Hebrews closes with an appeal for
a persevering Faith that relies on
the promises of God regardless
of the circumstances. Writing to
an audience whose actions were
being shaped by pressure from
the world rather than promises
from God, the author urges the
kind of faith-inspired walk that
characterised so many OT saints.
Being so convinced of God’s
Faithfulness, they ordered their
lives according to His Word. Follow
their commendable example and
walk by Faith; and not by sight!
Lord, help us Endure the Race:
Since we are surrounded by
so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight and
the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross (Heb 12:1-2).
Father, I want to keep my eyes
on Jesus, my Saviour & Master.
Grant me the grace to consciously
turn my eyes away from problems
and the things of this world.
Help me focus on the one whom
my faith depends from start to finish.
Open up my ears Lord to Your voice
and soften my heart to live closely,
deeply and boldly in You. Amen.
Lord, we purpose to run the race by
keeping our eyes on U Jesus the one
who initiates and perfects our faith.
Our desire Lord is to hear Your voice
and to follow You for life is about You.
As You Lord live Your life within me,
let my spiritual ears open up and
my heart softens towards God.
And may You live fully, deeply,
boldly in my total being. Amen.
The writer of Hebrews highlighted
the superiority of Christ by pointing
out the heart of the human problem
is the problem of the human heart.
The old covenant was inadequate
because it was unable to deal
permanently with sin. But God’s
new covenant written in Christ’s
own blood which He shed on
the cross – makes full provision
for the forgiveness of sins.
Lord, we receive Better Covenant: He is the one who mediated for us a far Better Covenant with God, based on better promises (Heb8:6) This is the new covenant I will make
… on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds so they will understand them, and I will Write Them on their hearts so they will obey them. I will be their God, and they will be my people… …For all Shall Know Me (v10-11)
Under the old system, the blood of
goats and bulls cleanses people’s
bodies from ceremonial impurity.
Think how much more the blood
of Christ will purify our consciences
from sinful deeds so that we can
worship the living God. For Christ
offered himself to God as a Perfect
Sacrifice for our sins (Heb 9:13-14)
Father, thank You for lifting me to intimacy with You through Jesus. Thank You for the freedom and rest to realise that through the new covenant in Christ Jesus I am enabled to obey Your words. Empower me to cling to You O Lord and Write Your Words in my heart. Open my eyes to see Your great work in those who believe. Amen.
Father God, You promise I Can Know You – not just theoretically, but through the experience of a genuine relationship with You. I really want that. And my prayer is that You would become more and more real to me as I turn my thoughts and heart towards You.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord Jesus, I thank You with all
my heart for being the perfect
sacrifice for my sins and the sins
of the whole world. When Your
blood was presented on the
heavenly mercy seat and You
offered up Your Spirit, the veil
of the temple was forever rent.
Thank You for providing us
Ready Access into the presence
of God the Father. Amen.
God spoke in times past through
the prophets, but He has reserved
the declaration of His glory for
His Son. By His death, Jesus lifts
mankind into the family of God.
Because of His perfect humanity,
Jesus is uniquely qualified to serve
as High Priest for sinful mankind.
And Christ will bring His people into
the eternal resting place of heaven.
Lord, You Remember & Anchor Us:
For God is not unfair. He will not
forget how hard you have worked
for Him and how you have shown
your love to Him by caring for
other Christians (Heb 6:10).
God also bound Himself with an
oath, so that those who received
the promise cd be perfectly sure
He would never change His mind…
These 2 things are unchangeable
because it is impossible for God
to lie. Therefore, we who have
fled to Him for refuge can take
new courage, for we can hold on
to His promise with confidence.
This confidence is like a strong
and trustworthy Anchor for
Our Souls (Heb 6:17-19). Amen.
Lord, sometimes we struggle with
living in a world where good is
ignored or even disadvantaged.
Help us to keep our eyes on You
and on the truth of Your Word.
You are righteous in all You do;
and thanks for the promise
that You will never forget all
that we do for Your kingdom.
Grant us grace as we purpose
to continue to do good. Amen.
Lord, ministry can be tough, like
a grind with endless repetition of
routines. We wish someone will
notice how hard we are working.
Thankfully this is not really so.
