God is not Himself part of this world, but He acts in it by means of His word. God becomes personally known through His word. God word is powerfully creative and its purposes are irresistible. God's word is totally dependable; it represents His permanent commitment.

When heard and responded to, His word meets deep needs in the human heart and provides love, peace, joy, satisfaction, and confident direction which can be achieved in no other manner. God's word has the power to penetrate all pretense and discern "the thoughts and intents of the heart."

I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. - Matt. 24:34-35 -

Consecrate them in the truth;
Your word is truth. - John 17:7 -

The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created things can hide from Him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the One whom we must give account of ourselves. - Heb. 4:12-13 -

And then you must accept salvation from God to be your helmet and receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword. - Eph. 6:17

You have been obedient to the truth and purified your souls until you can love like brothers and sisters, in sincerity; let your love for each other be real and from the heart - your new birth was not from any mortal seed but from the everlasting word of the living and eternal God. All fresh is grass and its glory like the wild flower's. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains for ever. What is this word? It is the Good News that has been brought to you. - 1 Peter 1:22-25 - James 1:9-11; Is. 40:6-8 -

God's speaking of His word reaches a culmination in the sending of His Son (The Lord Jesus Christ) All that is true of God's earlier word is supremely truth of Jesus. The gospel of Jesus Christ is, in a special and profound way, the word of God as it makes known and brings into operation the reconciliation with God which is His purpose for mankind. So central is the Gospel to the purpose of God in this world that the successful spread of the gospel is the growth of the word of God.

The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers. - Acts 12:24 -

It is all God's work. It was God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not holding men's faults against them, and He has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. - 2 Cor. 5:18-19 -

Therefore, it is not only Jesus's message but also all that, He communicates God to us. He Himself  is described as the word of God. Indeed, Jesus brings the presence of God to a new level - the personal presence of God in the world in a human life.

By calling the Lord Jesus Christ the Alpha and the Omega, the writer of the Book of Revelation acknowledged that He is both the Creator and the Redeemer and the Final Judge of all things. Alpha and Omega - the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This title is given to God the Father and God the Son.

Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man and woman according to what he/she deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. - Rev. 22:12-13 -

The Book of Genesis - the first book of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. Placed at the opening of the Hebrew Scriptures, Genesis is the first of the five books of Moses, known as the 'Pentateuch.'

Genesis is the book of beginnings. The word Genesis means "The Origin, Source, Creation, and coming into being of something." The Hebrew name for the book is bereshith, the first word in the Hebrew text which is translated as "in the beginning." Genesis describes such important beginnings as 'The Creation', 'The Fall Of Man', and the early years of 'The nation Of Israel/Jacob.'

The beginning of salvation history - the story of God and human beings, sin and grace, wrath and mercy, covenant and redemption - also begins in the Book of Genesis.These theme are repeated often throughout the rest of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

As the Book of Revelation is the climax and conclusion of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, so the Book of Genesis is the beginning and essential seed-plot of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. Thus, Genesis is an important book for comprehending the meaning of the entire Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

The Book of Genesis presents the creation of man as male and female in the image of God, man's fall and ruin, his/her judgement, and his/her possible triumph in God's grace. In the context of man's judgement came the first whisper of the Gospel message of the final triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan:

I will make you enemies of each other:
you and the woman,
your offspring and her offspring,
It will crush your head
and you will strike its heel. - Gen. 3:15 -

This prophecy was fulfilled by the death of Jesus on the Cross, a sacrifice that destroyed the works of evil and the devil.

My children, do not let anyone lead you astray:
to live a holy life
is to be holy just as God is holy;
to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil,
since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.
It was to undo all that the devil has done
that the Son of God appeared. - 1 John 3:7-8 -

The anger of God is being revealed from heaven against all the impiety and depravity of men/women who keep truth imprisoned in their wickedness. For what can be known about God is perfectly plain to them since God Himself has made it plain.

Ever since God created the world His everlasting power and deity - however invisible - have been there for the mind to see in the things He has made. That is why such people are without excuse: they knew God and yet refused to honour Him as God or to thank Him; instead, they made nonsense out of logic and their empty minds were darkened.

The more they called themselves philosophers, the more stupid they grew, until they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for a worthless imitation, for the image of a mortal man, of birds, of quadrupeds and reptiles. That is why God left them to their filthy enjoyments and the practices with which they dishonor their own bodies, since they have given up divine truth for a lie and have worshipped and served creatures instead of the Creator, Who is blessed for ever. Amen!

