A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. (Prov 10:4-5 ESV)    The Israelites lived in an agrarian society that understood that there was a time for everything. There was a time to plant and a time to pluck up what was planted (Ecc 3:2). The regular rhythms of the sun and the moon were ordained by God to govern the seasons so that we might learn about the importance of discipline and order. The God whom we serve is a God of order and peace—not confusion and chaos. And the beauty and symmetry of his creation reflects the manifold perfections of this glorious God.  In this proverb, we are enlightened by the divinely-inspired wisdom of king Solomon regarding the importance of labouring at the appropriate time. Those who are dependent on their harvests to survive cannot work on their own timetables but must adhere to the heavenly schedule that God has ordained. The farmer who is lazy and refuses to harvest his crops when they are ripe during the summer will find only spoiled fruit and rotten vegetables in the fall.  We modern city-folk have been immensely blessed in that we have airplanes and trucks that can supply us with delicious out-of-season fruits and goods from far-off lands even in the dead of winter. We work all year round and trade for what we need. This is a good thing and it means that our summers must not be wholly spent in back-breaking work to provide for ourselves lest we starve in the upcoming winter. Yet, we must never forget that even those we buy from must be diligent to use their harvest times productively in order to sell and trade with us. No one is exempt from following the ebb and flow of the divinely fixed seasons.  As Christians, we delight in the beautiful sunshine and warmth that God gives us during the summer months. But we must never forget that we are living in the last age—a spiritual, summer harvest season that is rapidly drawing to a close as our Lord Jesus prepares to return. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2 ESV)” We are grateful to no longer live in the winter season of human history when Messiah was only a promise and the polar nights of sin and death shrouded us Gentiles in a valley of deep darkness. We are privileged to have witnessed the spring season in which our Lord walked the earth and brought the newness of eternal life to all who would believe in him. And we are blessed to now live as workers in the master’s vineyard in the summer of our Lord’s harvest! Oh, there is much joy, peace, and rest to be had as we bask in the golden rays of the love of Christ that fill our hearts with warmth and everlasting happiness. But let us remember that the summer God has blessed us with is also a time for diligent labour!   “Lift up your eyes,” said the Master, “and see that the fields are white for harvest (John 4:35).” The world around us is blooming in this spiritual summer with souls that have been prepared from before the foundation of the world for us to reap as fruit for our King. They are planted everywhere around us in the oddest places. Perhaps a family member, or a neighbor, or a person who rides the bus with us every day. A young teenager driven away from his home, a single mother with three children, an outwardly happy work colleague who is struggling with inner depression. Church, do you see these lost sheep as our Master does? Our King desires a royal priesthood, a holy nation of redeemed people to worship him, and he has made us ambassadors of his kingdom to preach the Good News and to lead souls out of the kingdom of darkness into the marvelous light of Christ!   Taking a summer break from a regularly scheduled church program or small group does NOT mean taking a break from God, his Word, or his mission for us. And so long as our Lord delays his coming, we remain in the summer of our Lord’s harvest. It is always summer for Christians.   So, let us be diligent—not slack—this summer as we labour for his kingdom. Let us not be unfaithful servants who bury their talents to pursue the pleasures of this world, but let us be prudent sons and daughters who work with the fervency of those who know that NOW is the time to reap and gather souls for our Lord’s good pleasure.   Written by: Samuel Chua

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24 ESV)   The entirety of life’s strivings in our few short days under the sun can be summed up in one sentence—the desire to return to Eden. The perfect happiness and bliss that the first man and woman enjoyed in the garden of God is what every single human being aspires to whether they know it or not. In Eden, Adam and Eve were free to eat from the fruits of the garden, free from the curse of sin and death, and free from judgment and criticism as they wandered about naked and unashamed. They had stress-free and divinely-provided occupations, and most of all, supremely soul-satisfying intimacy and daily fellowship with the God who walked with them in the cool of the garden.  But when sin entered the human race, the holy God whose eyes are too pure to look on evil, could no longer abide in presence of sinful man. In a moment, the relationship between God and mankind changed from one of creator and employer to judge and avenger. Lest the pure glory of the holy and just God destroy their sinful beings, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and forbidden to eat from the tree of life. And to make clear just how serious this separation was, a mighty angelic creature with a sword of fire was stationed to guard the tree.   