Saint Paul is the most influential teacher of Christianity. Paul's was given the opportunity to set forth and explain the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because Paul was called to proclaim the Good News to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, he was in the unique position of confronting and answering problems which could be presented by those completely unfamiliar with Jewish traditions. Several themes come through in his writings. "Christ, the Son of God" Apostle Paul knew that the one who appeared to him on the Damascus Road was the risen Christ, counting this as the last of Christ's appearances.

Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James and then to all apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God's grace that is what I am and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matter is that I preach what they preach and this is what you all believed. - 1Cor. 15:3-11 -

Paul seems to have entertained no doubt of the validity of the appearance or the words "I am Jesus", and you are persecuting me. - Acts 9:5 - Both the appearance and the words validated themselves in his later life. His whole Christian outlook on the world, like the Gospel which he preached stemmed from that revelation of Jesus Christ.

The fact is, brothers, and I want you to realise this, the Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt through a revelation of Jesus Christ. - Gal. 1:11-12 -

In the New Testament, Saint Paul writes and speaks of the Church as a body. The members of the Church, he said, are as interdependent as the various parts of the human body, each making its contribution in harmony with the others for the good of the whole. Just as a body functions best when all the parts follow the direction of the head, the Church best fulfills its purpose on earth when all the members are subject to the direction of Christ. He is, by divine appointment, 'head over all things to the Church which is His body'. The Spirit of Christ not only dwells within each member but also dwells within the Church as a whole, continually giving His life to the entire body together. The body cannot be thought of without the Spirit.

He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as a ruler of everything, the Head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation. - Eph. 1:22-23 -

Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all. - Eph. 4:3-6 -

One of the source of Paul's concept of the Church may have been the Old Testament principle of regarding a community, nation or tribe as a person to the point where it is named and described as if it were an individual. - Ex. 4:22-23 - Perhaps, the most satisfactory of Paul's concept can be found in the words of the risen Christ who appeared to him on the Damascus Road. "Why are you persecuting me" When any part of the body is hurt, it is the head that complains. Jesus' words may have sown the seed of that doctrine in Paul's mind.

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

But why is there disappointment? Because when we look forward to a future ideal, we endow it with something of the infinity of the soul. I can imagine a house with ten thousand rooms studded with diamonds and emeralds but I shall never see one. I can imagine a mountain of gold but I shall never see one. So with our earthly ideals. We colour them with the qualities of our spiritual soul. But when they become realized, they are concrete, cabin, cribbed, confined.

A tremendous disproportion thus arises between the ideal we conceived and the reality before us. That proportion between the infinite and the finite is the cause of disappointment. There is no escaping this fact. We have eternity in our heart but time on our hands. The soul demands a heaven and we get only an earth. Our eyes look up to the mountains but they rest only on the plains. It is easier to strangle our ideals than it is to satisfy them. He who attains his earth ideal, smashes it. To touch an ideal in this world is to destroy the ideal. "No man is a hero in his valet". We are no longer thirsty at the border of a well. The satisfaction of earthly ideals turns against us, like a cruel retort from one to whom we have paid an underhand compliment.

But there is no reason for being pessimists or cynics. Disappointment is no proof there is no ideal but only that it is not here. Just as we would have no eyes were there no beauties to see and as we would have no ears were there no harmonies to hear, so we would have no appetite for the infinite were there no God to love. In Him alone is the reconciliation of the chase and the capture. Here on this earth we are buffeted between the two. The chase has its thrill for it is the pursuit of an ideal, the quest for satisfaction and the march to victory. The capture too has its thrill for it is possession, enjoyment and peace. But while we live in time we can never enjoy both together. The capture ends the excitement of the chase; and the chase without a capture is maddening, like having a refreshing spring withdrawn from our parched lips as we draw near to it.

How combine the chase without the ennui of capture and the capture without losing the joy of the chase? It is impossible here below but not in heaven, for when we attain God, we capture the infinite and because He is Infinite, it will take an eternity of chase to discover the indiscoverable joys of Life, Truth, Love and Beauty.

Such is the meaning behind the last and farewell word from the Cross. Centuries ago the sun shone upon plants and trees and imprisoned within them its light and heat. Today we dig up that light and heat in coal and as its flames mount upward we pay back our debt to the sun. So now the Divine Light, that for thirty-three years has been imprisoning itself in a human heart, goes back again to the Father, ever to remind us that only by completing a similar circuit and commending our souls to the Father, do we find the answer to the riddle of life, the end of disappointment and the beginning of eternal peace for our eternal hearts.

