With Christ in the Vessel...

Hey daily walkers

 

The other day I restarted my sermon cd in my car and today when I was driving home from dinner, I heard a sermon by Elisabeth Elliot that mentioned Mark chapter 4 where Jesus crosses the sea of Galilee by boat and a storm comes. She was talking about how God's prescence, sovereignty and love will help us have a quiet heart in the midst of trials and be like Christ as he slept on a pillow while the storm raged outside. She quoted a poem by Amy Carmichael (missionary to India) that struck a chord with me.

 

Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matters beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?

Hold us quiet through the age-long minute
While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill :
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, are in it;
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?

— Amy Carmichael

 

Hope the reading is continuing with everyone. Not long now til the end!

 

ur sis

 

rowas

Walking through Psalms

Hey we're nearly finished Psalms! Can you believe it??

 

It's been really cool reading through Psalms - so often as I read, it has been an echo of how I have been feeling (maybe a bit amplified at times - especially all the enemy talk hehe). Thank God too that the memory verses for the first two weeks of the Scripture memorisation Progam at church have been from the reading a few days ago (Ps 119) :)

 

Hope you all are going well with your reading - whether you're toward the end of Psalms, at the beginning, or still tackling the Pentateuch - keep going! We're nearly half-way through the year :D

Lesson from Job - swift to hear, slow to speak

I think one of the most unusual books in the Bible would be Job. Many people wonder, "why is it there?" Why do we need to read 37 chapters of bad advice from Job's friends, trying to make sense of what has happened to their friend.

The interesting thing I found was that much of what they say, to be honest, sounded a lot like me when I talked to people going through hard times. When we talk to people going through suffering, often our many words ends up hurting rather than helping them. Sometimes God may want us to stay silent as part of our counsel, rather than recklessly throwing in our two cents. I was reminded of this during the last few weeks. There were two incidences that I found myself talking to someone who is suffering, but realising that I didn't have much to say that would not sound too different to Job's friends.  There are things that God will sometimes do that we are not able to understand at the time, and neither will our friends. Instead, our encouragement could just be that a good and loving God will do what is most good and loving.

Unicorns in the Bible

Finding that reading Job has been a blessing. It's been a good reminder of God's sovereignty and the fact that though we don't know what's going on, God is still in control.

I was intrigued by one of yesterday's little side notes in the DWB (daily walk Bible) which mentioned the Mariana Trench so I looked it up today http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Trench - it sounds like Adrian's favourite pasta, but it's actually a dirty, great, big trench in the sea! It's nearly 11000m deep Wikipedia says 'If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), were set in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, there would be 2,076 metres (6,811 ft) of water left above it' 

Now that's deep! 

Also another intriguing inclusion in Job 39 about a unicorn! There are other mentions of unicorn in the Bible so I wanted to find out more... hence http://creation.com/the-unicorn - you may agree or disagree that it is supposed to be translated as a 'wild ox', but as for me and my imagination, we will think of unicorns

Lessons from Fishing

So I bought a fishing rod less than a week ago. Brand new, couldn't wait to use it. Spent a few hours probably tying up rigs and reading up about rods and fishing. My brothers and I decided to go fishing yesterday - well it was my idea because i wanted to try out my brand-spanking-new rod.  We put everything into the back of the van with the back seat folded up to fit everything in. And off we went. As the car accelerated after reversing from the driveway, the back seat slams back down and a huge crack made me turn around. The back seat landed right on top of my rod, snapping it like a twig. Totally devastated. Tears in my eyes. Hadn't touched the spray of salt water, never even been cast.

 

Then, later last night, I read the devotion for 22 May. 'Imagine that you have been deprived of possessions, health, and loved ones. Could you still proclaim that your hope is still in the Lord?'

 

Oh Snap! (literally in my rod's case). Well it's not exactly something that took my hope away from the Lord, but it was definitely a possession, and maybe even a 'loved one'... maybe that's stretching it, but I did like it a lot. It was minor, and can be easily replaced at Kmart for $30, but the sense of loss still felt very real. Imagine how Job felt!

