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Featured image of John Chapter 10 - Sheep, Good Shepherd, or Hireling?

John Chapter 10 - Sheep, Good Shepherd, or Hireling?

John

CDBD

What is our role in the fold of God? The earlier portion of John Chapter 10 largely illustrates a scene in the pastures. Sheep are known only to follow the voice of their shepherd. They are also highly social animals who will run from what frightens them and band together in large groups for protection. We know the church of the last days will face many trials and persecutions (cf. John 15:18-21, 2 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, Revelation 16:13-16). Being a part of the church, the flock of God, do we show care and concern for the body of Christ? When members face dangers or trials, what is our reaction?  When the fold is in danger, like the sheep of the field, we ought to band together in the unity of faith to face the trial together, for if one part suffers, every part suffers with it (1 Corinthians 12:26). When we have schisms within the fold, let us esteem others better than ourselves, having the same love and being of one accord (Philippians 2:1-4). Jesus talks about Him being the door of the sheep and the good shepherd in verses 9 and 11 respectively. Verses 11 and 13 contrast between a good shepherd and a hireling; the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep, but the hireling flees because he does not care about the sheep (v13). Being the older ones of the flock, do we manifest the love of Christ through our actions to tend to the younger sheep as shepherds? Our Lord Himself has commanded us to look after His fold, just as He had commanded Peter to feed His lambs, tend His sheep and feed His sheep (cf. John 21:15-17). Whether we are serving as sheep or shepherds, every one of us has a role to play in the unity of the flock. In all things, we need to put on the love of Christ and patiently oversee the growth of the lambs, the sheep and the fold. Let us heed the commands of God so that we will be given our due rewards when we return to our heavenly home. "Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away." (1 Peter 5:2-4)

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Featured image of John Chapter 9 - I Was Blind but Now I See

John Chapter 9 - I Was Blind but Now I See

John

CDBD

When reading the Bible, a really edifying exercise to do is to underline key words and phrases, or any repeated themes. If you tried to do this for this chapter (like I once did), your Bible will be filled with markings, because words like "blind", "see", "eyes", etc. repeat so much throughout this chapter. The key event in John Chapter 9 is a man born blind being healed by Jesus. Jesus passed by the blind man, anointed his eyes with the clay, and asked the man to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The blind man obeyed, and came back seeing. Yet, this only takes up a few verses in this chapter. The rest of the chapter focuses on the spiritual eyes of the man slowly being opened. When asked by others how his eyes were opened, the blind man first referred to Jesus as "a Man called Jesus" (John 9:8-12). Then, when questioned by the unbelieving Jews who accused Jesus of being a sinner, he first responds with "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." (John 9:24-25). Yet, when furthered questioned, he gave a very powerful answer, proclaiming his faith: "The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvellous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”" John 9:30-33 NKJV This resulted in him being cast out by the Pharisees. This "casting out" is not just being asked to leave the synagogue, but rather being excommunicated and no longer having anything to do with the Jews. We then see the love and compassion of Jesus: Upon hearing that he was cast out, Jesus went to find him. "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshipped Him." John 9:35-38 NKJV Here, the spiritual eyes of the initially blind man are fully opened. He sought to believe in the Son of God, and when Jesus revealed Himself to him, he again proclaimed his belief and worshipped. The opening of the man's physical eyes only spanned a few verses, today's chapter details the gradual opening of his spiritual eyes. We may not be physically blind today, but are our spiritual eyes open? Do we truly recognise Jesus as our Lord and bow the knee to worship Him?

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Featured image of John Chapter 8 - Humility Before the Word of God