For You God sees what we do,
will reward the sacrifices made;
and greatly approves when we
further the kingdom of Christ.
And God has promised that He will
never forget. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Lord, Thank You for providing
something to hold on to when
everything seems to be shaking.
Our hope in Jesus is an Anchor
for our souls and will keep us
steady in all the storms of life.
Thank You for the promise that
those who flee to You for refuge
can take new courage because
Your promises are true and You
never break Your word! Amen.
God spoke in times past through the prophets, but He has reserved the declaration of His glory for His Son. By His death, Jesus lifts mankind into the family of God. Because of His perfect humanity, Jesus is qualified to serve as High
Priest for sinful mankind. And He
will bring His people into eternal rest.
Lord,we Approach with confidence:
The word of God is… powerful…
piercing even to the soul and spirit
and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intent of the heart (Heb 4:12).
Seeing then that we have a Great
High Priest… Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest
who cannot sympathise with our
weakness, but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore Come Boldly to
the throne of Grace, that we may
Obtain Mercy and Find Grace to
help in time of need (Heb 4:14-16).
Lord, breathe Your Words into me;
don’t just teach me Your truth,
fill me with it. Let it shape me
in every way so that I can hear
Your voice in it. Lord, I invite You
to sharply and decisively divide
my own thoughts from Yours and
distinguish Your voice within me.
And let Your Words burn powerfully
in my heart and mind. Amen.
Lord, thanks for facing temptations and problems and thus understand our challenges and weaknesses. Thank You for pouring out Your life on the cross, for rising again and reigning at the right hand of the Father. Your throne is a place of grace for Your people, where we can receive Your mercy and help when we most need it. Amen.
Lord Jesus, thank You that You understand my weaknesses, for You have been tempted in every way and yet did not sin. Because You understand my struggles, I know I can come
to You and receive mercy.
Help me Lord approach You with confidence, knowing You will help
me in my time of need. Amen.
Paul has many pleasant memories of the days he spent with the infant Thessalonian church. Their Faith, hope, love and perseverance in the face of persecution are exemplary and Paul’s labours as a spiritual parent to the fledging church have been richly rewarded. He encourages the Thessalonians to excel in their Faith, increase in their love, and rejoice always even as God Promises to Sanctify them.
Lord, we want to Do Your Will: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the Will Of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:16-18). Now may the God of peace Himself
Sanctify You completely; and may
your whole spirit, soul and body
be preserved blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus (v23). He who calls you Is Faithful,
who also Will Do it (v24). Amen.
Lord, it is always Your Will for me to be joyful and pray often & give thanks to You in all circumstances. Help me remember to do Your Will
even when I don’t see yet answers
to prayers as I would like it to be.
For no matter what is happening
in my life, I know Your Will is good
and that You are in control. Amen.
Lord God of peace, do Your holy
work of Sanctification within me.
I want to honour You with my life;
and I want to resist sin each day.
But at same time, I confess some
thing within me is attracted by evil;
so Keep me Lord to be blameless.
Give me a deep love for You and
the zeal for Your glory that will
surpass any impure passion. Amen.
Lord, I sincerely feel that my deepest
longings simply will be fulfilled.
I have brought them to You to do as
You please. Use them to accomplish
Your purposes; and I’m believing that
You will get me where I need to go.
I am now fully available to work
out the calling You have for me.
I know Lord that You are faithful
and that You will do it. Amen.
Apostle Paul’s purpose of writing
1Thess is to strengthen believers in their faith and give them assurance
of Christ’s return; while that for Timothy is to give instructions and encouragement to a young leader.
This week we understand God better
thru knowing His attributes, mostly
related to His ability to meet needs.
On Monday, we learn from 1Thess 1
to Keep Faith with Living & True God.
On Tues, we learn from 1Thess 5
of God of Peace & Faithfulness.
On Wed, we learn from 1Tim 1 of
God who Alone Is Wise & Patient.
On Thursday, we learn from 1Tim 6
Lord of lords Urges Eternal Mindset.
On Fri, we learn from 2Tim 4 to
Be Witnesses of Righteous Judge.
Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face…In Jesus’ name.
John describes visions depicting
activities in heaven and on earth.
God enthroned, holds a scroll
which is sealed with seven seals.