The tree which had once nourished their lives was now completely untouchable. The text says that the sword turned every way, teaching us that there was no path whatsoever for man to take in order to return to fellowship with God. No person—no matter how stealthy or mighty—would ever be able to bypass that dread angelic warrior, signifying that the way back to the presence of God was closed to sinful man on pain of death.  But God in his mercy did not leave us to die outside the garden. Though the serpent struck us a mortal blow with his venomous lies, God promised us an offspring who would crush his head, Jesus Christ. By his sacrifice on the cross for sinners, our precious Lord and Savior quenched the flames of that fiery sword for those of us who believe. He did not do so by bending the laws of justice, but by boldly accepting the deathblow of justice. Christ took the place of sinful man as he approached the flaming sword on the cross. And though the sword sank into his flesh and claimed his life, the innocent lifeblood of the Lamb of God poured forth from the hole in his side and extinguished the flames of God’s wrath—flames that no water could ever extinguish, but only his blood could. “It is finished,” shouted the Christ from the cross, and so it was. The wrath and anger of God was forever satisfied. To all who believe in the Son of God as the Way, the Truth and the Life, the path back to Eden has been cleared. There is only one way—not many—but it is the sure and perfect way nonetheless. Never again should we as believers live under fear that we will one day meet the cherubim’s flaming sword, for our citizenship in the new garden of God was paid for in full by the blood of our Savior.   Christian, do you think about your Lord who gave himself up to be struck down by the flaming sword for your sins? Do you rejoice that Christ has provided in himself the Way for you to return to the garden of God? Do the realities of the eternal heaven and hell weigh heavily on your heart and mind as you look at a perishing world? Is your soul moved with compassion for the millions of people who do not know Jesus and continue to live under the threat of the angel’s flaming sword that will forever separate them from the holy God who made them?  We are more than conquerors through him who loved us! Let us never forget what a great gift we have received in our Christ who paved the Way into the garden of God through his own body and blood. And from grateful hearts, let us go into the world on beautiful feet and preach the Good News. Blood has extinguished the flames of our punishment. All that remains—is grace.   Written by: Samuel Chua

The godly father wakes each day, To seek the King and walk His Way. He wages war on demon foes, On fleshly snares, and worldly woes.    God’s truth he wears around his waist, With honest words his mouth is graced, His righteous works adorn his chest, To those in need, he gives his best He comes in peace to those irate, And snuffs the blaze of strife and hate. A shield divine protects his heart, And blocks the Tempter’s flaming dart.    A Gospel helm upon his head Gives strength to win o’er any dread His battle sword, the living Word, Stabs to life the dead who have heard. He fights this war with prayers and pleas, With cries to God while on his knees. He serves his home, his church, and friends, For poor, lost sheep, his soul contends.    With holy words he leads his wife, And builds his home through sacrifice. His little ones, he loves and guides, Through seasons fair and raging tides  A father’s walk and Christ-like love Reflect the heart of God above And show to all our Father’s face, Love for sinners, and saving grace.  Written by: Samuel Chua

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). (Mat 1:23 ESV)   Throughout the Old Testament, God’s promise to be with his people was a great source of strength. God promised Isaac that he would be with him, to bless him and to establish the oath that he swore to Abraham (Gen 26:3). God promised a troubled Jacob that he would be with him if he left his uncle and returned to the land of his kindred (Gen 31:3). Moses and Joshua both received signs and words from God to encourage them to speak on behalf of God and to wage war (Ex 3:12, Josh 1:5).  But the coming of Jesus Christ into this world expanded the very phrase, “God with us,” beyond what anyone could ever have imagined. For God did not just grace the world with the care of his Presence, but his very Presence came into our world. How remarkable this is! As Charles Wesley wrote, “Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man.”  The God who crafted the entire universe condescended to enter into our world and added to his divinity the weakness and frailness of human flesh. The infinite God became an infant. The Creator whose breath forms ice (Job 37:10) would feel the chill of the evening wind. The Provider who feeds the beasts of the field would need to be fed at his mother’s breast. The eternal one would age into a man. The all-wise one would need to grow in wisdom. The immortal Lord would suffer death. The giver of joy would become a man of sorrows. The comforter of all would cry at the grave of Lazarus. The quencher of spiritual thirst who gives fountains of living water would himself thirst on the cross. What a paradox he is! Who can understand this great mystery?  