Everything is disappointing except the Redemptive Love of Our Lord. You can go on acquiring things but you will be poor until your soul is fill with the love of Him Who died on the Cross for you. As the eye was made for seeing and the ear for hearing, so your spirit was made to be recommended back again to God. If it had any other destiny the dying words of the Saviour would have betrayed that destiny. The spirit has a capacity for the infinite; the knowledge of one flower, the life of a single hour, the love of a minute, do not exhaust its protencies; it wants the fullness of these things - in a word, it wants God.

The tragedy of our modern life is that so many put their pleasures in desire than in discovery. Having lost the one purpose of human living, namely God, they seek substitutes in the petty things of earth. After repeated disappointments, they begin to put their happiness not in a pleasure but in the hunt for it, in butterfly existences that never rest long enough at any one moment to know their inner desires; running races hoping they will never end; turning pages but never discovering the plot; knocking at doors of truth and then dashing away lest its portals be opened and they be invited in. Existence becomes a flight from peace, rather than an advance; a momentary escape from frustration instead of its sublimation in victory.

Every now and then there comes to some a light through the clouds of Calvary and the echo of the world commending a spirit to God but instead of making a supreme effort to satisfy the goal of life, they crucify it. "But the farmers saw the son they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let kill him and have his inheritance!' And they took hold of him, dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him". Thus do some men believe that if they could drive God from the earth the inheritance of sin would be theirs without remorse; and if they could but silence conscience, they could inherit peace without justice. It was just this other mentality which sent Our Lord to the Cross. If the voice of God could be stifled, they believed they could enjoy the voice of Satan in peace.

Now, take a different outlook on the world. How many, even of those who have killed conscience, can say: "I am happy; they is nothing more I want"? But if you are not brave enough to say that, then why not seek? And why not seek in the one direction in which you know happiness lies? At death you will leave everything; but there is one thing you will not leave - your desire for life. You want the one thing the Cross brings you: Life through death.

In its effulgence the mystery of existence becomes clear. The Cross refers to me, personally and individually, as if no one else in the world ever existed. On the Cross He has traced for me in sacrifice which is the sublimest of gestures, a programme of life: Submission to the Divine Will. He went down the dark road of Getsemane to Calvary's death out of devotedness to God's glory and my salvation. For my culpable self-indulgence, He atones by surrender of Himself. "He was pierced for our offences, crushed for our sins; upon Him was the chastisement that makes us whole..."

If this Master of the world's symphony would miss my single note of virtue in the harmony of the universe; if this Captain of wars would miss my spear in His battle for goodness; if this Artist would miss my little daub of colour in the masterpiece of redemption; if this Cosmic Architect would note the absence of my little stone in the building of His temple; if the Tree of Life would feel the fall of but my little leaf to the sinfulness of earth; if the Heavenly Father would miss me in the empty chair at the banquet spread for the millions of the children of God; if the Orator from the pulpit of the Cross would note my inattention as I turned to glance at an executioner; if God cares that much for me, then I must be worth something since He loves me so!

BY ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN ( 1895 to 1979 )

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The man who unduly loves riches is a fallen man because of a bad exchange; he might have had heaven through his generosity and he has only the earth. He could have kept his soul but he sold it for material things. Camels will pass through the eyes of needles more easily than the covetous will pass through the gates of heaven. It was easy of course to condemn the rich; our world is too full of those who are doing it now. But our economy revolutionists do it because they envy wealth, not because they love poverty. It was not so with Our Divine Saviour. He Who condemned Dives and the man who ordered bigger barns the very day he died, and Who thundered that no man could serve God and Mammon, lived His Gospel. Not in a hospital or a home or city but in a stable in the fields did He bow entrance into the world He made. Not with money did He make money in the markets of exchange but as a poor carpenter. He earned His living with the two most primitive instruments used: wood and hammer. During His three years of preaching not even a roof could He claim as His own: "The foxes have lairs and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head".