The Daily Walk is not a Race

I really must say it has been a huge blessing to my own heart!  I did go through a similar programme when I came to Christ some 30 odd years ago.  It was a blessing then, and it has been this time too.  I am just thrilled to see how God uses such a mixed bag of very ordinary and very human people to accomplish His will.  It just makes me aware that as we yield to Him He can uses us in amazing ways.  I was also challengeed by the recent commentary on David that often a single sin can lead to a cascade of ever escalating sins.....so we need to be vigilant. 

 

Can I really encourage people if the are behind.......do not get so caught up with trying to catch up......that will cause you to rush through the passages just for the sake of catching up.  I believe that is dishonoring to His Word.  Just go through the day's reading and really be blessed by that.  We should not see it as a race!  We need to take time over it, read it slowly so we can meditate upon it and benefit from it......and enjoy it!   An illustration:  I often do my exercise by doing my two bridge walk (walking from Canning bridge to Mt Henry Bridge as a circuit).  sometimes I do the walk slowly and really enjoy it, take in the beauty of it.  However most times I am cranking up the pace and walk as fast as i can.....good exercise but there is no taking in of the scenery......no enjoyment of the surroundings.....just pushing through the pain.  

 

So wherever you are in the reading, just keep doing it.  After all the purpose of the plan is to encourage us to read His Word.....not a demand that we have to fulfil every part of the program!  We need to keep that in focus.   Do not be discouraged by what you have NOT read but be uplifted, challenged and blessed by what you HAVE read.

 

Let us keep walking! And let us take it slowly so we can enjoy and benefit from the journey!

God Bless, 

Mark

Onto Deuteronomy - Moses' summary of the wilderness wanderings

I've found it very interesting to read the sermons by Moses in the first 12 or so chapters of Deuteronomy. There are many things that we can learn from this sermon, especially to remind ourselves of God's presence in everything that happens to us. We should never think that we got anything by our own ability or strength and we should always walk with God through all that we do. Maybe a summary of the sermons would be "If God is not in it, don't do it".

Or as Paul put it the New Testament, "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

God hardened Pharaoh's heart

Quite often we take issue with this line as if to say that it was not Pharaoh's fault for going against the Israelites because it was God who hardened his heart - he was just a tool of God. When we think about it, we usually will come to conclude correctly that Pharaoh did act out of his own volition. He couldn't blame God for it.
But think about what this says about God. Even when pharaoh tries to act out of his own will - it works perfectly according to God's plan. How can a person fight against God and expect to win? God hardening Pharaoh's heart should mainly remind us that even your enemy's actions are permitted by all all knowing, ever loving, unchanging God. People's hearts may be against you but God still calls their shots. Rest in that assurance and let that peace enable you to love your enemies.

hidden Bible books - something fun

There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. Keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the book in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, the books are all right there in plain view hidden from sight. Those able to find all of them will hear lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spacers in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in the paragraph waiting to be found.

the walk continues

The daily walk continues and I'm currently on a rest day. Yesterday I finished Chapter 10 of Exodus which means I am a quarter of the way through Exodus!

Bible in a Year has been great so far. I was reminded of how much I loved the story of Joseph, the lessons I learnt from Genesis all those years ago in the DHW Bible study series, and am looking forward to continuing the story of Moses tomorrow.

BUT

What keeps looming over me is the inevitable cloud of falling behind or stopping my reading. In some ways it encourages me to keep trying to defy that cloud of failure - but then I am faced with a second cloud of obligation where I dutifully complete my reading  because I am supposed to and not because I want to spend time with God in His Word. The temptation of one is to submit to the other - I try to overcome the failure cloud by making sure I read every day, then I think 'am I doing this out of duty and not devotion?' and then I am tempted to not do it because it becomes seemingly contrived.

SO

What has helped me to find the right heart in doing the reading has been John Piper's IOUS.

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness (Psalm 119:36)

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18)

Unite my heart to fear thy name (Psalm 86:11b)

Satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14)

The times when I have remembered to take time to get my heart right before reading, I am encouraged by what I read. Just makes me wonder, will this work when it comes to Leviticus?