No one is found worthy to break
the seals and reveal the contents
of the scroll except Lion of Judah.
As the first six seals are broken,
calamities break forth upon the
earth involving warfare, famine,
death, earthquakes and heavenly
disturbances. The kings of earth
know too well the explanation of it
all. For the great day of His wrath is
come & who shall be able to stand?
Lord, grateful for the glimpses
into Christ’s glory in Revelation.
Here we see into the throne room
of heaven, with God orchestrating
all the events. The works is not
spinning out of control for the
God of creation will carry out
His plans as Christ initiates the
final battle with the forces of evil.
Dear Lord, we praise for being
All Holy and Almighty and that
You will defeat all evil in the end.
Thanks that You have good plans
not only in the future but also now.
Lord Jesus, we Bow In Worship;
help us to Reign With You; and
help us to Share the Gospel. Amen.
Lord, we bow down in Worship:
The twenty-four elders fall down
and worship the one who lives
forever and ever. And they lay
their crowns before the throne
and say: You are worthy, O Lord
our God, to receive glory and
honor & power. For You created
everything, and it is for Your
pleasure that they exist and
were created (Rev 4:10-11).
Lord, Thank You for revealing
Your glory being celebrated
in heaven. You are worthy; for
it is for You and because of You
that all things exist. Reveal to us
more glimpses of how infinite,
limitless and majestic You are
so that Your glory is our focus.
Draw us into worship; and we lay
our crowns before You Lord –
all that we’ve done and all that
we are we give to You. Amen.
Lord, we want to Reign With You:
The 24 elders fell down before the
Lamb… And they sang a new song:
You are worthy to take the scroll,
and to open its seals; For You were
slain, and have redeemed us to God
by Your blood… And have made us
kings and priests to our God; and
we shall reign on the earth… Then
I heard the voice of many angels
around the throne with a loud voice:
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
to receive power… and honor and
glory and blessing (Rev 5:8-12).
Lord, Your Word says we are
already a royal priesthood, with
authority to pray and implement
Your mission in this current age.
Increase our Faith that we are
inhabited by the God of the
universe & carry Your presence.
Lord, it’s hard to fathom how we
can reign with You. But we want
to walk in the authority You offer
in this age. So show us how. Amen.
Lord, we will Share the Gospel:
Then everyone… the powerful…
every slave and free person… all
hid themselves in the caves and
among the rocks of the mountains.
And they cried to the mountains
and the rocks: Fall on us and hide
us from the face of the one who
sits on the throne and from the
wrath of the Lamb. For the great
day of their wrath has come, and
who is able to survive?(Rev 6:15-17)
Lord, we long for the day when
we will stand before Your throne.
On that day we will surely
be protected by the Lamb.
The cleansing that began when
we first beloved will be complete
and we will stand as purified pple.
But Lord we don’t want to stand
there alone; call our friends and
loved ones to Yourselves, cleansed
with the blood of the Lamb. Amen.
We had chronologically meditated
the OT scripture phase by phase,
including Torah Laws and Job;
Conquest to United Kingdom
plus Psalms and Wisdom Poetry;
as well as Divided Kingdom & Exile
including major & minor prophets.
We start the Gospels, with Jesus
presented as the Perfect Servant,
Savior of the world, Messianic King
and the Son of God, before Acts
chronicles Growth of the Church.
Then Apostle Paul encourages and
builds up the church in various ways:
to Romans Justification by Faith;
to Corinthians to Live Rightly;
to Galatians Living by Faith alone;
to Eph Living as Body of Christ;
to Colossians Doctrinal Purity;
to Philippians Unity of the Spirit;
to Ths Serve ahead of 2nd Coming;
before Paul’s pastoral letters and
then pursing Maturity in Hebrews,
Practical Christianity in James,
Maturing thru tough times in 1/2Pet
Walking in Love in the three letters
of John & Keeping the Faith in Jude.
And finally we reach Revelation.
Just as the first book of the Bible
– Genesis – provides the opening
chapter of God’s redemptive
program, so the last book supplies
the conclusions as it describes
the return of Jesus Christ and
the creation of a new heaven
and earth. Revelation portrays
Jesus Christ as the victorious
King and coming Judge. Writing
from exile on the Island of Patmos,
John uses a dramatic series of
symbolic word pictures to capture
the awesome holiness of the
Lamb of God coming to defeat
Satan’s forces and judge the
world in perfect righteousness.