Then at His death He had no wealth to leave; His Mother He gave to John; His body to the tomb; His blood to the earth; His garments to His executioners. Absolutely dispossessed, He is still hated because of its possessions. Religion is hated because it is religion and possessions are only the excuse and pretext for driving God from the earth. There was no quarreling about His will; there was no dispute about how His property would be divided; there was no lawsuit over the Lord of the Universe. He had given up everything in reparation for covetousness, keeping only one thing for Himself that was not a thing - His spirit. With a loud cry, so powerful that it freed His soul from His flesh and bore witness to the fact that He was giving His life and not having it taken away, He said in farewell: "Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit". It rang out over the darkness and lost itself in the furthermost ends of the earth. The world has made all kinds of noise since to drown it out. Men have busied themselves with nothing, to shut out hearing it - but through the fog and darkness of cities and the silence of the night that awful cry rings within the hearing of everyone who does not force himself to forget and as we listen to it we learn two lessons:

1. The more ties we have to earth the harder will it be for us to die.

2. We were never meant to be perfectly satisfied here below.

In every friendship hearts grow and entwine themselves together, so that the two hearts seem to make only one heart with a single common thought. That is why separation is so painful: It is not so much two hearts separating but one heart being torn asunder. When a man loves wealth inordinately, he and it grow together like a tree pushing itself in growth through the crevices of a rock. Death to such a man is a painful wrench because of his close identification with the material. He has everything to live for, nothing to die for.

As a result, he becomes at death the most destitute and despoiled beggar in the universe, for he has nothing he can take with him. He discovers too late that he he did not belong to himself but to things - for wealth is a pitiless master. It would not allow him during life to think of anything else except increasing itself. Now he discovers too late that by consecrating himself to filling his barns, he was never free to save the only thing he could carry with him to eternity: his soul. In order to acquire a part, he lost the whole; he won a fraction of the earth, now he will need only six feet of it. Like a giant tied down by ten thousand ropes to ten thousand stakes, he is no longer free to think about anything else than what he must leave. That is why death is so hard for the covetous rich.

On the contrary, as the ties to earth become lessened, the easier is the separation. Where our treasure is, there is our heart also. If we have lived for God, then death is a liberation. Earth and its possessions are the cage which confines us and death is the opening of its door, enabling our soul to wing its way to its Beloved for which alone it had lived and for which it only waited to die. Our powers of dispossession are greater than our powers of possession; our hands could never contain all the gold in the world but we can wash our hands of its desire. We cannot own the world but we can disown it. That is why the soul with the vow of poverty is more satisfied than the richest covetous man in the world, for the latter has not yet all he wants, while the religious wants nothing; in a certain sense the religious has all and is perfectly happy. It was such poverty of spirit raised to its sublimest peak which made the death of Our Lord so easy. He had no ties to earth. His treasure was with the Father and His soul followed the spiritual law of gravitation. Gold, like dirt, falls; charity, like fire, rises: "Father into your hands I commend My spirit".

The death of Our Lord on the Cross likewise reveals that we are meant to be perpetually dissatisfied here below. If earth was meant to be a Paradise, then He Who made it would never have taken leave of it on Good Friday. The commending of the spirit to the Father was at the same time the refusal to commend it to the earth. The completion or fulfillment of life is in heaven, not on earth.

Our Lord in His last Word is saying that nowhere else can we be satisfied except in God. It is absolutely impossible for us to be perfectly happy here below. Nothing proves this more than disappointment. One might almost say the essence of life is disappointment. We look forward to a position, to marriage, to ownership, to power, to popularity, to wealth; and when we attain them we have to admit, if we are honest that they never come up to our expectations. As children we looked forward to Christmas; when it did come and we had our fill of sweets and tested every toy or rocked every doll and then crept into our beds, we said in our own little heart of hearts: "Somehow or other, it did not quite come up to expectations". That experience is repeated a thousand times in life.

But why is there disappointment?

                                                                  Page 2

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Covetousness is an inordinate love of the things of this world. Such love becomes inordinate if one is not guided by a reasonable end, such as suitable provision for one's family or the future or if one is too solicitous in amassing wealth or too parsimonious in dispensing it. The sin of covetousness includes, therefore, both the intention one has in acquiring the goods of this world and the manner of acquiring them. It is not the of an excessive sum which is wrong but an inordinate love of any sum. Simply because a man has a great fortune, it does not follow that he is a covetous man. A child with a few pennies might possibly be more covetous. Material things are lawful and necessary because they enable us to live according to our station in life, to mitigate suffering, to advance the Kingdom of God and to save our souls. It is the pursuit of wealth as an end instead of a means to the above ends which makes a man covetous.

In this class of the covetous are to be placed the young woman who marries a divorced man for his money, the public official who accepts bribe, the lawyer, the educators or clergyman who sponsors radical movements for gold, the capitalist who puts profits above human rights and needs and the labour leader who puts party power above the legitimate interests of the labourers. Covetousness is much more general in the world today than we suspect. It once was monopolized by the avaricious rich: now it is shared by the envious poor. Because a man has no money in his pockets is no proof that he is not covetous; he may be involuntarily poor with a passion for wealth far in excess of those who possess. History bears witness to the fact that every radical economic revolutionist in the history of the world has been interested in only one thing: booty. The only poor who ever attacked the rich and sought nothing for themselves were Our Lord and His followers, like Saint Francis of Assisi.

