Waiting for
fulfilment of promise like Joseph.
Help us Trust You for challenges
even as we Give Our Scars to You;
for You Intended For Good. And
Lord help us to see life problems
thro your eyes and for your glory.
Thanks be to You God who is able
to keep us from stumbling. Amen!

Testing of Obedience (May 28)

Backgrounder on Genesis 21-24:
The climax of more than 20 faith-
stretching years for Abraham and
Sarah comes in the birth of Isaac.
But soon Abraham’s faith is tested
again as God calls him to sacrifice
that treasured son upon an altar.
Abraham obeys, showing that the
experiences of the past 2 decades
have not been in vain. For His
faithfulness to the point of death,
God rewards Abraham with
further assurances of blessing.

Lord, we are willing to Obey:
Sometime later God tested Abraham
He said to him: Abraham! ‘Here I am,
he replied. Then God said:Take your
son, your only son, Isaac, whom
you love & go to Moriah. Sacrifice
Him there as a burnt offering on one
of the mountains I will tell you about.
Early the next morning Abraham got
up & saddled His donkey (Gen22:1-3)
Then (Abraham) tied his son Isaac
and laid him on the altar… And
Abraham picked up the knife to
kill his son as a sacrifice.At that
moment the angel of the Lord called:
Don’t lay a hand on the boy!… for
now I know that you truly fear God.
You have not withheld from me even
your son… Then Abraham look up
and saw a ram… He took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
in place of his son (Gen 22:10-13).

Lord, how my life will change
when I say “Here I am” I can’t know
for sure. It might require laying down
a dream that I long held tightly;
but the cost will pale in comparison
to the blessing. For You are good,
You work things for good; and
You’re the one I can put my trust
since it is also well within Your will.
So I present myself to You as an
offering to You: to be moved and
activated by Your voice. Here I am
while I am yielded and still. Amen.

Lord, realise that Abraham saw
Your willingness and ability to keep
promises even if it took a miracle.
Know that You wanted Abraham
to sacrifice Isaac in his heart so that
he learn to trust God completely.
Lord, obeying You may often be
quite a struggle for it may mean
giving up something we truly want;
but U refine us thro circumstances.
Help us Lord when tested that we
will not complain but instead we
will trust and obey You Lord. Amen.

Lord, I know You always ask me
to surrender everything to You –
including the dream in my heart.
And even when that dream is from
You. You will ask me to let go of
my hold on it. So I surrender every
dream in my heart over to You.
I don’t want to cling to something
You will not bless, or give up on
something that is Your will for
my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God Can Do Anything (May 27)

Backgrounder on Genesis 15-18:
God’s promises to Abraham are
given in great detail, confirmed
with a unilateral treaty, repeated
and established by the sign of
circumcision. But as the years
pass with no evidence of fulfilment,
Abraham acts in foolish impatience.
The result is a son Ishmael, who
will forever cause the heartbreak
of his father, constantly reminding
Abraham of the price of unbelief.
And we have the visit of the three
men of God (enroute Sodom) with
a message for Abraham and Sarah.

Lord, we will Trust Your Promise:
Then one of the three men said:
About this time next year I will return
and your wife Sarah will have a son.
Now Sarah was listening to this
conversation from the tent nearby.
And since Abraham and Sarah were
both very old, and Sarah was long
past the age of having children,
she laughed silently to herself…
Then the Lord said: Why did Sarah
laugh? Why did she say: Can an
old woman like me have a baby?
Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?
About a year from now, just as
I told you, I will return and Sarah
will have a son (Genesis 18:10-14).
The Lord kept His Word and did for
Sarah exactly what He had promised.
She became pregnant and she gave
birth to a son… This happened at
just The Time God said (Gen 21:1-2)

Lord, Thanks for the promise that
there’s nothing too difficult for You.
We praise You that You are the
God of miracles and all Powerful.
And we call upon Your awesome
might when we are in trouble;
for it honours Your name when
we ask for God-sized things.
And we submit to Your sovereignty;
for sometimes the greater miracle
occurs when we’re able because
of God’s sustaining strength, to
endure crushing troubles. Amen.

Lord, praise You for being able
to do miracles and work wonders.
Remind us daily of Your limitless
power; and that we serve a God
who can do anything & everything.
Lord, just as You demonstrate Your
infinite strength among the nations;
display Your might in our life today.
And even if You choose not to
deliver us from our trials just yet,
give us Lord the ability to hang on
and keep on trusting You. Amen.

Lord, sometimes the change we
want to see seem impossible, even
laughable. Grant us the faith to keep
believing that what is impossible in
human terms is not too hard for You.
For our hopes are grounded in the
reality that U still do the impossible.
You create life out of death, which
is not dependent upon human effort.
Nothing is too hard for You; and
You do things in Your Time. Amen.

