[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (LRAU) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟙:𝟚𝟙
“And she will bear a Son; and you
shall call His name 𝕁𝕖𝕤𝕦𝕤
for He will save His people from their sins.”
What a name is our God! Named
because that was the reason for His incarnation: God became man to save man
because it's man who must die because it's man who sinned against God.
When we hear the name of
"Jesus," it reminds us how sinful we are, and how God views sin
seriously. Yet, many pervert people would say "Jesus" as a cuss word!
Their own words have demonstrated the glory of God in condemning them!
May we honor The Name of Jesus!
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟚:𝟙𝟛
“Now when they had departed,
behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Get up!
Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell
you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’”
The coming of Jesus into the life
of Joseph and Mary was not a peaceful one. It was a matter of trouble,
violence, homelessness, disgrace, fear, and attacks. The good news is that they
knew God was in charge.
And how often do we think God
should orchestrate everything in our life to run smoothly, especially because
we follow Him. God does not promise to prevent us from trouble. God does not
promise to protect us from trouble. God does not promise to preserve us in
trouble.
What He promises us is eternal life
if we remain faithful. What He promises us is joy in all circumstances if we
put our trust in Him. And above all, He has sealed us with the Holy Spirit,
never to leave us.
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟛:𝟙-𝟚
"Now in those days John the
Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.’"
The message of John the Baptist is
"Repent." It's not, "God loves you and will fill your heart with
peace." Jesus came into the world to call sinners to repentance. In fact,
in chapter 10, He also said that He didn't come to bring peace, but a sword. Let's
take our spiritual walk more seriously. Let's not love the world or the things
of the world.
—Repent—
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎.
𝟜:𝟙𝟟
“From that time Jesus began to
preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
The first gospel message preached
by Jesus is the same that John the Baptist preached. It is the same that Jonah
preached. It is the same message Jesus preached to the blind man, to the
adulterous woman. It's the same message He confronted Nicodemus and the Samaritan
woman.
Sin is Real. He came to save us
from our sins. If there's no calling of sin, there's no gospel, no salvation,
no Christ. If we are indifferent to sin, we are indifferent to the Gospel and
Jesus Christ. If we don't mend our way and still cling to our sins, the gospel
nor Christ is in us.
𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭,
𝓢𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓬𝓱
𝓜𝓮,
𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓪𝓵
𝓜𝔂
𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓼,
𝓒𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼𝓮
𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓶,
𝓐𝓷𝓭
𝓕𝓲𝓵𝓵
𝓜𝓮
𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱
𝓣𝓱𝓮
𝓟𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻
𝓞𝓯
𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻
𝓢𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓽
𝓣𝓸
𝓐𝓵𝔀𝓪𝔂𝓼
𝓦𝓪𝓵𝓴
𝓘𝓷
𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻
𝓦𝓪𝔂𝓼!
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟝:𝟚𝟡:𝟛𝟘
"But if your right eye makes
you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to
lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into
hell. ‘And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from
you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for
your whole body to go into hell.’"
The main point I learn is: Sin is
serious. Do anything to avoid it. Sin is hazardous. It's worse than being
maimed and lame. It's worse than blindness, muteness, and dumb. Trade anything
but sin. Trade everything even your body parts to get rid of sin.
We love to joke, "I have to
sell my kidney to buy that." Jesus called us to trade away even hands and
eyes, etc. to get rid of sin if needed.
Discipline. Avoidance. Set Rules.
Boundary. Principles. Punishment. Accountability.
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟞:𝟙𝟡-𝟚𝟙
"Do not store up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves
break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The greatest investment is not in the
stock market. It's not in Bitcoin or any Cryptocurrency. It's not in the bank,
nor in insurance, or “marup,” or pigs, or shops. It's not even in your kids, in
your careers, or in your assets (lands and houses).
The greatest investment is in
heaven, where it shall last for eternity, and where it is risk-free. And its
return (profit) is 30fold to 100fold. And if my math is correct, that means
3000% to 10,000% interest rate, not just 2% or 5% or 20%
How much have you invested already?
How many hours have you taken to understand how to invest in lands or any
business? Would you take time to think through how to invest in heaven too?
It's not that simple nor that difficult. It takes careful thinking!
𝕄𝔸𝕋𝕋ℍ𝔼𝕎
𝟟:𝟞
“Do not give what is holy to dogs,
and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their
feet, and turn and tear you to pieces."
I am glad that this is written in
Scripture. Even if it's not in the Scripture, I think it's written in our human
conscience to affirm and practice this.
We can't afford to let people
trample on things we hold dear. Years ago, my dad trimmed my hair. And I don't
know whether it was neatly done or not, and I wouldn't let anybody mock my
father if it wasn't as great as a professional barber. So, when people asked me
who cut my hair, I told them it was my brother. And to my surprise, they
commented that it was looking better than the works of the professional
barbers.
We protect what we value. If a sinner
doesn't want the holy things of God, we aren't giving them, not because we hate
them, but because we love holy things enough not to be trampled under.
There are some books I love to
read, some people I love to listen to, some places I want to go, some YouTube
channels I love to listen to, some principles I love to practice, but I don't
advertise or offer to everyone all the times. I must have mentioned it once or
twice, and no more. That's because I love to protect and cherish what I value,
I don't want people to dishonour it.
I think that's true in marriage proposals
too. They love themselves too much that they cannot afford to be rejected.
Therefore, they are careful when to propose and not to propose often.