There are very few disinterested lovers of the poor today; most of their so called champions do not love the poor as much as they hate the rich. They hate all the rich but they love only those poor who will help them attain their wicked ends.

Such covetousness is ruinous for man, principally because it hardens the heart. Man becomes like that which he loves and if he loves gold, he becomes like it - cold, hard and yellow. The more he acquires, the more he suffers at surrendering even the least of it, just as it hurts to have a single hair pulled out even though head is full of them. The more the sinfully rich man gets, the more he believes he is needy. He is always poor in his own eyes. The sense of the spiritual thus becomes so deadened that its most precious treasures are battered away for the trivial increases, as Judas Iscariot sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver. As Saint Paul tells us: "The love of money is the root of all evil: in their desire for it some have strayed from the faith..." The Providence of God becomes less and less a reality and if it still retains value, it is reduced to a secondary role; God is trusted as long as we have a good bank account.

When things go well we are quite willing to dispense with God, like the young man in the Gospel who came to Our Lord only because he was being deprived of some of his father's estate. "Lord, tell my brothers to share the inheritance with me". It was only when economic confusion arose that the young man had recourse to the Divine. There are many in the world today who feel that the only reason for the existence of the Church is to improve the economic order and if they do not have their fill, they assail the Church for failing. Well indeed might the Church answer in the words of Our Lord: "Man, who made me judge or arbitrator over you?"

To turn man's heart away from perishable things to the eternal values of the soul, was one of the reasons for Our Lord's visit to the earth. His teaching from the beginning was not only a warning against covetousness but a plea for a greater trust in Providence. "Don't store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourself in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves neither break in nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be too".

"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you shall eat or for your body, what you shall wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky - they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they? But which of you by worrying, can add one moment to his life? And why do you worry about what you will wear? Look how the lilies of the field grow; they neither work nor spin. But I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field which is here today and thrown into the oven tomorrow, won't He clothe you much better, O you of little faith? Do not worry, therefore, saying: 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we put on?' for the Pagans and Heathens seek all those things. Seek first the Kingdom and the will of God and all those things will be given to you also. So don't go worrying about tomorrow - tomorrow will worry for itself. One day's evil is enough for a day".

The man who unduly.......

                                                                       Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Jesus' presence with God as His people's representative provides the assurance that their requests for spiritual help are heard and granted. To know that He is there is a powerful incentive for His disciples and followers i.e. by sending of the Holy Spirit to dwell in His peoples. The fulfillment of this promise was announced by apostle Peter on the Day of Pentecost. - Acts chapter 2 - No good thing that Jesus seeks for them is with held by the Father.

But I have told you all this,
so that when the time for it comes
you may remember that I told you.
I did not tell you this from the outset,
because I was with you;
but now I am going to the one who sent me.
Not one of you has asked, "Where are you going?"
Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this.

Still, I must tell you the truth:
it is for your own good that I am going
because unless I go,
the Advocate will not come to you;
but if I do go,
I will send him to you.
And when he comes,
he will show the world how wrong it was,
about sin,
and about who was in the right,
and about judgement:
about sin:
proved by their refusal to believe in me;
about who was in the right:
proved by my going to the Father
and your seeing me no more;
about judgement:
proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.

I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.

'In short time you will no longer see me,
and then a short time later you will see me again'. - John 16:4-16 -

The exaltation of Christ is repeatedly presented in the New Testament as the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1 - Yahweh's oracle to you, my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand and I will make your enemies a footstool for you'. - This means that Christ reigns from His present place of exaltation and must do so until all His enemies are overthrown. Those enemies belong to the spiritual realm: 'The last enemy that will be destroyed is death'

For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet. - 1Cor. 15:25-26 -

Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing in front of his throne, while the book of life was opened and other books opened which were the record of what they had done in their lives, by which the dead were judged.

The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged according to the way in which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was thrown into the burning lake. - Rev. 20:11-15 -

                                                                     Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The work of Christ has often been stated in relation to His threefold office as prophet, priest and king. As prophet, He is the perfect spokesman of God to the world, fully revealing God's character and will. As priest, Jesus has offered to God by His death a sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the world. Now, on the basis of that sacrifice, He exercises a ministry of intercession on behalf of His people. As king, He is the ruler over kings of the earth - Rev. 1:5 - the one to whose rule the whole world is subject.

