[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (JAC) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
[19:41,
5/3/2021] S.R:
𝕀 ℙ𝔼𝕋𝔼ℝ
𝟙:𝟛
"Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great
mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead."
The
Lord has not only caused me to be born again but also into a hope, yes, a
living hope. Oh because of the powerful resurrection of Christ.
What
a life in God! What hope! What power! I would like to live 100 years
experiencing the power of God's grace!
𝕀 ℙ𝔼𝕋𝔼ℝ
𝟚:𝟙𝟟
"Honor
all people, love the brethren, fear God, honor the king."
𝙸 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚠 𝚞𝚙 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 "𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍," 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑.
𝙸𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚝, 𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚍. 𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍. 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚏 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝.
𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙶𝚘𝚍: 𝚁𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚛; 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚕; 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎; 𝚍𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚏𝚞𝚕; 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍.
𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛! 𝚆𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚢. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚓𝚘𝚋 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚗, 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎!
𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭, 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽. 𝓖𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮, 𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼, 𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓲𝓽𝔂, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓰𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓭𝓮𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓼𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓸 𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓷'𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓶𝓮. 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓷!
𝕀 ℙ𝔼𝕋𝔼ℝ
𝟛:𝟙𝟟
"For
it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing good rather
than for doing wrong."
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝!
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢 (𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚋𝚎/𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐) 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚖𝚜.
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎.
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚍𝚘 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜! 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏
𝚟12 "FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE
RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS
AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.”
𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭, 𝓭𝓸 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓲𝓮𝓵𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓮𝓶𝓹𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷! 𝓜𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓶𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰, 𝓭𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓭, 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓸𝓾𝓼, 𝓼𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝓿𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓽𝓱! 𝓘 𝓹𝓻𝓪𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾, 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓷!
𝕀 ℙ𝔼𝕋𝔼ℝ
𝟜:𝟟
"The
end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound thinking and sober spirit
for the purpose of prayer."
1.
"Sound thinking"
2.
"Sober spirit"
Not
only physical body to be healthy, but we must have a healthy mind and a healthy
spirit. To contemplate Christian virtues more and work towards demonstrating
more.
My
world is full of people who don't take the things of God seriously. I fear for
their life! Also, it's my goal to be more like Christ in bearing all the fruits
of the Spirit, more and more!
𝕀 ℙ𝔼𝕋𝔼ℝ
𝟝:𝟡
"Resist
him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being
experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world."
We
pray more sincerely when we are in trouble, and that's right. We must do. But
God is not more sincere or less sincere anytime. He is always faithful.
The
people in Delhi are dying of a lack of hospital beds, oxygen, treatment, etc.
in this pandemic. And we might be tempted to ask, "Does God care?"
Well, God does not care more or care less than He always does. He is always
good.
How
is this a comfort? It is. Because it means nothing is out of control. God is
not less loving today or more loving yesterday. He is the same, yesterday,
today, and forever. He is the same, in Delhi, Manipur, the US, and China.
There's no less protection here or more protection there.
And
for believers, to those who love God, we have Romans 8:28, that everything—yes,
even this coronavirus, exam failures, whatever everything—is working out for
our own good.
Wow!
What is more comforting than this? That God would make all circumstances
revolve around me for my own good, even the mess of my own doing! 2nd Greatest
promise, next to the promise of eternal life!
And
BTW, God was not more caring or less caring when He wiped out the world in
Noah's flood. He wasn't when He slaughtered the firstborns of Egypt. He wasn't
when He slaughtered the 1,85,000 soldiers of Assyrians. He wasn't when He sent the
plague to His own people, the Israelites in the wilderness.
Pandemic
in Delhi is pale in comparison to what had happened in the Bible. Even if God
slays me this afternoon, it is still the goodness of God, and I shall worship
Him!
To
balance: BTW, Jesus wasn't sitting straight with the Father when Stephen was
stoned to death; He was standing. Jesus wasn't indifferent in Lazarus' tomb; He
wept.
The
sovereignty of God does not mean He is indifferent to suffering. It means He is
orchestrating everything for His glory and for the good of us (individual
believers).
Sorry
for typing a long sharing! Thank you for reading thus far!