He was fully God, yet fully human—and knew what it was to be human. And though he was tempted, he succeeded against sin where no human being had ever triumphed. He knew the maximum weight of human temptation in every aspect of life—more than anyone who has ever lived, yet he did not succumb for a moment and triumphed where Israel had failed!  And there is no path that we believers walk that he has not already walked before us! Are you abandoned and lonely? Then look to the one who had no place to lay his head. Are you crushed under the weight of grief? Look to the man of sorrows. Do you agonize over the crushing weight of your responsibilities? Look to him who bore the weight of Gethsemane. Truly he is a God who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he was made like us in every way but without sin (Heb 4:15). Christ has walked your path, and he walks with you now. Not just as the God who sees and ordains all things for your good, but as the God who walked our very world and walks with you now. And surely, he has promised, to be with you—to the very end of the age.   Written by: Samuel Chua

"When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3 and shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4 for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.' (Deut 20:1-4)   We are naturally afraid of things that are larger than us. We are not scared of a barking chihuahua, but we would do well to run from a charging grizzly bear. We are afraid at the thought of being attacked alone by a mugger on a dark night, but we feel safer in the company of three or four friends.  The people of Israel lived under the constant threat of war from neighboring nations with armies that dwarfed their own. Furthermore, their enemies often possessed military resources that gave them an enormous advantage in battle. The charge of warhorses would shake the very ground that the armies stood on, sending fear into the knees of even the bravest soldiers. Archers riding on chariots could send their deadly arrows into the ranks of Israelite soldiers like stinging hornets and then flit away quickly to a safe distance. Heavy horses and chariot wheels surging across a battlefield could overwhelm an army of infantry by simply crushing them underfoot.   Now, although such an army could perhaps be defeated by a larger army, the Scriptures expressly forbade the Israelite kings from acquiring many horses for themselves (Deut 17:16). How odd it would seem! Don’t we all know that being outnumbered in battle is generally a bad idea? What king, going out to war, does not first deliberate whether he’s able to fight an enemy army of twenty thousand with his own army of a mere ten thousand? (Luke 14:31) Yet, God was clear that the Israelites were not to amass for themselves these horses and chariots. And the reason for this express prohibition on gathering military might was so that they would know that it was the LORD who took care of them. Their divinely limited army served as a daily reminder that no matter how much they grew or how rich they became, ultimately it was the LORD who “brought them up out of the land of Egypt,” who would continue to fight for them if they would only wholeheartedly obey his commands.  And this is true for us as Christians as well! Though we might feel alone or outnumbered in our daily battles, we do not need to be afraid if the LORD God fights for us. We may feel dumb and incapable of engaging a wise and well-spoken individual with the Gospel, but we do not need to be afraid if the LORD fight for us! We may look with envy at those around us who have access to better technology, more money, greater numbers and feel despair at our own deplorable lack. Yet, we do not need to be afraid if the LORD fights for us!   Brothers and sisters, it is better to go with faith in God and a shepherd’s sling than dressed in the armor of Saul. It is better to enter spiritual battle with the sword of the Spirit and knees that are bruised from the rigors of extended prayer than it is to have money, intelligence and manpower. How careful we must be when it comes to acquiring for ourselves “horses and chariots” that tantalize us with offers of safety and security in this world when it is only the LORD our God who can truly save!  Christian, are you facing insurmountable odds in your life? Are you in a desperate situation because your obedience to our Lord’s commands has caused an army of people who despise God to rise against you? Are you discouraged because what you now have seems so small when compared with those around you?   Take heart, brothers and sisters, and remember that nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few (1 Sam 14:6). The LORD who loves us will not let us live under the cruel delusion that it is our own hand that saves us. And though our army of thirty thousand may have been reduced to but three hundred (Judg 7), we may fight with courage knowing that the LORD has given our Midianite enemies into our hands. Oh Lord, let us never turn to the world for provisions to live the Christian life lest we fool ourselves into believing that what was begun by the Spirit can now only be accomplished by the army of flesh. And may You get the glory as we come to you in humble dependence. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Ps 20:7)  Written by: Samuel Chua