By the finished work of Christ is meant the work of atonement or redemption for the human race which he completed by His death on the cross. This work is so perfect in itself that it requires neither repetition nor addition. Because of this work, He is called "Saviour of the world" and "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" - 1John 4:14; John 1:29 -

In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible sin is viewed in several ways: as an offense against God which requires a pardon; as defilement which requires cleansing; as slavery which cries out for emancipation; as a debt which must be cancelled; as defeat which must be reversed by victory; and as estrangement which must be set right by reconciliation. However sin is viewed, it is through the work of Christ that the remedy is provided. He has procured the pardon, the cleansing, the emancipation, the cancellation, the victory and the reconciliation.

When sin is viewed as an offense against God, it is also interpreted as a breach of His law. The law of God, like law in general, involves penalties against the lawbreaker. So strict are these penalties that they appear to leave no avenue of escape for the lawbreaker. The apostle Paul conducting his argument along these lines, quoted one uncompromising declaration from the Old Testament: "A curse on him who does not maintain the words of the Law by observing them". And all the people shall say: Amen. - Deut. 27:26 -

On the other hand, those who rely on the keeping of the Law are under a curse since scripture says: - Gal. 3:10 - But Paul goes on to say that Christ, by enduring the form of death on which a divine curse was expressly pronounced in the law, absorbed in His own person the curse invoked on the lawbreaker: - Deut. 21:22-23 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by being cursed for our sake since scripture says: Cursed be everyone who is hanged on a tree. - Gal. 3:13 - Since Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine, He partakes in the nature of both God and humanity. he represents God to humanity and He also represents humanity to God. God is both Lawgiver and Judge; Christ represents Him.

In the hour of His death, Christ offered His life to God on behalf of mankind. The perfect life which He offered was acceptable to God. The salvation secured through the giving up of that life is God's free gift to mankind in Christ. The work of Christ is to set humanity in a right relationship with God.

When sin is considered as defilement that requires cleansing, the most straightforward affirmation is that 'the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from sin. - 1John 1:7 - The effect of His death is to purify a conscience that has been polluted by sin. Spiritual defilement calls for spiritual cleansing and this is what the death of Christ has accomplished.

When sin is considered as slavery from which the slave must be set free, then the death of Christ is spoken of as a ransom or means of redemption. Jesus Himself declared that he came 'to give His life a ransom for many' - Mark 10:45 -

Apostle Paul not only spoke of sin as slavery; he also personified sin as a slave-owner who compels his slaves to obey his evil orders. When they are set free from his control by the death of Christ to enter the service of God, they find this service, by contrast, to be perfect freedom.

The idea of sin as a debt that must be cancelled is based on the teaching of Jesus' parable of the creditor and the two debtors - Luke 7:40-43 - the creditor forgave them both when they could make no repayment. But the debtor who owed the larger sum, and therefore had more cause to love the forgiving creditor, represented the woman whose "sins which are many, are forgiven" - Luke 7:47 - This is similar to Paul's reference to God in Colossians 2:14-15 -

Colossians 2:15 speak of the 'principalities and powers' as a personification of the hostile forces in the world which have conquered men and women and hold them as prisoners of war. There was no hope of successful resistance against them until Christ confronted them. It looked as if they had conquered Him too but on the cross He conquered death itself, along with all other hostile forces. In His victory all who believe in Him have a share. - 1Cor. 15:57 -

Sins is also viewed as estrangement or alienation from God. In this case, the saving work of Christ includes the reconciliation of sinners to God. The initiative in this reconciling work is taken by God: - 2Cor. 5:19; Col. 1:20 -

Those who are separated from God by sin are also estranged from one another. Accordingly, the work of Christ that reconciles sinners to God also brings them together as human beings. Hostile divisions of humanity have peace with one another through Him. Apostle Paul celebrated the way in which the work of Christ overcame the mutual estrangement of Jews and Gentiles. - Eph. 2:14 -

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If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. - 1Cor. 12:12 - "Jesus is Lord" is the ultimate Christian creed. 'No one can say, "Jesus is Lord" unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit. - 1Cor. 12:3 - A Christian, therefore, is a person who confesses Jesus as Lord.

Several words denoting lordship were used of Jesus in the New Testament. The most frequent and the most in relation to the doctrine of His person, was the Greek word 'kurios'. It was given to Him as a polite term of address, meaning "Sir". Sometimes the title was used of Him in the third person when the disciples and others spoke of Him as "The Lord" or "The Master".