Only time will tell. :)

 

RC

What's with Jacob wrestling with the Lord?

Genesis 32:24-30 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

Found this quite useful from Calvin's Verse Commentaries about the passage where Jacob wrestles the angel said to be the Lord.


There wrestled a man with him ¹ Although this vision was particularly useful to Jacob himself, to teach him beforehand that many conflicts awaited him, and that he might certainly conclude that he should be the conqueror in them all; there is yet not the least doubt that the Lord exhibited, in his person, a specimen of the temptations — common to all his people — which await them, and must be constantly submitted to, in this transitory life. Wherefore it is right to keep in view this designs of the vision, which is to represent all the servants of God in this world as wrestlers; because the Lord exercises them with various kinds of conflicts. Moreover, it is not said that Satan, or any mortal man, wrestled with Jacob, but God himself: to teach us that our faith is tried by him; and whenever we are tempted, our business is truly with him, not only because we fight under his auspices, but because he, as an antagonist, descends into the arena to try our strength. This, though at first sight it seems absurd, experience and reason teaches us to be true. For as all prosperity flows from his goodness, so adversity is either the rod with which he corrects our sins, or the test of our faith and patience. And since there is no kind of temptations by which God does not try his faithful people, the similitude is very suitable, which represents him as coming, hand to hand, to combat with them. Therefore, what was once exhibited under a visible form to our father Jacob, is daily fulfilled in the individual members of the Church; namely, that, in their temptations, it is necessary for them to wrestle with God. He is said, indeed, to tempt us in a different manner from Satan; but because he alone is the Author of our crosses and afflictions, and he alone creates light and darkness, (as is declared in Isaiah,) he is said to tempt us when he makes a trial of our faith.

The Lord said

I found it quite interesting through the readings in Genesis the many
times the Lord said something. It showed how personal God is and if
you see the times that he speaks to someone, many times they were
facing a hard decision such as Abraham in dealing with Hagar, Hagar in
the middle of the desert, Abraham in handling conflict with Lot,
Rebekah when the children struggled within her, Abraham in the famine,
Isaac in dealing with the herdmen at the well, Jacob when Laban
started getting jealous... Etc

Makes me wonder whether we seek the Lord when we face decisions or
problem people in ou lives.. We could save ourselves a lot of
difficulty when we seek God first. What if God said and you missed it
cos you werent interested in listening?

You're not alone!

Hey guys, 9 days have passed, how has your reading been? Would encourage you to come for the Wednesday class on OT history as we're still at around Gen 24, which is quite in line with what the daily reading schedule is at. Hoping to finish Isaac and Jacob this Wed, and then Joseph next week, the last class I'd have before I go back to Singapore. Would be wonderful if we could come together to share and discuss what we've learnt.

Think its also really interesting to note that our camp speaker for this year, Rev Koshy has also embarked on a similar endeavor to read through the Bible in a year. He's been blogging about it at his blog. Can see the entries till date here: http://pastorkoshy.info/?cat=15

I'm sure this is not just a coincidence but is again the wonderful mysterious workings of God's plan. May his sharings encourage you in your walk as well, and if you want you could leave a comment on his blog. From what I see he replies quite promptly.

God bless!

Kang

God's sovereignty is so comforting

From today's reading in Genesis 12 about Abraham, I was reminded of the confidence Abraham could go forth into an unknown future and leave all his familiar people, customs and things simply because he knew God was powerful enough to take care of him. He did not flinch in obeying God and God's promise was that his obedience will not only benefit him but in verse 2, God said that he will be a blessing to other people.

Also those people who bless Abraham will be blessed and those that curse Abraham will be cursed. If we follow God, who can be against us? Even when Abraham and Lot's herdsmen argued, Abraham had the confidence in God that Abraham would not "lose out" if he gave Lot first preference as to which land to take. It was very comforting to see God, immediately after Lot chose the "better" land, reassuring Abraham:


Genesis 13:14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:


Genesis 13:15-17 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Abraham believed in God's ability to provide for him so much that he didn't even want to receive from King Melchizedek because he wanted to represent God's ability to provide more than enough.