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. (2 Tim 2:3-4 ESV)   The Christian life is not a calling to live life safely aboard the comfort of a cruise ship that is basking in the warm waters of the Caribbean, but rather to serve on the deck of a battleship that is being inundated with cannon fire in the waters of battle. Here the apostle reminds us that we are to act and think like soldiers and not civilians. We do not march to our own beat but answer to the trumpet calls of our captain Jesus. Some of us will be ordered to the front lines where the fighting is thickest and fall in battle, whereas others of us will serve as support, bringing supplies to others as David did at his father’s request. Whatever our roles, we are all enlisted in the King’s service and not our own. How dangerous our deceitful hearts are! How tempting it is to want to choose a life of ease and call it Christian. Sin in our hearts drives us to mould God into our own image, rather than allowing him to mould us into his own image. Just like the Israelites who crafted the golden calves and declared them to be the gods who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so too do we have a natural tendency for crafting God into our own image—to make him fit our desires and our requests. But if we do so, we are not followers of Christ, but of our own religion.   Everything we do must not be put through the grid of what we want and prefer, but whether or not it aligns with our commanding officer’s desires. And the Scriptures are nothing less than the King’s orders for his soldiers. Christian soldiers have only one goal in mind, and that is to please our commander and Lord. Nothing else will do. Do not grow weary in doing good. It is more blessed to give than to receive. Go and make disciples of all nations. We are called to evaluate every single decision we make in light of whether it pleases our Lord Jesus and not our own desire to avoid suffering.   What an example our Lord Jesus was to us! In his life, he shied away from comfort and wealth, and instead chose the road of suffering, single-mindedly devoted to his Father’s will. Though his flesh recoiled at the sight of the cup of the wrath of God as he interceded in the garden of Gethsemane, he was obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Our Lord certainly participated in what we would consider normal in life, such as a wedding at Cana and dinners with those who wished to speak to him, yet, he was a man of sorrows, acquainted with much grief. But because of his suffering and grief, you and I have been set free from the curse of eternal death through his work on the cross. Words are simply inadequate to express our infinite gratitude for this immeasurable sacrifice that was purchased for us on the crucible of suffering! Praise be to God!  Christian, are you aware that you live during a time of war in which eternal lives hang in the balance? Do you arm yourself each with the armor of God, sharpening the sword of the Spirit in your times with the Lord each day? Do you think about your shopping habits, what you watch on TV, and how you spend your time outside of work? Do you make your decisions around what will please your commanding officer the most?  Never forget that there are no civilians in the kingdom of God—only soldiers. Soldiers who endure suffering and advance against the gates of hell through laying down their lives as their Lord and Saviour did for them. Do not be distracted by the civilian affairs of this world! And when we have completed our mission assignments on this earth, we shall be blessed with the victor’s crown.  Written by: Samuel Chua

“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, [8] but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut 7:7-8 ESV).   The beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it is not for the proud and mighty, but for those who are willing to bow the knee and acknowledge their humility before God. The Christian life is full of reminders that God is great and magnificent, whereas we are small and insignificant. Yet, there is an incredible amount of joy to be had, knowing that God has chosen the foolish and small things of this world to shame the wise and the grand. For in man’s weakness, not his strength, God’s glory and kindness shines brighter.  If our Christianity were grounded in some sense of our worthiness before God we would live in a state of either constant pride or constant fear. If we believed that we were excellent Law-keepers like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus or the other Pharisees, we would snub those whom we deemed to be poor keepers of God’s Law. In our hearts, we would slowly begin to measure people according to our own sense of holiness rather than God’s and so steal glory from God by usurping his proper authority as Judge. If, however, we believed God loved us because of our own initial worthiness, this would not help us one bit. In fact, it would terrify us, for we would live in constant fear of losing that initial favor.   