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Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Short Reflection from 1 Peter 1-5

[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 𝔼𝕋𝔼 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 𝔼𝕋𝔼 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 𝔼𝕋𝔼 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 𝔼𝕋𝔼 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 𝔼𝕋𝔼 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!

Monday, October 23, 2023

Short Reflection from James 1-5

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (JAC) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

[06:06, 4/27/2021] S.R:

JAMES 1:2

"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials."

As I grow older year by year, as I have faced more trials than when I was much younger, I am appreciating this verse like never before. I affirm this truth now by experience. And I love Christian Life because of this truth!

"A life without trial is like an umbrella without rain!" Hahaha. You never know what an umbrella is without rain! 😀

Eh! I get a better one: "A life without trial is like a professional footballer who never plays, and is always in substitute!" Huh! He should change his profession! 😎

 

𝕁𝕒𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝟚:𝟙-𝟟

𝙹𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑! 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢.

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝙸 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚍𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎. 𝙰𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚙 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚙𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚎. 𝙷𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑!

𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑. 𝚂𝚘, 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎, 𝚠𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.

𝓗𝓮𝓵𝓹 𝓶𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭, 𝓽𝓸 𝓸𝓫𝓮𝔂 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓭! 𝓐𝓶𝓮𝓷!

 

𝕁𝔸𝕄𝔼𝕊 𝟛:𝟠-𝟙𝟘

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so."

𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚋 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚘𝚘𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝.

 𝙸 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚐𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙸 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑, 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚒𝚏 𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚕𝚢. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝙶𝚘𝚍'𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚞𝚎!

Last night, I was having dinner with Guang and Kedu. Guang had an "interesting " opinion regarding the author of Ecclesiastes. With humor and sarcasm, I suggested that he write a book on it, and commented that nobody will ever buy it. We had a hearty laugh, but when I get back to my room, I realized that I should have been more considerate instead of trying to be humorous and "witty." And I had to WhatsApp him saying, "Sorry!"

 

𝕁𝔸𝕄𝔼𝕊 𝟜

Why are we having problems with one another? And why do we create a problem for one another intentionally or unintentionally? We are angry with many things in this world, upset with this and that, discouraged with this and that, unmotivated to do this and that . . . Well James 4 has an answer, I will quote only

v2. " . . . You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel . . . "

How do we overcome this deep, deep jealousy? How do we get rid of envy from our eyes, minds, thoughts, actions? Well, it's by practicing and striving for humility as it is written in

v10. "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."

In reality, to enjoy life, to have a prosperous life, to have a good relationship, to have a godly life, to live an influential life, to live a meaningful life and whatever noble . . ., only God can let them happen in our life. And James says that the key is 🄷🅄🄼🄸🄻🄸🅃🅈

Lord, cause me to confess all the days of my life like David that I do not look for great things, but just to delight in Your lovingkindness. Amen!

 

JAMES 5:19-20

“Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

As I read James 5 today, particularly v.19-20, I remember this quote from the great evangelistic pastor, Charles Spurgeon. Have a great day, friends! “One soul won to Christ is better than a thousand merely moralized and still sleeping in their sins.”