We will meditate Revelation over
four weekends in seven divisions:-
Rev 1-3:God’s Word to 7 Churches
Rev 4-6: Worship God & 7 Seals
Rev 7-9: Seven Trumpets
Rev 10-13: Seven Signs
Rev 14-16: Seven Plagues
Rev 17-19: Seven Dooms
Rev 20-21: Seven New Things
Lookout for them to understand
the holiness and hope in Christ.
Blessings/chris
After greeting the seven churches in Asia Minor, John describes how he received his orders to write. Each church needs a particular message, and John is commanded to tailor his exhortation to fit each scriptural need. Each message begins with the expression: I know thy works; each contains a promise “to him that overcometh”; each concludes with the warning: He that hath ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. In short, John sends words of reproof and reassurance from Jesus Christ, the Alphs & Omega to each of the seven churches.
Lord, thank You for the lessons from the letter to seven churches. We willingly receive Your charge to constantly fight against the temptation to become loveless, immoral, lenient, compromising, lifeless or casual about our faith. Thank You for loving us so much and wanting relationship with us. We Purpose to Free From Sin. We Will Come Back to First Love. We Want to Draw Near to You. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Lord, we will Free From Sin: All praise to Him who love us and has freed us from sins by shedding His blood for us; and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father (Rev 1:5-6). Lord, just the thought of the sacrifice of You fills me with thanksgiving and praise of You. Make my life one that brings Glory to You and make u smile. Show me Lord how to live as a priest and as a king. Help me speak Your will and live it out in every situation I see. Amen.
Lord, we come back to first love: I know all about the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance… But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen from your first love! Turn back to me again (Rev 2:2-5) Lord, I confess that I have been working for You and doing a lot but have somewhat ease the simple devotion of loving You. Thank You that You are ever calling me back to intimacy with You. Thank You for your arms that are open wide to receive me. Help me to once again abandon myself to You, to experience Your unfailing love for me, and to live in pure devotion to Your heart. Amen.
Lord, we will Draw Near to You: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone Hears My voice and opens the door I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me (Rev 3:19-20) Lord, You are always near and always desirous of my attention. Forgive me for the times I ignore or push You to the edges of my life. For You deserve the central place. Whenever I hear You calling and knocking, help me to open myself to You Lord so that I can enjoy rich intimacy together. Amen.
Paul writes his 2nd letter to Timothy
from prison with imminent death.
Yet the focus of Paul is not his own
needs but the needs of Timothy
who is pastor of church at Ephesus.
Paul, who has stood Faithfully for
the Lord through his life, passes
on that same challenge to Timothy.
There is no need to fear when
You serve the Lord of the universe
and endure hardship for His sake.
Lord, we’ll Share Your Good News: A time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound teaching. They will follow their own desires & reject the truth…Don’t Be Afraid of suffering for the Lord (2Tim4:3-5). I have Fought the good fight, I have Finished the race, and I have Remained FAITHFUL.
And now the prize awaits me,
which the Lord..the Righteous Judge
will give me on… His return (v7-8). The Lord STOOD with me and gave me Strength so that I might preach the Good News for all to hear. And the Lord will Deliver me (v17-18).
Lord, we are living in the end times
as we see more pestinences, earth
quakes and climatic disasters as
well as lawlessness around the world. Living for Jesus and sharing the good news can be challenging. Cause us Lord to remember Your commission; and not slack in our responsibility. And grant us grace & courage to share Your love. Amen
Lord Jesus, Thank You for all that You have done for us. In gratitude we want to further Your kingdom & grant us courage & determination. Help me influence others toward You & steer them to Your direction. Help me speak words of edification as well as utter prayers for others. Help me Remain Faithful running the
race to receive Your crown. Amen.
Lord, Thank You for Your promise to
bring us to Your heavenly Kingdom.
You’ll in fact bring us thro difficulties
in a way that allows us to triumph. We know You Lord are watching as You use us to impact the world. Stand by us, give us strength and
grant us continual deliverances that
boost our confidence to persevere
and Share Your Good News. Amen.