John Chapter 8 - Humility Before the Word of God

John

CDBD

In John 8, the controversy around Jesus deepens, with several exchanges between Jesus and the unbelieving Jews, and starkly different responses to Jesus’ words - believing in Him (v30) and trying to stone Him (v59). Let us reflect on the words of Jesus to the Jews and our own responses as we read them. Does this episode cause us to raise our eyebrows? Do we question why Jesus forgave this woman of her adultery and wonder if adultery is not really a mortal sin after all? Sometimes when we read the Bible, we focus on the legality or technicalities, and miss the main message. What did Jesus tell the woman? That what she had done was alright? No! Jesus says to her, “go and sin no more”. If we focus on the boundaries of what is sin or what is forgivable, we miss the fact that all of us are in sin, and Jesus calls us to repentance, not to use liberty as a cloak for vice. In fact, this is the same mistake the accusers in this episode made. Being so obsessed with finding fault with Jesus, they forgot the purpose of the law they were claiming to uphold - righteousness and justice. In fact, what they were doing - conspiring to find fault with a blameless man - Jesus - was something the law condemned! Only when Jesus told them, “he who is without sin”, did they realize their folly. When we read the Bible today, let us read with humility and purity of heart, lest we read our own intentions into God’s word and deceive ourselves. When we read v12-59, it may feel like Jesus is purposely not answering them plainly, or is being very abrasive - calling the Jews the children of the devil, as compared to his gentler responses to others. Does this also raise questions within us? Do we think to ourselves that perhaps Jesus should have said something else, or phrased His words differently, so that maybe more people would be convinced and believe Him? And once again, a deeper reflection on the passage gives me some insights for self-reflection. v30 tells us that many believed in Him after hearing His words. Why did these Jews believe and not disbelieve? Did they already have some prior prejudice to accept or reject Jesus? In fact, unlike us, Jesus already knows the hearts of men (John 2:24-25). And the Jews that were questioning Him actually already knew and understood who Jesus was saying He was. They had seen the great miracles He performed that no one else could. And yet they hardened their hearts and rejected Him as their Messiah. When they asked “Who are You?” or “Where is Your Father?” It was not out of curiosity or a genuine desire for the truth. They were looking for ways to accuse Jesus of some fault to put Him to death. Jesus did not need to play their game and answer them plainly, because to those who did not harden their hearts, His message that He was the Messiah was clear as day. In fact, to those who were truly ignorant, Jesus had no problem telling them clearly who He was. An example of this is the man born blind in the next chapter (John 9:35-38). Our hearts determine our response to Jesus’ words. It can open to be transformed by His words, to truly go and sin no more. But if we harden our hearts, it can close our eyes even to great miracles so that we fail to see God’s grace. Let us open our hearts with humility to see the will of God for us today.

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Featured image of John Chapter 4 - If Only We Knew — What Would Be Our Priority?

John Chapter 4 - If Only We Knew — What Would Be Our Priority?

John

CDBD

The more life experiences we accumulate, the more things we know. But what are the things we truly need to know? And of all the things we do know, what is the most important? When the Samaritan woman met Jesus by the well and questioned His request for water, Jesus desired for her to know the gift of God — everlasting life through Him. “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10) That day, she came to the well not knowing about Jesus or salvation, yet left with joy and knowledge of the Christ who revealed Himself to her. Jesus, being omniscient, knew everything about the woman, including her deepest secrets, and wanted her to know who He really was and what He could give her. John 4 also prompts us to consider what we ought to know, and what we should do after knowing. “ While the Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water, presumably to drink and quench her thirst, what Jesus saw was her spiritual thirst and wanted her to know of the living water which would never let her thirst again. Today, He has also given us this living water, His Holy Spirit, to abide in and with us that we may never thirst. Just as water is essential for our physical survival, the Holy Spirit ensures the survival of our spiritual lives as He renews us in our walk of faith and moulds us into the image of Christ. When the spirit of God fills us, we have the assurance that He is with us and we will never thirst again. If only we knew how important it is to be filled with this living water from God, how much more would we pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit? “28 After the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus, she went back to her city to share what happened and many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of her testimony. (John 4:39) On the Samaritan woman’s part, all she did was speak about her experience with Jesus, and many were led to Christ. This reminds me of Peter and John in Acts 4, who boldly testified for Jesus before the Sanhedrin, saying Sometimes, preaching can seem like a daunting task and we fear not being able to persuade another person to believe. But let’s not forget that simply sharing about what we have seen and heard, the grace we have received and our experiences with God can very well be a way to lead people to Christ! If only we knew how powerful our testimonies are, and how many people are waiting to receive to God, what would be our attitude towards preaching?

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Featured image of John Chapter 3 - He Has Made Everything Beautiful in Its Time

John Chapter 3 - He Has Made Everything Beautiful in Its Time

John

CDBD

V5-8 5 These verses show us that although we must be born again by the Spirit of God, how this happens remains a mystery to us. We cannot really see wind and cannot predict everything about it. Similarly, the work of the Spirit is not something we can completely understand. We know that what the Spirit does works, and why, but the intricacies are beyond our comprehension. This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:11. Ecclesiastes 3:11 11 We do not know and cannot find out what will happen in our lives, yet we know that as long as we hold on to God, He has a purpose for us in all that we do and that it will all work out beautifully and for good. Romans 8:28 28 Since God knows what is best for us, we need to trust in Him, in His timing and wisdom, because His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. Always. Isaiah 55:9 9 Jeremiah 29:11 11

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Featured image of John Chapter 2 - Clearing the Clutter: Making Space for True Worship