After Jesus resurrection and exaltation, however, Jesus was given the title "Lord" in its full Christological sense. Apostle Peter, concluding his address to the crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, declared, 'For this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ'. - Acts 2:36 -

The title "Lord" in the Christological sense must have been given to Jesus before the Church moved out into the Gentile world. The evidence for this is the invocation "Maranatha" or "Come, Lord Jesus come!" - If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse on him. "Maranatha" - 1Cor. 16:22 - The apostle Paul, writing to Gentile Church in the Greek-speaking world assumed that its believers were familiar with this Aramaic phrase. It was an early Christian title for Jesus which was taken over untranslated. It bears witness to the fact that from the earliest days of the Church, the one who had been exalted as Lord was expected to return as Lord.

Another key New Testament text that shows the sense in which Jesus was acknowledged as Lord is Philippians 2:2-11 - In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus: His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God but emptied himself...in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Phil. 2:2-11 - In these verses Paul may be quoting an early confession of faith. If so, he endorsed it and made it his own.

The 'name which is above every name' is probably the title Lord, in the highest sense that it can bear. The words echo Isaiah 45:23, where the God of Israel swears, "To Me, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess" In the Old Testament, the God of Israel denies to any other being the right to receive the worship which belongs to Him alone and in the passage from the Philippians He readily shares that worship with the humiliated and exalted Jesus. More than that, He shares His own name with him. When human beings honour Jesus as Lord, God is glorified.

If Jesus is called Lord, in this supreme sense, it is not surprising that He occasionally is called God in the New Testament. Apostle Thomas convinced that the risen Christ stood before him, abandoned his doubts with the confession, "My Lord and My God!" - John 20:28 -

The classic text is John 1:1. John declared that the Word existed not only 'in the beginning' where He was 'with God' but also actually 'was God'. This is the Word the became incarnate as real man in Jesus Christ, without ceasing to be what He had been from eternity. The Word was God in the sense that the Father shared with Him the fullness of His own nature. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible thus presents Christ as altogether God and altogether man [fully God and fully man] - the perfect mediator between God and mankind because He partakes fully of the nature of both.

                                                                  Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Jesus was acclaimed as the Son of God at the annunciation: Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about since I am a virgin?' 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you' the angel answered 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. - Luke 1:34-35 - The Gospel of John especially makes it clear that the Father-Son relationship belongs to eternity - that the Son is supremely qualified to reveal the Father because He has His eternal being in the bosom of the Father. - No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart, who has made him known. - John 1:18 -

At one level the title Son of God belonged officially to the Messiah who personified the nation of Israel. - Ex. 4:22; Ps. 89:27 - There was nothing merely official about Jesus' consciousness of being the Son of God. He taught His disciples to think of God and to speak to Him as their Father. But He did not link them with Himself in this relationship and speak to them of 'our Father'-yours and mine. The truth expressed in His words in John 20:17 is implied throughout His teaching: Jesus said to Mary, 'Do not cling to me because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God'.

As the Son of God in a special sense, Jesus made Himself known to the apostle Paul on the Damascus Road. Paul said, then God who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother's womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. - Gal. 1:15-16 - The proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God was central to Paul's preaching.

After he had spent only a few days with the disciples in Damascus, he began preaching in the synagogues, "Jesus is the Son of God". - Acts 9:20 -

Do you really think that when I am making my plans, my motives are ordinary human ones and that I say Yes, yes and No, no, at the same time? I swear by God's truth, there is no Yes and No about what we say to you. The Son of God, the Christ Jesus that we proclaimed among you - I mean Silvanus and Timothy and I - was never Yes and No: with him it was always Yes, and however many the promises God made, the Yes to them all is in him. That is why it is 'through him' that we answer Amen to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all, and you, of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts. - 2Cor. 1:17-22 -

When Jesus is presented as the Son of God in the New Testament, two aspects of His person are emphasized: His eternal relation to God as His Father and His perfect revelation of the Father to the human race. Jesus' perfect revelation of the Father is expressed when He is described as the Word of God. - John 1:1-18 - Much that is said in the Old Testament about the Word of God is paralleled by what is said of the Wisdom of God. - Prov. 3:19 - In the New Testament, Christ is portrayed as the personal Wisdom of God - 1Cor. 1:24,30 - the one through whom all things were created.