It was a great encouragement to be reminded that God's people do not need to fight for His blessings and even when people try to take our blessings from us, God is still able to bless us greatly. I hope I can obey God with such faith and see through circumstances to God's sovereignty. -AC

Reading schedule corrected

OK the reading schedule is corrected now. I have only done corrections to March but if someone would like to type out the rest, please feel free to send it in and I will add it to the reading schedule :)

Your Daily Walk for 2011

Morning All!

Hope you've all had a good start to 2011, and have been following the readings thus far.

Really thank God that so many of you have enthusiastically taken up the challenge of reading through the Bible in the year. Myself and a few other youths at Calvary Pandan had started this in 2010 and it was certainly a great blessing to have brethren in it together, encouraging each other along the way. 

Just a short sharing on a few things I've learnt:

1. It is not going to be easy and there are times where you might fall behind so much you just want to give up. But just keep pressing on because no matter what it is always going to be a blessing to read God's Word, even if you are a few chapters or even a few books behind schedule. Be encouraged and not discouraged by the progress of the others around you. 

2. There will be tougher parts and easier parts. You might be able to breeze through Genesis and Exodus as they're familiar and easy to read. But then when we come to portions like Leviticus or the first half of Numbers or maybe the sections on dividing the land in Joshua, your enthusiasm might begin to wane and your interest fades. There may be other portions that you find you just can not understand most of what you are reading, like perhaps some of the prophetic books. But just take it by faith, that all scripture is profitable... and man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. The Bible promises that if we meditate on God's Word day and night, it will certainly be profitable to us. Even if you feel like the day's reading is dry or you can't understand it, just carry on through and pray for the Spirit's illumination. It is an act of faith and obedience that we are undertaking in reading God's Word, and if it is done right, God will surely bless! 

3. There will be huge blessings awaiting us if we really do diligently read through each of the passages, as we will discover new lessons from old familiar passages, and new verses, passages and thoughts that you have never encountered before. It is highly recommended to go through the Bible with highlighters, coloured pens etc, and have your own system of marking out verses and writing little notes here and there. Your aim is to make the Bible as dirty as possible! Few suggestions, you might have your own system: Use different coloured highlighters to highlight verses that speak to you, i.e. promises of God, commands of God, warnings from God, etc. Use pens to underline/circle/box/double underline/curly underline verses or phrases that stand out, maybe repetitions, important conjunctions, words with similar meanings etc. There are really so many different ways to delve into God's Word that is really so amazingly rich and powerful.

4. Every's journey through the daily walk Bible will be different, as God through the Holy Spirit can use His Word to teach us different things, even though we are reading the same passages. Would be great if you could maybe use this mailing list or update the blog to encourage each other on the spiritual lessons we have gleaned through the passages that we are reading. Do not be shy to share from maybe Exodus when you should be perhaps already be in Ruth. Every lesson learnt is important!

5. Do not allow the readings to become routine and obligatory. The moment you feel that way, take a step back, really pray and ask the Lord to renew your interest and love for His Word. This is a prayer that God would certainly want to answer. 

6. The length of the passages for some days might become rather intimidating, or it is so long that you have to just rush through it with the limited time that you have. Do not feel obliged to finish it just because it is scheduled as such and you want to keep up with it. It might be good to sometimes break up a day's reading to 2 or 3 sittings and slowly chew and meditate on the Word. Remember, its quality over quantity!

7. Ok not really a lesson learnt, but just found it really cool that it is called 'daily walk Bible', in line with our chuch's theme of 'walking with God'. Didn't notice it till Edward sent out the email last night. This is really a practical way which we can go about fulfilling the theme and desire that we have to walk with God in the year 2011! 

Thats all I can think of for now. Will share more as I think of them.

Ok go, read! And encourage others to read too!

"2011, I know there is something special about you! =D" - Truc Pham, Facebook 

God bless,

Kang