This is a story about Rabbi Akiva, a renowned and revered Jewish rabbi of the first century. One late afternoon, Rabbi Akiva was on his way home to Capernaum. As he walked, he was also meditating and reciting the Scriptures. He was so focused that he didn’t realize that he had taken a wrong turn.…
Last Sunday I preached in Gereja Kristus Yesus Journey on Nehemiah 9:1-38. And if you look at Nehemiah 9, much of it recounts what God has done in the world as well as in Israel’s history, with the conclusion that God truly is faithful beyond human reasonableness, so Israel re-commits herself to God as His…
Remember a time when you were in a crisis when life was dark, dour and desperate? You were in a quandary, at sixes and sevens and you were discouraged. Then someone came along and offered words of comfort and assurance. And he or she urged you to persevere and never give up. If you have…
W.W.J.D. Some among us may remember this popular phrase from some time ago. You may even have wristbands or key tags with this tagline lying around somewhere in your home. For those who do not know, W.W.J.D. stands for “What would Jesus do?” It was not uncommon then to hear Christians asking, “What would Jesus…
One of the most difficult responsibilities in the Christian life is to live in holiness. Some Christians dislike and avoid the topic of holiness. They are more interested in the topic of blessings, miracles, healing or restoration. In actuality, holiness is God’s will for all Christians. But just as he who called you is holy,…
At the heart of our discipleship is the need to develop Christlikeness. Jesus declared in Luke 6:40, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” If Jesus is our Master and Teacher, in what ways are we becoming like Him? How do we even…
Starting next week, our morning service will restore some of the worship elements that were temporarily stopped during the pandemic. Nevertheless, our worship structure remains unchanged: God speaks, and we respond. So let us review our liturgy and understand the reasons why we do what we do when we do it. Our liturgy is divided…
One of my favorite verses in the NT is 2 Tim 2:2: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” This is meaningful to me, because it focuses on Christian discipleship in terms of the need to…
In conversation with some long-time friends over dinner recently, I noticed one word which kept popping up – “feedback”. This was a word that kept occurring whenever they were talking about things which they didn’t like or didn’t go their way, and so they wanted to give “feedback” to the relevant authorities. Thinking about it,…