Still for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we exist. - 1Cor. 8:6 -

He is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominions, Sovereignty, Powers-
all things were created through him and for him. - Col. 1:15-16 -

At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. - Heb. 1:1-2 -

The Holy One of God title was given to Jesus by Peter - John 6:69 - and remarkably, by a demon possessed man. - Mark 1;24 - And in their preaching, the apostles called Jesus "the Holy One and the Just" - Acts 3:14 - This was a name belonging to Him as the Messiah, indicating He was especially set apart for God. This title also emphasized His positive goodness and His complete dedication to the doing of His Father's will. Mere, 'sinlessness' in the sense of the absence of any fault, is a pale quality in comparison to the unsurpassed power for righteousness which filled His life and teaching.

                                                                   Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

In the teaching of Jesus, the highest of all incentives is the example of God. This was no new principle. The central section of the Book of Leviticus is called "the law of holiness" because of its recurring theme: "For it is I, Yahweh, who am your God. You have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy". - Lev. 11:44 - A close resemblance to "Be merciful just as your Father is also merciful".

The children of God should reproduce their Father's character. He does not discriminate between the good and the evil in bestowing rain and sunshine; likewise, His disciples and followers should not discriminate in showing kindness to all. He delights in sinners repentance and forgiving them unconditionally. His children should also be marked by a forgiving spirit and a compassionate spirit. "Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." - Luke 6:36 -

The example of the heavenly Father and the example shown by Jesus on earth are one the same, since Jesus came to do the Father's will or to reveal the Father's. Jesus' life was the practical demonstration of His ethical teaching. To His disciples Jesus declared, 'You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.' - John 13:15 -

The theme of the imitation of Christ pervades in the New Testament. It is especially evident in the writings of Saint Paul, who was not personally acquainted with Jesus before he met Him on the Damascus Road. Paul's instructed his converts to follow "the meekness and gentleness of Christ", to imitate Him as he himself imitated Christ and to practice of all Christian graces as he declared, 'Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ' - Rom. 13:14 - Throughout the Gospels and the New Testament, Jesus is presented as the One who left us an example, that we should follow His Way, His Truth, His Life. - John 14:6 -

The doctrine of the person of Christ, Christology, is one of the most important concerns of Christian theology. The various aspects of the person of Christ are the best seen by reviewing the titles that are applied to Him in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

The title Son of Man was Jesus' favourite way of referring to Himself. He may have done this because this was not a recognised title already known by the people and associated with popular ideas. This title means essentially "The Man" But as Jesus used it, it took on new significance. A good example of this usage occurred in the saying where Jesus contrasted John the Baptist who 'came neither eating bread nor drinking wine' with the Son of Man who 'has come eating and drinking' - Luke 7:33-34 - Another probable example is the statement that 'the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head' - Luke 9:58 -

Jesus used the title to emphasize that 'the Son of Man must suffer' The word must implies that His suffering was foretold by the prophets. The scriptures must be fulfilled. - Mark 14:49 - Jesus also used the title Son of Man to refer to Himself as the one who exercised exceptional authority - authority delegated to Him by God. - Mark 2:10, 28 -

The Son of Man appeared to speak and act in these cases as the representative man. If God had given man dominion over all the works of His hands, then He who was the Son of Man in this special sense was in a position to exercise that dominion.

                                                                      Page 1

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The people whom Jesus taught already had a large body of ethical teaching in the Old Testament law. A further body of oral interpretation and application had grown up around the Law of Moses over the centuries. Jesus declared that He had come to fulfill the Sacred Scripture and the Law, not to destroy or abolish it. - Matt. 5:17-19 - And He emphasized its ethical quality by summarizing it in terms of what He called the great commandments:

Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God is the one Yahweh. You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart.......... - Deut. 6:4-13 -

You must love your neighbour as yourself. - Lev. 19:18 -

Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these'. - Mark 12:28-31 - Matt. 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-28 -

"On these two commandments" Jesus said, " hang all the Law and Prophets" Jesus did not claim uniqueness or originality for His ethical teaching or doctrine. One of His purposes was to explain the ancient law of God. Yet there was a distinctiveness and freshness about His doctrine and teaching, as He declared His authority: "You have learnt that it was said.......But I say this to you" - Matt. 5:20-48 - Only in listening to His words and doing them could a person build a secure foundation for his life.

Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say? 'Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them - I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!' - Luke 6:46-49 - Matt. 7:24-27 -

In Jesus interpretation of specific commandments, He did not use the methods of the Jewish rabbis. He dared to criticize their rulings which had been handed down by word of mouth through successive generations of scribes. He even declared that these interpretations sometimes obscured the original purpose of the commandments. In appealing to that original purpose, Jesus declared that a commandment was most faithfully obeyed when God's purpose in giving it was fulfilled.

