The New Man

Read Ephesians 4:17-32

Reflection of Tommy:

How do we truly put off our old self (v22) and to have our minds renewed (v23), putting on a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (v24)? In today's passage, we can learn some ways to live a changed life as a disciple of Christ.

1. Be truthful all the time (v25)
2. Control your anger (v26)
3. Be hardworking, not idling or dishonest (v28)
4. Serve those in need (v28)
5. Use words that build others up (v29)
6. Not grieving the Spirit with our disobedience (v30)
7. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander (v31)
8. Be compassionate to one another (v32)
9. Forgiving each other (v32)

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me again the difference between the nature of my old self and the powerful transformed life by the Spirit. Teach me to surrender and submit to You daily and diligently. Give me wisdom and discernment in all things that I may truly live for You, fulfilling the will You have for my life. In Jesus' precious Name I pray, Amen.

Getting Free

Read Mark 10:17-27

Reflection of Tommy:

To be honest, many of us can associate ourselves to this young man. We believe in Christ and know well we wanted to follow Him but there are things we are unable to let go in our lives. Although the story is not about asking us to give away all our possessions but instead it shows to us that we must not allow anything we have or desire (people, money or things) keep us from following Jesus.

Another interesting thing about this story is how Jesus showed genuine love for this man despite knowing he might not follow Him (v21). His love for Him is not superficial; He lovingly but straightforwardly broke through the young man’s pride of accomplishment and self-effort through a life-changing challenge.

This question was important to this young man as it is to us today - Are we able to love God more than anything else (Exodus 20:3) in our lives and turning our lives entirely over to Christ?

Dear Father, teach and show to me what it means by giving my all to You. I will never know this truth and continue living in my wretched ways if not through the work of the Spirit in me. So Father, here I am, giving myself as an empty vessel to be filled with Your Spirit.

Lord, change my heart and open my eyes to see what a heavenly blessedness, riches and glory it is to be filled with the Spirit out of the heart of Jesus. I give myself up once for all and forever. Guide me and lead me from this day onwards. In Jesus’ mighty Name I pray, Amen!

Fan into Flame our Gifts

Read 2 Timothy 1:1-10

Reflection of Tommy:

This second letter to Timothy is probably the last words we have from Paul. In it, Paul who considers Timothy as his own ‘son’ was encouraging him to preserve and be bold in proclaiming the gospel despite the great opposition and persecution at that time. In telling Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God”, Paul was guiding him to fully use the gifts God has given him with the help and power of the Holy Spirit.

As Christian, we too need to fan into flame the gifts God has given to us. We should not hide our light because of timidity or fear of rejection from others, but to be bold guided by the Holy Spirit to plant gospel seeds wherever God has placed us at.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me not to shy away or easily give up in my sharing with others. Teach me not to do it alone but to be guided by the Spirit and the help of others. Guide me to follow the Spirit’s leading each day, to be more fully displays the power, love and self-discipline as a good witness and true disciple for Christ. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Our supernatural Comforter

Read John 16:5-16

Reflection of Tommy:

Many Christians today going through their daily life without giving any thought or awareness of the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them. Instead of seeking help and guidance from this great and supernatural Comforter God has given to them, they rely entirely on their own strength to deal with things in their lives.

In verse 13, Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit as a Comforter who would guide us into all truth. When we confess all known sin and then depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us (Gal. 5:16,18), we can be assured to be made known the truth about Christ and the purpose of our lives here on earth. We will also be led by the Spirit to a deeper relationship with God and to walk firmly down the path He has prepared for us.

Dear Father, thank You for sending a Comforter that guides me in all my ways. Thank You for teaching me to seek the Spirit’s direction and patience practice to discern all the rights from wrongs. May the Spirit continue to lead me in serving You and Your people with the right intention and way, glorifying Your Name always. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

On Purpose

Read 2 Corinthians 3:11-18

Reflection of Tommy:

There are many sincere Christians out there who burn out and heavily burdened from doing the work of God. Some of them are working fulltime in the ministry and others are working outside the church but serving and helping out in various ministries of the church.