Our eyes were opened not because we were worthy of love, but because God chose to set his love on us. The foundation of our Christian lives is the concrete of grace not the sinking sand of fear. What a marvelous gift grace is! Grace is solid enough that we can stand on it through the trials of life, yet pliable enough that when we fall, we are not smashed but gently caught by its net. Grace is firm enough that we can leap from its platform into the ministry our Lord calls us into, yet grace is soft enough for us to rest on when we seek comfort and quiet from our sufferings.  How grateful we are for grace! God’s grace brought us out of spiritual slavery from our old taskmaster of sin, God’s grace sustains our frail bodies as we endure trials in this world, and God’s grace will ultimately bring us home to glory. The grace of God frees us from having to live a life of deception, claiming to be great, when we are nothing more than needy creatures who are in need of daily grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! May God’s grace be sufficient for you today and always. As the old hymn writer said,   Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.   Written by: Samuel Chua

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. (Ps 19:12 ESV)    The default thinking of human beings is to consider ourselves good. In most cases, we acknowledge that we make mistakes here or there, but overall, we consider the general tenor of our lives to be positive. The Scriptures, however, paint a very different picture of the human condition. God’s Word tells us that our hearts are deceitful (Jer 17:9) and tainted by sin that colours and dulls everything that we see. To our eyes that are darkened by sin, our own faults and wickedness do not seem so terrible and the perfect law of God does not shine with the brilliance of his holiness but appears to our sin-stained senses as something dull and oppressive.  Yet, if we were honest with ourselves, would we not be forced to admit our own desperate condition? If an invisible tape recorder were hung around our necks that recorded every single time in our lives that we told another human being, “You should…”—how many judgments would it record? And if we were to use that same tape recorder to measure our own lives, how many of us would live up to the standards that we foist on others? The truth is, we would not. We would fail and perish based on our own self-condemnation.   And if we were to condemned based on our own standard of living, how much more would we fail, if we were to be judged according to the standard of the immortal, perfect King of all the earth? How dangerous it is to think that we can attain heaven by our own good works! For none of us is wise enough to discern the entirety of our errors—including those we have forgotten or are ignorant of. Just as a lack of knowledge of the laws of the land do not pardon an individual who breaks the law, neither does ignorance of God’s holy laws pardon anyone in the heavenly courts.   The heart cry of the Christian, therefore, is that we need forgiveness of not just the sins that we are aware of, but also those we are unaware of. We as Christians are not permitted to live in sin lest we spurn the grace of God, but we as Christians must never think that our conduct before God is sinless perfection. Though we are redeemed, we are not yet what we will finally be. And so long as we live in this flesh, the only proper posture for us, is the humble acknowledgment that we need daily grace from our Saviour to cleanse us from both our known and unknown sin.  Christian, do you realize just how grand a Saviour Jesus Christ is? Just as a child cannot comprehend the extent of a parent’s dutiful care for them, neither do we as God’s children fully grasp just how magnificent the provision of God is for us through Christ. How precious is the flow that makes us white as snow! How precious is the blood of Christ that takes away the stain of even the sins that are hidden from our very own hearts and minds! God, declare me innocent of the hidden faults of my soul, for I dare not trust my own assessment of my heart!  The Gospel is good news to our souls. The Gospel tells us that we are far more sinful than we can ever comprehend, but also more forgiven and loved through Jesus Christ than we could ever have imagined. All glory be to our great and Saviour Jesus Christ!  Written by: Samuel Chua

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. (Deut. 34:5 ESV)   Of all the servants of God who had the privilege of having their names recorded in Scripture, the mighty Moses ranks among the very greatest. Moses stood before Pharaoh and declared God’s judgment of horrendous plagues. Moses stretched his hand over the Red Sea and caused the immense waters of the deep to part. Moses ascended the mountain of the Lord and received the tablets of stone carved by the very finger of God. And Moses entered the tabernacle and spoke with God face to face as one speaks to a friend.    But we must never think that faithfulness to God can be used to sway the hand of divine justice. Our faithfulness to God never tempts the righteous Judge of all the earth to overlook our wickedness or to close an eye to our evil that is absolutely abhorrent to the One who is perfect. Because Moses disobeyed God in the sight of all Israel by striking the rock instead of speaking to it, the Lord God declared that he would not enter the Promised Land but instead die outside of it (Deut 32:51-52). And so, Moses, servant of the Lord, who had led the people of Israel faithfully through the desert for 40 years, bore with their grumblings and sufferings, and interceded with God on their behalf—died according to the judgment that God had determined for him.   