Jesus actually injected new life into the ethical principles of the Law of Moses. But He did not impose a new set of laws that could be enforced by external sanctions; He prescribed a way of life for His disciples and followers. Jesus insisted that more is expected of His disciples and followers than the ordinary morality of decent people. Their ethical behaviour should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. - For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. - Matt. 5:20 -

'If you love only those who loves you', Jesus asked, 'what credit is that to you? For even the wicked and sinners love those who love them'. The higher standard of the kingdom of God called for acts of love to enemies and words of blessing and goodwill to persecutors. The children of the kingdom of God should not insist on their legal rights but cheerfully give them up in response to the supreme law of Love.

                                                                      Page 4

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

From among the large number of His followers, Jesus selected 12 men to remain in His company that would enable them to share His preaching and proclamation of the kingdom of God. When He judged the time is ripe, Jesus sent them out two by two to proclaim the kingdom of God throughout the Jewish districts of Galilee. In many places, they found an enthusiastic hearing. Perhaps, the disciples themselves used language that could be interpreted as stirring political unrest. News of their activity reached Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, arousing his suspicion. He had recently murdered John the Baptist. Now he began to wonder if he faced another serious problem in Jesus.

On the return of His 12 disciples, they withdrew under Jesus' leadership from the publicity that surrounded them in Galilee to the quieter territory east of the Lake of Galilee. This territory was ruled by Antipas brother, 'Philip the tetrarch' who had only a few Jews among his subjects. Philip was not as likely to be troubled by Messianic excitement. But even here Jesus and His disciples found themselves pursued by enthusiastic crowds from Galilee. He recognized them for what they were, "sheep without a shepherd" aimless people who were in danger of being led to disaster under the wrong kind of leadership.

Jesus gave them further teaching, feeding them also with loaves and fishes. But this only stimulated them to try to compel Him to be the King for whom they were looking. He would not be the kind of King they wanted and they had no use for the only kind of King He was prepared to be. From then on, His popularity in Galilee began to decline. Many of His disciples and followers no longer followed Him. He took the Twelve further north, into Gentile territory. Here He prepare them for the crisis they would have to meet shortly in Jerusalem. He knew the time was approaching when He would present His challenging message to the people of the capital and to the Jewish leaders. - John chapter 6 -

Jesus decided the time was ripe to encourage the Twelve to state their convictions about His identity and His mission. When Peter Simon declared that Jesus was the "Messiah" and through Him where they receives eternal life. This showed that the Twelve had given up most of the traditional ideas about the kind of person the Messiah would be. But the thought that Jesus would have to suffer and die was something they could not accept. Jesus recognized that He could now make a beginning with the creation of a new generation or community of God's people, the ideals of the kingdom He proclaimed would be realized. - John chapter 6 -

I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life - John 6:53-54 -

It is the spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer.
The words I have spoken to you are spirit
and they are life. - John 6:63 -

After this Jesus goes up to Jerusalem as he could not stay there any longer because the Jews were out to kill him. At the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of A.D. 29, Jesus went to Jerusalem with the Twelve. He apparently spent the next six months in the southern part of Palestine. Jerusalem, like Galilee, needed to hear the message of the kingdom of God. Jerusalem was more resistant to it even than Galilee. The spirit of revolt was in the air; Jesus' way of peace was not accepted. This is why He wept over the city. He realized the way which so many of its citizens preferred was bound to lead to their destruction. Even the magnificent Temple, so recently rebuilt by Herod the Great would be involved in the general overthrow.

These ideals which Jesus taught were more revolutionary in many ways than the insurgents spirit that survived the overthrow of Judas the Galilean. The Jewish rebels against the rule of Rome developed into a party known as the Zealots. They had no better policy than to counter force with force which in Jesus' view was like invoking Satan to drive out Satan. The way of non resistance which Jesus urged upon the people seemed impractical. But it eventually proved to be more effective against the might of Rome than armed rebellion.

Jesus taught each day in the Temple area. In the Zealots eyes, to acknowledge the rule of a pagan king was high treason against God, Israel's true King.

Next they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, 'Master, we know you are an honest man that you are not afraid of anyone because a man's rank means nothing to you and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?' Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, 'Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it'. They handed him one and he said, 'Whose head is this? Whose name?' 'Caesar's' they told him. Jesus said to them, 'Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar - and to God what belongs to God'. This reply took them completely by surprise. - Mark 12:13-17 -

This answer disappointed those patriots who followed the Zealot line. Neither did it make Jesus popular with the priestly authorities.

The people whom Jesus taught already had.......

                                                                    Page 3

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -