Sunday, 12 January 2025
Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord
Sunday, 5 January 2025
Our Hymn Of Joyful Praise
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As The Waters Cover The Sea |
I had the opportunity to enjoy a morning’s freshness, staring out into the far horizon of the Adriatic Sea from the balcony of a cruise ship. The huge cruise ship seemed so puny when set in the vast expanse of water. Looking at the sun rising out of the distant horizon against the deep blue colour of the sea, I was deeply moved by the thought of the greatness of God. God made this wonderful and vast Blue Planet, Earth, on which we live.
Nothing can be further from the truth. Whilst the achievements of the human race deserve some recognition, we should be careful not to leave God out of the equation. For despite all the advancements in science and philosophy, we have not solved the inherent problems of the human nature; of pride, greed, selfishness and brutality. To some extent, man can punish faults and write new laws. Hopefully, society can hope to become more egalitarian by community effort and education. However, in the end, all these will still fail because the human heart is deceitful and inherently wicked
Our saving grace is that God is present. This is still 'our Father's world'. God made it. Another ancient voyager once wrote
So, as I contemplated the vast expanse of the Adriatic Sea and realising how small we humans are, I prayed that "the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" The Bible tells us that this reverential fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
We need to look to God. Can our fear and knowledge of God change our hearts? Can we live as friends, brother, sister, parent, child? This should be the prayer for the new year. John Rutter put it better in his canticle 'For the Beauty of the Earth'.
Sunday, 25 February 2024
Take My Yoke
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Take My Yoke Upon You: Missio Dei |
When you are a cancer patient such as Pat, my wife, you carry a concern, a burden, that weighs heavy on you. This burden is also carried by the whole family and close friends.
Life is especially overwhelming for Pat this past year. But I notice that throughout the year, while receiving many cycles of chemotherapy and stem cells transplants; despite being admitted to hospital for five times and attending outpatient treatments about 2-3 times a week, Pat continues to be in high spirits, confident that the Lord Jesus will take care of her.
In these trying periods, Pat learned to transfer and share her burdens with Jesus, her Lord and Saviour.
‘Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.’ Psalm 55:22
Pat, the family and friends have learnt to harness ourselves to the ‘yoke’ of Christ
Farmers used a wooden yoke to strap the shoulders of two
animals such as oxen or horses together so that they could combine strength to
pull a load that would have been too much for one animal to carry.
Jesus Christ assures us that His yoke is easy. We can only surmise that He is taking on the heavier lifting; He takes on the larger share of the load. That way we lift off our burdens and give it to the Lord and Christ lifts it off our shoulders.
In hitching our shoulders to the yoke of Christ we
learned:
- To move in the same direction as Christ, to be on the same path
- Not to carry the whole burden ourselves but to lean on Christ
- Being closely yoke, we become refreshed and can carry more than we ever thought we could.
That is why Saint Paul and all the early
followers of Christ can say, despite persecution and hardships, sometimes leading to martyrdom:
‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not
crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck
down but not destroyed.’ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
And there is no storm too dark God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep He cannot soothe it
If He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my brother that He will carry you
And if He carried the weight of the world upon His shoulders
I know my sister that He will carry you
‘For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.’ Psalm 62:5-7
Lionel
Sunday, 4 February 2024
In Spirit And In Truth
- Worship in Spirit. Worship is an experience of the heart, it must originate from within, from our spirit. Worship must be sincere, motivated by our love for God and gratitude for all He is and has done. Jesus said
'These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me;in vain do they worship me.' Matthew 15:8-9a
Worship is not a mechanical ritual or a formality that takes place for an hour at the end of a hectic week - but an experience from deep within the spirit; deep within the heart.
- Worship in Truth. Worship must be based on the truth of all that we know of our Triune God. Jesus was quick to direct the Samaritan woman's attention from the 'where' and 'how' to worship to the 'whom' to worship. It must never be thoughtless but grounded on knowledge of who God is and what He has done for us.
Worship is facilitated by God's Word, in that we can meditate on God's Word when we worship. We allow the truth of God's Word to influence, fill us during worship.
- Worship in Spirit and Truth Simultaneously. Worship must have heart and worship must have head - that is to say, worship must engage your spirit and your thoughts at the same time. We do not worship in spirit as one setting and in truth in another setting, we engage the both simultaneously. Our minds and will as well as our emotions have to be moved.
'Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our Salvation. Let us come to Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him.' Psalms 95:1-2 (NLT)
'Come let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for He is our God. We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care. Psalm 95:6-7 (NLT)
'For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in His hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.' Psalm 95:3-4 (NLT)
O worship the King all glorious above,
and gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendour and girded with praise.
O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space;
his chariots of wrath the deep thunder-clouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.
The earth, with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, your power has founded of old;
established it fast, by a changeless decree,
and round it has cast, like a mantle, the sea.
Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distils in the dew and the rain.
We children of dust are feeble and frail -
in you do we trust, for you never fail;
your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end!
our maker, defender, redeemer, and friend.
O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,
whom angels delight to worship above!
Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,In true adoration shall sing to your praise!Lionel
Sunday, 21 January 2024
Under The Shade Of His Grace
- Charis Methodist Church is Established by the Design and Initiative of God. Pay attention to the positive actions of God's will,
- I myself will a take a shoot from the top of the cedar.
- I will break off a tender sprig.
- I will plant it.
- Charis Methodist Church shall (will) Establish a Fruitful Ministry
- It will produce branches
- It will bear fruit
- It will become a splendid cedar
- Charis Methodist Church will Serve the Community and Needy
- Birds of every kind will nest in it
- Birds will shelter in it.
- Charis Methodist Church will Thrive but Only by God's Grace
- I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall
- I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish
- I the Lord have spoken and I will do it