Follow God’s Calling (May 26)

Genesis 12-14 describe God’s call
of Abram to leave his home in Ur
(near Persian Gulf) and travel to
a distant but unspecified new land.
Abram faces many distractions
along the way including the death
of his father and a severe famine.
But God is looking for a person
of faith who will trust Him
completely to keep His Promises.
For Abram those promises include
becoming a great nation and
experiencing great blessing in
the face of overwhelming odds.

Lord, we will Obey & Follow You:
The Lord said to Abram: Leave
your native country, your relatives
and your father’s family and go
to the land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you & make your name
great; and you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and
I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed. So Abram
departed as the Lord had spoken…
And Abram was 75 years old when
he departed from Haram (Gen12:1-4)

Lord, when U called Abram to leave
the land of his birth, it was so that
U could give him the Promised Land.
Thanks You call us To something,
not just away From something.
Lord You are always calling us to the
place where Yr provision awaits us.
Comforting that Your commands
are always related to Your Promises.
Whilst You command obedience,
that will also clear the way for
Your promised provision. Amen.

Lord, noted Your calling will involve
sacrifices but comforting that it’s
sacrifice for sake of something
more. For we note Your promises
to Abram: to make him into a great
nation and be a blessing to others.
So when You call us, help us not to
dwell on what we may have to leave
behind. But instead focus our heart
and mind on what we’ll be receiving.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Lord, we’ll obediently follow You.
Grant us the wisdom and the
courage to let go of what’s
holding us back and reach out
for the treasures of the kingdom.
Help us to trust Your promise
when it comes wrapped in a call.
Help us not only to remember
what we are (Your child) but also
think of what You can make of us.
Help us to look forward not behind.
Help us to obey Your calling and
Help us to simply Follow You. Amen

Constant Walk With God (May 25)

Backgrounder on Genesis 3-5:
The perfect environment into
which man was placed is now
shattered by the entrance of sin.
Disobedience follows as the first
family eats from the forbidden
tree and is expelled from the
garden. The results of their sin
spread quickly as humankind
and the whole creation fall
under the penalty of death.
Cain becomes the first murderer,
and the downward spiral continues
from Adam to Noah, paving the
way for God’s sweeping judgment
upon the wickedness of the world.

Lord, we purpose to Walk with You:
Enoch lived 65 years and begot
Methuselah. After he begot
Methuselah, Enoch walked with
God 300 years and had sons
and daughters. So all the days of
Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch
walked with God; and he was not,
for God took him (Gen 5:21-25).
By faith Enoch was taken away
so that he did not see death,
and was not found because God
had taken him; for before he was
taken he had this testimony, that
he pleased God. But without faith
it is impossible to please Him, for
he who comes to God must believe
that… He is a rewarder of those
who diligently seek Him(Heb 11:5-6)

Lord, thanks for the lesson from
Gen 5 that You walked With Enoch.
Noted You almighty creator God
calibrated Your stride for Enoch’s
sake to take into account his frailty.
So intimate was Your relationship
with Enoch that when the time came
for Enoch to leave earth and enter
eternity, his walk just continued. And
Enoch received the promise early
to the followers of Christ: He who
believes in Me shall never die. Amen

Lord, we thank You for the gift of
Your Presence. I am grateful and
filled with wonder and amazed
that You love me so much You
actually desire my presence.
Teach me more each day what
it really means to walk with You.
Help my thoughts not to be
wholly occupied with the world’s
passing show. But grant each day
may strengthen my hold on the
reality of the unseen world. Amen.

Lord, we are challenged by the long
term faithfulness of Enoch that
he walked with You for 300 years.
Help us also to please You like
Enoch who not only believe in You
but also earnestly seek after You.
Help us also to seek after Your
holiness for we learn in Jude that
Enoch warns people that God is to
be worshiped and obeyed. Amen.

Launch of New Series (May 25)

We have been utilising Scripture          to form prayers so that we learn
         to think as God thinks; and pray
   within His will thus pleasing Him.
For weekday meditation, the plan
is to cover through the scripture on
two discipleship themes each year.
Thus far, we had meditated on
Imploring, Seeking, Thanking
Hearing and Praising God. For
the rest of this year we will be
meditating on Experiencing God.

All of us long for God’s presence,
and we do sense it occasionally.
God is everywhere; but there is a
difference between His Presence
and our actual experience of it.
In this series, we will learn from
scripture to become more aware
of God’s presence & experiencing
Him when He comes closer to us.
We’ll learn to practice the presence
of God and position ourselves to
encounter His presence. We will
also learn to recognise His voice
and deepen our trust that He is
ready to help in our situation of life.

For the past week, I had spent
several days scanning through
Experiencing God Study Bible,
which will be the key material
source of inspiration besides the
the Holy Spirit for rest of the year.
Friends, God is working more
mightily these days than ever.
He is breaking down barriers to
the gospel message and is calling
people to join Him in His work. And
I pray that you will be responsive
to Him in this season of last days.
May the grace, joy & peace of God
be yours thro Christ our Lord. Amen