John Chapter 2 - Clearing the Clutter: Making Space for True Worship

John

CDBD

I am someone who doesn’t consistently put away my things. Unfortunately, little piles of mess can lie around for Clutter has insidious effects. A cluttered environment can breed bacteria, increase our stress hormone levels, and make the essentials—sleeping and focusing—difficult. What might be a LinkedIn study of shrewd foresight was, to Jesus, an ugly desecration of God’s home. Cluttered with unholy yet normalised practices, this clutter tainted God-centred worship. It made the spiritual essentials difficult. Having done their market research, these savvy businessmen of John 2 knew how to transform their consumers’ problems into profit: - selling animals for sacrifice would mean worshippers did not need to drag these animals from home; - changing foreign currency, even at a marked-up price, would assist foreign worshippers needing to offer the right currency. These greedy businessmen, like “thieves”, exploited people’s desire to worship as a way they could quickly benefit. They preyed on equally culpable believers, who succumbed to the ease of insincere worship. Angrily, Jesus flipped tables, poured out the changers’ money (He did not care about their profit!), and drove all the animals away. The animals could have been used for sacrifice, but He did not accept them. We can reflect on these questions in prayer with our Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, who knows us better than we do, and work with Him to cleanse ourselves. - What are 1-2 practices that affect my ability to worship God reverently—even if these practices seem “normal”? - As I worship God, serve, or have fellowship, are there ways I hope to gain personal benefits? - What can I do to cleanse my worship of this practice? We don’t want to spiral to a point so dire that Jesus must step into our church/home/heart and cause a great upheaval to wake us up. Before that point comes, let’s cleanse ourselves of spiritual clutter, becoming sanctified and useful for our Master (2 Tim 2:20-21). [1] [2]

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Featured image of Hosea Chapter 14 - Flora and Fauna

Hosea Chapter 14 - Flora and Fauna

Hosea

CDBD

The book of Hosea began with God disowning His people because of their spiritual adultery (1:2, 9). Now, it concludes with God promising to re-own His people with healing and love if they repent (14:1-4). The final chapter of Hosea strikingly mentions many plants while describing a repentant Israel – for example, the lily and the Lebanon tree. Verse 5 mentions that Israel will “grow like the lily”. Lilies are known for their beauty; even Jesus highlights this by saying that they’re far more beautiful than Solomon’s royal robes (Matthew 6:28-29)! The Bible also mentions of how lilies can grow in potentially harsh environments, such as valleys and thorns (Song of Solomon 2:1-2). In a spiritual sense, to grow like a lily means to grow increasingly beautiful in our spiritual character, despite spiritually harsh environments; and Christ is our model for spiritual beauty, i.e. perfection (Ephesians 2:13). Besides radiating the beautiful nature of Christ, may we, like lilies which are also fragrant, diffuse His fragrance to the people around us in all circumstances (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Verses 5 to 7 mention that Israel shall “lengthen his roots” and emit a “fragrance (or scent) like Lebanon”. Lebanon trees are known for their height, which ranges between 30 to 50 metres tall. They can grow this tall because of their roots which are deep and extensive. Their roots can grow as deep as 3 metres into the soil, while spreading out as wide as 30 metres away from the tree’s trunk. Lebanon trees are also known for their aroma, not only in the wine they produce (verse 7) but also in their wood. In ancient times, Lebanon wood was prized for its quality and often used in the construction of magnificent buildings, such as Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 2:8-9). How can we be vessels of honour that are useful to our Master for every good work (2 Timothy 2:21)? By being deeply rooted in His words (Colossians 2:7): fully understanding, trusting, and obeying His words in every aspect of our lives. May we, like Lebanon trees, take root downward, so that we can bear good spiritual fruits upward (Isaiah 37:31). The green cypress tree is mentioned in verse 8. However, this time, it refers to God, as He tells Israel: “I am like a green cypress tree; your fruit is found in Me.” Here, God stresses His dependability. The idols and allies which Israel once relied on could not save them from trouble (Hosea 14:3a). God, on the other hand, is the source of Israel’s “fruit” – Israel’s successes and failures are all in His hand, and God dispenses these according to Israel’s obedience or rebellion (verse 9b). Furthermore, the green cypress tree is known for its longevity, surviving up to several centuries. In ancient times, the tree was often perceived as a symbol of immortality, especially in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions where Israel, Egypt and Assyria were located. Our immortal and self-existent God far outlives the green cypress tree, man-made idols, and human kingdoms. Therefore, He is the only One we should depend on when facing troubles. May we learn to be loyal to our one true God, loving and leaning only on Him. Amen.

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