Yet, despite the severity of Moses’ discipline, he did not die outside the grace of God. Moses died with the magnificent title of servant of the Lord and not God’s enemy. Moses was told that he would die as one who was “gathered to his people,” (Deut 32:50), not condemned to everlasting fire. And Moses’ body was buried in the earth with dignity, and not consumed by dogs in disgrace as Jezebel’s was.   Perhaps the most remarkable part of this passage is that the text says that “he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab.” Although the subject is not stated, Moses certainly did not bury himself, therefore, it is only sensible to conclude that in the absence of others, God himself buried him! What insight this gives us into the character and person of God! God had every right to judge Moses for his sin, yet, the Judge of all the earth looked upon the body of his faithful servant with tenderness and compassion and honored him as one would a friend. Though Moses did not die surrounded by scores of his family, friends, and people, he died in the presence of his Lord who loved him and had the dignity and unimaginable privilege of being served by God himself. God dug the hole in the earth for his faithful servant. God placed his body into that grave. And God himself sealed his grave.    How great the tender mercies of our God are! He is not a God who delights in meting out punishment, but one who weeps at the tomb of Lazarus and considers the death of his saints to be precious in his sight (Ps 116:15). And when Satan showed up to contend with the archangel Michael over the body of Moses (Jude 9), the mighty archangel declared, “The Lord rebuke you!” to that fallen angel. We are not told what Satan had to say about the body of Moses, but perhaps the Accuser pointed out Moses’ sin in killing the Egyptian or in disobeying the Lord just as he later pointed out the high priest Joshua’s sin (Zech 3:1). But the God who sees and judges us for our sins is the same God who atones for our iniquities and silences the accusations of the devil.  Brothers and sisters, let us never forget that though Moses died FOR his sin he did not die IN his sin.  For the God who disciplined him FOR his sin, is the same God who would later for PAY for that sin with his own body and blood. Christian, the God we serve disciplines those whom he LOVES (Heb 12:6)—not hates. He is a God to be feared and whose very presence causes the mountains to shake. Yet he is a God who sympathizes with our weaknesses, weeps over the death of his friends, and lays down his life for his sheep. What perfect justice! What perfect love!   Christian, do you know and serve THIS God? Or do you serve a god that you have fashioned for yourself by reading only the verses of the Bible that you like?  Do you take his commandments lightly thinking that your sin is no big thing because you have prayed a prayer of salvation? Hear the word of God from Hebrews that declares to us, that “if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. (Heb. 10:26-27).” We who have died to sin can no longer live in it. If you have suffered the discipline of the Lord in your life, know that if you repent of your sins, our Lord is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And though you may die as a consequence of your sins, remember that your Lord bore the ultimate consequences for your sins on the cross.  Brothers and sisters, let us see our God rightly—this God who is both our Judge and our Friend. He is a God to be FEARED, but he is also a God to be LOVED! And if you should die in this world, forsaken by even your closest friends such that the place of your burial is unknown to this world because of your love for Christ, know that forsaken does not mean forgotten. For the God who is your Friend, will never forget you and your death is precious in his sight. What a joy it is to know a God who is both our Judge and our Friend—an ultimate, faithful, friend who paid it all for us when we could not!   Written by: Samuel Chua

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 ESV)    The greatest education in the world is not found where you would most expect it. It is not found in the vaunted halls of the university of Oxford among the minds of the world’s brightest scholars. It is not found at the feet of an ancient monk in a remote monastery, hidden high above the clouds on a snow-capped mountain in Tibet. It is not even found in the Ph.D programs of the finest evangelical seminaries that stand for the authority of God’s Word. The greatest education to be had in this world is found in being with Jesus.  The disciples that Jesus called were not men who were known for their staggering intellect or advanced studies. Of all the apostles, only Paul, the latecomer to the apostolic band and untimely born Pharisee-turned-Christian had the benefit of advanced rabbinical training. Yet, when the blue-collar fishermen, Peter and John stood before those towering intellectuals and scholars of the law who presided over the supreme Jewish court, the giants of their world were stunned. For all their wisdom and learning paled in the face of men who had learned from the Master, Jesus Christ, himself.  How great is the education in the school of Christ! How much divine compassion was burnt into their souls as they watched their Lord lay his hands on shunned beggars and heal them of their diseases! How much of God’s heart for the lowly and downtrodden was injected into their chests as they watched Jesus receive children into his arms and sit with the prostitutes and the tax collectors! What lessons of courage and zeal for God were permanently etched onto their consciences as they gaped at Jesus scourging and expelling the marketeers who had transformed God’s temple into a den of thieves! How much Scripture did they grasp from Christ as the eternal Word himself taught them the Word and lived the Word in front of them! For them, Christ was truly the living Word of God. For all the perfect justice, wrath, kindness, and mercy of God flowed through the very person of Jesus Christ.  Brothers and sisters, to know Jesus Christ—to be intimately acquainted with his person and his works—is to have divine knowledge of what is true, right, and holy. It is the greatest knowledge in the world and no amount of gold and silver nor volumes of encyclopedias can compare with it. You may not hold an advanced degree from some great university. Your daily work might be labeled as unskilled and replaceable. But if you know Christ and are known by Him, then the Holy Spirit of the omnipotent, immortal King lives in you! And should the most fearsome magistrates or government officials drag you into court and demand that you speak to them, the Lord has promised that in the very hour of your greatest need, you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. And though you may stand in the presence of the wisest men in this world, our God can so empower you that none will be able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which you will speak. They will look at your face and see not the timidity or fear of an uneducated country bumpkin, but the face of angel (Acts 6:10, 15)—the shining face of one who has looked upon the glory of God and not died because of the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.  So do not fear, child of God, that you are insignificant or foolish in the eyes of this world. For those who have sat in the school of Jesus are the wisest in the eyes of God. None who wish to enter his school will ever be cast out, and the unaffordable cost of tuition for your education has already been paid for by the infinitely valuable blood of Christ. So, let us draw close to our God that he might draw close to us, and learn well as Mary did, at the feet of our supremely wise Master.  Written by: Samuel Chua

Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. (Neh 5:18 ESV)   Our world measures success in tallying up how much we have gained. More degrees that grant a string of letters behind our names is considered a success. An 8-figure bank account is considered a success. A life full of hobbies and expensive vacations to the sun-kissed white-sand beaches of some tropical paradises is considered to be a successful life. The mantra of our world is “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  Yet, such richness in the eyes of the world is poverty in the eyes of God. In the inverted kingdom of Christ, the one who hoards gold and silver in these last days with no thought to being rich towards God gathers only incriminating evidence of a godless, self-centred life that will shout his eternal guilt in heaven’s courtroom (Jam 5:2). Those who would afflict, crush and rob the poor of their meagre wealth will not escape unscathed but will face the judgment of the Lord who will rob their abusers of their very own lives (Prov 22:22-23).   Nehemiah could easily have lived comfortably serving as the cupbearer to the Persian king, however his heart would not let him. For Nehemiah’s heart was filled with grief for the things of God and as a result he gave of his time, energy and finances to attend to the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem. But Nehemiah did not accomplish this work in the ways the leaders of this world do by lording it over those who were subject to him, nor did he exploit those who were unable to defend themselves. Instead, Nehemiah stopped the oppression of the poor in the land and encouraged the builders when opposition arose. Nehemiah refused to take the rights and privileges of a governor and to eat the food allowance, but rather chose to give to the dozens of men who sat around his table daily. What an example to us of Christ-like servant leadership Nehemiah is to us!  Christian, have you poured out your life in serving those who cannot repay you? Have you impoverished yourself of your time and money so that others might become rich in Christ? Has your service to others cost you your health, and no one around you appreciates just what you have sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom?  Come now all you mothers who labour at your daily routine of wiping spills off the floor and folding endless amounts of laundry! Come all of you who care for the needs of aging parents who can no longer remember your name! Come all of you who give so quietly to the poor, helpless, and hungry, that your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing! Come all who have poured out the tears of their hearts over the lives of those who stubbornly refuse to come to Christ.   