That is why God has abandoned them to degrading passions: why their women have turned from natural intercourse to unnatural practices and why their menfolk have given up natural intercourse to be consumed with passion for each other, men/women doing shameless things with men/women and getting an appropriate reward for their perversion.

In other words, since they refused to see it was rational to acknowledge God, God has left them to their own irrational ideas and to their monstrous behaviour.

And so they are steeped in all sorts of depravity, rottenness, greed and malice, and addicted to envy, murder, wrangling, treachery and spite. Libellers, slanderers, enemies of God, rude, arrogant and boastful, enterprising in sin, rebellious to parents, without brains, without honors, without love and without pity.

THEY KNOW WHAT GOD VERDICT IS: THAT THOSE WHO BEHAVE LIKE THIS DESERVE TO DIE - AND YET THEY DO IT; AND WHAT IS WORSE, ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME. - Rom. 1:18-32 -

                                                                             Page 2
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. 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 means by which God makes Himself known, declares His will, and brings about His purposes refers to "The Word Of God." A theological phrase which expresses: 'The Absolute', 'The Eternal', and 'The Ultimate Being Of Jesus Christ.' God's word is the primary means by which He is present and working in the world/earth.

The phrases such as 'Word Of God' and 'Word Of The Lord' are applied to the commanding 'Word Of God' that brought "Creation" into existence, and also "Destroyed" that same world or earth through the waters of "The Flood"; to God's announcement of an impending or future "Act Of Judgment.": to the Word that declares "God's commitment and promises His blessing"; and to a particular instruction from God.

The term 'Word Of God' is also used of the 'Ten Commandments' given from Mount Sinai; of the whole Mosaic Law; of specific parts of the Old Testament; of a more personal communication from God; of the directive of God that set in motion John the Baptist's ministry; of Jesus' message of the kingdom of God; of 'The Gospel' as preached in the early Church; and finally of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

The Old Testament spoke of the 'Word Of God' as the divine agent in the 'Creation of the universe.' "By the Word Of The Lord the heavens, earth, light, waters, all kind of land and sea creatures, animals, all kind of plants, trees, and human beings were made."

In the New Testament, the Gospel of John declared: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Through the incarnation of Christ Jesus, God has come to dwell in our midst. Through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, a unique and final revelation of God has been given - one superior to the revelation given through the law and the prophets. In the Lord Jesus Christ, the 'Word Of God' or 'Logos' God's plan and purpose for mankind is clearly revealed.

In the beginning was the Word
the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through Him.

All that came to be had life in Him
and that life was the light of men/women,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.

The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men/women;
and He was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through Him,
and the world did not know Him

He came to His own domain
and His own people did not accept Him.
But to all who did accept Him
He gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of Him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man/woman
but of God Himself.

The Word was made flesh,
He lived among us,
and we saw His glory,
the glory that is His as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

John appears as His witness. He proclaims:
'This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me
ranks before me
because He existed before me.'

Indeed, from His fullness we have, all of us, received -
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.

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 1:1-18 -

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God's spirit hovered over the water.

God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light 'day' and darkness He called 'night.' Evening came and morning came: the first day.

God said, 'Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.' And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault 'heaven.' Evening came and morning came: the second day.

God said, 'Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let the dry land appear.' And so it was. God called the dry land 'earth' and the mass of waters 'seas' and God saw that it was good.

God said, 'Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with seed inside, on the earth.' And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.

God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.' And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.

God said, 'Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth within the vault of heaven.' And so it was. God created great sea-serpents and every kind of living creature with which the waters teem, and every kind of winged creature. God saw it was good. God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply upon the earth.' Evening came and morning came: the fifth day.

God said, 'Let the earth produce every kind of living creature: cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild beasts.' And so it was. God made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle, and every kind of land reptile. God saw that it was good.

God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild beasts and all the reptiles that crawl upon the earth.'

                                               God created man in the image of Himself,
                                               in the image of God He created him,
                                               male and female He created them.

God blessed them, saying to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living animals on the earth.' God said, 'See, I give you all the seed-bearing plants that are upon the whole earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this shall be your food. To all wild beasts, all birds of heaven and all living reptiles on the earth I give all the foliage of plants for food.' And so it was. God saw all He had made, and indeed, it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day. - Gen. 1:1-31 -

Thus, heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God completed the work He had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work He had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day He had rested after all His work of creating.

Such were the origins of heaven and earth when they were created. - Gen. 2:1-4 -

                                                                    Page 1
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. 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 point of Eschatology throughout the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is to provide encouragement to the apostles, prophets, disciples, believers and followers in their witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not mentioned to encourage idle speculation or controversy. The main reason God grants us a view of the future is to allow and encourage us to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and serve God in the present.

This Good News of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole world as a witness to all nations. And then the end will come. - Matt. 24:14 -

Never give in then, my dear brothers and sisters, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord's work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain. - 1 Cor. 15:58 -

In the Old Testament, the early true prophets accepted the Holy War concept and even stirred up war or conflict among nations. But in the later true prophets often condemned war, because they felt Israel's war did not meet the qualifications for a Holy War.

However, in the New Testament and in the Book of Revelation, the one thing necessary for a Holy War was that Christian, and all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in God without any doubt and without any reservations. But sadly, the people and nation increasingly put its trust in the power of the day, wealth, self wisdom, and political alliances.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Trust in God still, and trust in Me.
There are many rooms in my Father's house;
if there were not, I should have told you.
I am going now to prepare a place for you,
and after I have gone and prepared you a place,
I shall return to take you with Me;
so that where I am
you may be too. - John 14:1-3 -

Although the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible explicitly speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ appearance and His return. The night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His apostles that He would return. Indeed, the New Testament is filled with expectancy of the Lord Jesus Christ return, even as Christians should be today.

Now having met together, they asked Jesus, 'Lord, has the time come?' Are you going to restore the kingdom of Israel? He replied, 'It is not for you to know times and dates that the Father has decided by His own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.'

As Jesus said this He was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took Him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them, and they said, 'Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen Him go there.' - Acts 1:6-11 -

In the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible sin is viewed in several ways; as an offense against God, which requires a pardon or a reconciliation with God. That is, 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 the Lord Jesus Christ that the remedy is provided. The Lord Jesus Christ has procured the pardon, forgiveness of sin, the cleansing, the emancipation, the cancellation, the victory, and the reconciliation.

Since the Lord Jesus Christ partakes in the nature of both God and humanity. He occupies a unique status with regard to them. The Lord Jesus Christ represents God to humanity, and He also represents humanity to God. God is both Lawgiver and Judge.

Therefore, the human family has put itself in the position of the lawbreaker; The Lord Jesus Christ has voluntarily undertaken to represent us. The Judge has made Himself one with the guilt in order to bear our guilt. It is ordinarily out of the question for one person to bear the guilt of others. But when the one person is the representative man, Jesus Christ, bearing the guilt of those whom He represents, the case is different.

In the hour of His death, Christ Jesus 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 the Lord Jesus Christ.

When the situation  is viewed in terms of a law court, one might speak of the accused party as being acquitted. But the term preferred in the New Testament, especially in the Apostle/Saint Paul's writings, is the more positive word, justified. Apostle Paul goes on to the limit of daring to speaking of God as:

We were still helpless when all at His appointed moment Christ died for sinful men/women. It is not easy to die even for a good person - though of course for someone really worthy, a person might be prepared to die - but what proves that God loves us is that Christ Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.

Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that He would now fail to save us from God's anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of His Son?

Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation. - Rom. 5:6-11 -

The work of the Lord Jesus Christ, seen from this point of view, is to set humanity in a right relationship with God. When the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is pictured in terms of an 'atoning sacrifice' it is God who takes the initiative. Thus, Jesus' presence with God as His people's representative provides the assurance that their requests for spiritual help are heard and granted.

This means that Christ Jesus reigns from His present place of exaltation and must do so until all His enemies are overthrown, especially those enemies which belong to the spiritual realm. That is: "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."

For Christ Jesus 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. - 1 Cor. 15:25-26 -

The sea gave up all the dead who were in it: Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and everyone was judged according to the way in which he/she 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 in the 'Book of Life' was thrown into the burning lake. - Rev. 20:14-15 -

The Lord Jesus Christ 'First Coming' was to "SAVE." - Mark 10:45 -

The Lord Jesus Christ 'Return' or 'Second Coming' will be primarily to "JUDGE."

Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone. - Rev. 21:3-4 - AMEN! AMEN!

                                                             Page 33
Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. 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 -