All Publications by Camel In A Needle

Paul is not one to sugarcoat and withhold information he has been called to speak. His assertiveness and boldness in repaying God’s grace can be attributed to the fact that he has surrendered almost all regard for himself and thrown himself into the upward race towards the crown of life and righteousness. Unwavering in his daily endeavours after Christ’s example, his central hope is for others to learn from him, and in turn, be testaments of the almightiness of God themselves. Here, one point for our learning and reflection is our single-mindedness, as a church, the body of Christ, in our service, worship, and fellowship. In his writing, Paul consciously and repeatedly uses first-person possessive pronouns, i.e., we, us, our, and addresses the members of the church as a whole using singular pronouns, i.e., you, to highlight the importance of growth as one body.  Much as it is easy to be encouraged and stirred up by Paul’s urging, putting his exhortations into action is sometimes near impossible. As long as this world exists, unbreakable unity within the church remains a perpetual pursuit. Well aware of the imminent challenges that lie in wait, in his parting words, Paul’s deliberate mention of the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit reminds the members that it is only by God’s will that His mission for us can be fulfilled. A church earnestly devoted in prayer and the good of each other is a church that strives and stays together. May God, through His Holy Spirit, continually abound in us and move us to actively do His work, to further the reaches of His kingdom, and to walk worthy of the calling with which we were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In today’s modern-day context, reading prophetic books can be a very unrelatable or dissociative experience and process; having to plough through pages of seemingly fictitious or abstract content, far removed from reality. The more advanced command of language used in each of these books makes for an additional barrier to entry. Nevertheless, we must hold this fact at the forefront of our minds, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Carefully and systematically examining the details in this chapter, the following introspective questions come into view: No matter how perplexing it may be to completely decipher and convey clear, truthful interpretations of prophetic books, one shared and recurring message across them is this: Those God has chosen to love, He will jealously defend, strengthen and preserve, especially those who have, likewise, set their love upon Him, honoured Him, and known His name. Those God has deemed opposers, He will zealously and utterly devastate and destroy, that His absolute sovereignty and dominion might persevere and prevail, even to the ends of the earth. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” – Numbers 23:19 Lowly as our Lord Jesus was sent and came to save, throughout our Christian life, let us keep our heads down and strive, work hard, and stay humble, as we, against all odds, in Jesus’ footsteps, stand united and ride towards God’s eternal stronghold.

The Bible is stained with the sins, transgressions, atrocities, weaknesses and failings of God’s chosen. God neither censors nor minces His words in communicating to His believers the swift and exacting nature of His sovereign righteousness in His timely response to wickedness. During the infancy of our faith, the understanding that the only way that leads to eternal life in Christ is narrow and therefore, hard to find and difficult to walk on, is cemented into our minds. As we grow in stature (and by God’s grace, in some wisdom and in favour with God and man), we learn the harsh reality of this truth. The world and everything it can offer presents us a broad shiny platter of options, tempts us with the illusion of choice, human rights and free will. These options are disguised as alluring, multisensory experiences, and irresistible desires that easily appeal to our pleasure, comfort, and self-gratification-seeking nature. So much so, sometimes, we unwittingly let our guard down, cave and give in, even when those decisions are in clear and direct conflict with our better discernment, with what God requires of us. When we come to our senses, perhaps nudged back to God’s truth by His Holy Spirit, our perspective of the efficacy and sincerity of God’s forgiveness of our wrongs starts off skewed, just like the Israelites, contingent upon the complexity of physical atonement. But God has never wavered in His terms and conditions; a big ask in so few words – all He requires, as strict and precise as they come, is for us to, against false gods and all other odds, wholly fear and obey Him. Nothing can come between God and His almighty judgements. Can we thus, like such, come before our LORD? May God keep our hearts and hope grounded in His everlasting way.

Lest we be caught off guard.

May our life and death point the living to glorious skies.

Let us also remember Him.

A call to sincerely turn back to God.

“The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out.” – Ezekiel 46: 10 Intermittently highlighted throughout this chapter is the integration and interwovenness of the prince’s movements with his people. He is not exempt from the coordination of movements and activities within the temple – uses the same entry and exit routes as his people and does not make himself the exception to rules and regulations. As in Deuteronomy 17: 20, this prince is a royal whose heart is with his people, whose mind is not lifted above his brethren. This is a prince of the people, whose top priority is in living a life in sustained communion with his people. We go about our days differently – some of us start each day looking forward to the end, some of us move through the motions, and some of us work for meaning and sense of satisfaction. Regardless of perspective and approach, how often does the thought of Jesus cross our minds? With every next step, do we remember Him? Do we trust that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is in and within our midst, in and amongst us, His people? Regardless of the furiosity or frivolity of our lives’ issues, are we living testaments of Jesus’ unwavering, most times seemingly unassuming, abidance? As we map out and carry out our heart’s plans everyday, weave in and out of crowds of distractions and commotion, may Jesus and His footsteps, in full view, remain.