Come all, for your Father in heaven has a wedding feast prepared for you in his kingdom. In his land, you who have chosen the lowliest seats will hear the Master say to you, “Friend, move up higher,” so that you might be honored in sight of the angels and the other shining saints of heaven. There, our Lord Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive,” will grant you the gift of an eternal kingdom from his Father. For you fed our Lord when he was hungry, clothed him when he was naked, and welcomed him when he was but a stranger. Though the world and people might forget your righteous deeds, our Lord will never forget your acts of service of him. The Lord our God sees all and not even the sparrows of the field escape his notice.   Therefore, Christian, do not grow weary of doing good, for you are not ultimately serving people, but our God. And in your times of greatest discouragement, call out to our Lord as Nehemiah did, “Remember me, O God, for all that I have done,” and revel in the fact that your Father who will not forget even one hair on your head, will never forget the deeds you have done in his name for his glory.  Written by: Samuel Chua

At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon." 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel. (Josh 10:12-14 ESV)   The world is full of mighty and powerful forces. The bubbling magma that resides deep within the earth’s crust periodically finds its way to the earth’s surface and erupts from volcanoes that send hot, molten lava into the air, burning everything in its path. Deep-sea earthquakes that arise from the shifting of tectonic plates suddenly displace millions of tons of water that coalesce into massive tsunamis that slam into coastal cities, sweeping away everything that its raging waters touch. Category five hurricanes terrify us as they pass through cities, picking up entire buildings and flinging them as if they were rag dolls. The forces of the natural world are indeed powerful and awe-inspiring, yet the Scriptures tell us that prayer is far more powerful than all of these.  In this account, Joshua was fighting with one of Israel’s enemies as they sought to obey the Lord’s command to conquer the promised land of Canaan. As the battle drew long, Joshua, the astute military commander, realized that the day was quickly drawing to a close and that his soldiers would not be able to continue fighting. In a moment of spontaneity, driven by his great need and also his great trust in the LORD, he cried out a prayer to God in the form of a command. Gazing up at the burning sun that hung in the middle of the sky and the dimly lit day-time moon hanging to the west over the valley of Aijalon, Joshua called out in faith to God for the heavenly bodies to cease their movement—and the Lord God answered and listened to the voice of a man!   Never before had there been a day like that in the history of the world. Joshua had never seen such a thing in all of his life—no Israelite had. Yet, because of his belief and trust in a God who rules over all things, Joshua prayed. He knew that he was obeying the will of God by conquering the Promised Land. He knew that Israel was not making the progress they needed to defeat their enemies before sundown. He knew that the sun would follow its normal course and set on the day before the battle was over if nothing changed. So, driven by his convictions, he cried out to God for what is humanly impossible—the stoppage of the movement of the heavenly bodies, so that he could accomplish the LORD’s mission.  How much hope this gives us as Christians! When we stand upon our immovable convictions that are grounded in the Word of God, we have surety as to what direction to take even when the path we must walk is humanly impossible. What should we do when there is no humanly possible way to make our monthly budget? Pray to our Lord who owns the earth and its fullness thereof and wait expectantly for our Father in heaven to send his ravens to feed us even in the midst of famine. What shall we do when we are threatened with death for believing in Christ? We cannot deny him, so we must pray boldly either for the angel of the Lord to defeat our enemies or for divine strength and joy to go to our deaths with a song on our lips and heavenly hope in our hearts. What shall we do when we are fighting the Lord’s battles and waging wars against the powers and principalities over this dark world as we preach the Gospel? Let us ask our Lord to defeat the darkness and to shine light where this is none.  Christian, do you tremble at the awesome power of the mighty gift that God has given us in the discipline of prayer? Do you realize that prayer not only moves mountains, but the very sun, moon and earth? What obstacle in your life are you facing that is as vast as the sea and as violent as a storm on the sea of Galilee? Can you fathom the thought that your greatest problems can be solved in an instant with divine aid because prayer moves the very heart of the infinite, almighty, and all-knowing God? What a powerful and priceless gift prayer is to the children of God!  So, when we are faced with what is impossible with man, let us boldly look at the mountainous obstacles that stand in our way as we seek to obey the will of the Lord and say, “Sun, stand still… mountain, be cast into the sea,” and stand in awe of the power of our God.    Written by: Samuel Chua