We will surely get ourselves trapped in similar situation if we were to do God’s works solely with our own strength and might. We feel guilty and condemned when we think we’ve failed Him with our shortcomings and failures.

But, we learn from today’s passage that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (v17). When we start right by first trusting Christ to save us, we are free from the burden of guilt and condemnation. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, He will guides and provides us with the strength, passion and freedom to effectively serve and live for God and glorifying Him with everything we do.

Dear Father, thank You for Christ that my ‘veil’ was removed and I can now understand and learn about the true purpose of my life. Thank You also for giving me this privilege to be Your ‘mirror’; reflecting Your glory to the world around me. Lord, keep me safe and right in all my ways; always following the Spirit’s leading and guidance. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Rivers Of Living Water

John 7:37-44

37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."

41Others said, "He is the Christ."

Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family[b] and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Reflection of Bee:

It's a promise that Jesus will give us the living water when we come to Him. All He asks us to do is, "come". Sometimes we may feel dry in our spiritual walk. That's the time we need to turn to the living water and drink till we thirst no more.

Dear Lord,
I want to drink of Your living water... quench my thirst now, heal my body, soul and spirit. Let me once again be filled with Your life and overflow Your goodness to those come in contact with me. I need You now.
I pray too for Your living water to flow to my special friend.... to cool his stressful body, soul and spirit. That's he will know Your will for his life and follow Your leading. May Your love, joy and peace fill his soul tonight.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


Reflection of Tommy:
There are those who risk their lives for the reason of living life to the fullest. They think that through those activities they will receive true fulfillment. It doesn’t take long for them to realize they are still ‘thirsty’, empty inside. So, they begin another search for new ‘wells’ that might somehow quench their thirst; filling the void inside their heart and soul. Often, these earthly “wells” are destructive; making the drinker more unfulfilled, empty, sick, sad, and sorry. The author of Ecclesiastes called it a chasing after the wind.

In today’s passage, we get to know a well that can truly quenched our thirst. By accepting Christ, out of our heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38). This source is the Holy Spirit, who is like a well of satisfaction (7:39) and we’ll have a continual source of spiritual refreshment. Not only that, we will be conduit of God to overflow His blessings to others.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me to always tap into the right well for true fulfillment and refreshment. Forgive me of easy to find fault in others who drink from bad wells but exhibit similar attitude myself when longing for other fulfillments other than You. Teach me to come back to the right Source, the only Source, Jesus Christ. May I be empowered by the Holy Spirit as I thirst more of You and be used effectively in the great plan for Your people. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

Living Water

John 7:33-43

33Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. 34You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."

35The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not Christians are just like any non believers in have a conscience of the mind. They do struggle with issues and matter of the conscience.find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?"

37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

40On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."

41Others said, "He is the Christ."

Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family[b] and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" 43Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.

Bee's Thoughts:

Christians are just like any non believers in having a God-given conscience. They do struggle with issues and matters of the conscience like anybody else. However, because their conscience is cleansed by the blood of Christ, they are more sensitive to the right and wrong of things. But this can only be maintained if they allow the Holy Spirit to constantly fill their hearts. Otherwise, their conscience can also be darkened.

Dear Lord,
I pray that You will constantly cleanse me so that I will have a clean conscience before You. I pray and ask that the Holy Spirit will indwell me always, that I may do what is right in Your sight.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.


Tommy's Thoughts:

In today’s passage, we see how some of the crowd wrongly disqualified Jesus as the Messiah by arguing that He was from Nazareth, and not Bethlehem. But, Jesus was in fact born in Bethlehem, but grew up in Nazareth.

Likewise, we sometimes may easily jump to conclusion about a person by the little we know about them or what they’ve said. Without looking more carefully and thoughtfully, we hastily made wrong assumption and even unfair accusation over the other person. We need to be aware always of not jumping into wrong conclusion before knowing more about a situation or what the other person really meant.

Dear Father, thank You for teaching me to be a good listener to others. Guide me not to easily assume or conclude about other’s intention without looking more carefully and thoughtfully. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.