Heart Knowledge

Read Colossians 1:3-12

Reflection of Tommy:

There is nothing inherently wrong with equipping our selves with biblical knowledge to answer any tough questions from non-believers, but we should be aware of not focusing entirely on accumulating knowledge without developing a close relationship with God and bearing fruit for Him.

We can be busy attending every Bible study classes in church and reading all books on Christianity, but yet never lead to a changed life and right living with God.

God’s Word is never just for our information but it is for our transformation! It should give us direction for living and to put what we have learned into practice by helping and serving others.

Dear Father, thank You for teaching and leading me to build a close relationship with You, to truly live a new and changed life in Christ. May You fill me with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (v9) and that I would bear fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of You (v10). I thank You and pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Flawed Impressions

Read Joshua 22:10-34

Reflection of Tommy:

Very often we are quick to judge a person by mere first impression they gave to us. By assuming the worst about the intentions of others only brings trouble, misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.

Like Phinehas in today’s passage who led a delegation to learn the truth, we too need to always seek ways to learn and hear more of the whole story before jumping into conclusions and reacting in the wrong way.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me not to be quick in judging others but to seek open communication when interacting with others. Forgive me I pray that very often I failed to do that with my intolerant and unloving attitude; being a bad witness for Christ. Teach me to change that and to be more open to listen, learning more about a person or situation in resolving any conflicts that I may have. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

For Her and Him

Ephesians 5:22-33

Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[b] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Reflection of Bee:

Although the above passage seems to be talking more about a marriage relationship, the implication goes beyond that. It talks about true love and submission in a healthy relationship, which can also be applicable to singles.

"We believe that God's purpose for the body of Christ is that it should provide the context for deep and satisfying relationships. Marriage is one context for meeting our needs, but not the only one by God's design."
- FIND OUT WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR YOUR MARRIAGE

The command is for a wife to "submit" to her husband, not so much as to love her husband. Why? Women, by God's design, tend to love their men or husbands without being told when they can feel and see the men's love for them. However, submission might be a bit of a problem when they have more knowledge than their men. Submission and respect also go hand in hand. If the women find it hard to respect their men, it will be hard to submit. Yet women need to learn submission.

As for the men, the command is to "love" their wives. Men have the tendency of falling head-over-heel for their women during courtship or initial marriage. Yet time will tell if the men actually love the women in their lives or it was just some emotional infatuation. Therefore, men need to learn to truly love, just like Christ loves (sacrificial and unconditional).

The love of the men for their women will pave the way for this to happen. Mutual love, submission, and respect are what God wants us to have in a healthy Christian relationship with each other.

Dear Lord,
Teach us, your sons and daughters in Christ, to learn to truly love and submit just like Christ did. Turn our eyes upon Jesus so that we can model after Him. Teach us not to be selfish, but to love unconditionally. Teach us to submit to the authority You have ordained.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.


Reflection of Tommy:

In our today’s culture, submission is not a popular concept and it has been distorted by some to give unlimited authority to husbands. But in today’s passage we can learn from Paul, that true submission is mutual and its God’s way to preserve order and harmony in any kind of relationships. It also increases love and respect between two persons.

Dear Father, thank You for teaching me to submit and love one another by choice. Thank You also for guiding me to submit to You, that I may willing to obey Your command to submit to others too. Lead me to trust You more to be changed and renewed by Your Word each day, and being sure that Your perfect love will see me through. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

A Family Thing

Mark 3:31-35

Jesus' Mother and Brothers
31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."

33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.

34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Reflection of Bee:

Our life on earth has family ties, both natural and spiritual. At times, we may be closer to our spiritual family than to we our natural family. The reason is that we may spend more times to share and to pray together with our spiritual brothers and sisters who do the will of God. Relationship are formed and develop though spending time together. There is no shortcut to it.

Dear Lord,
Thank You for the big family of God You have given to me. Yes, we want to do Your will to fulfill the Great Commission You have for us. That Your family may get bigger.
Amen.


Reflection of Tommy:

Today’s speaker in my church talked about the absurdity of someone claiming that they love Jesus but dislike the church. As Jesus is the head of the body, the church, and we are His members, how can we love Him and despise the rest in our spiritual family. No doubt there may be a brother or sister in our church that are difficult, burdensome, irritating or even hurtful to us, but God called us to love them anyway just like how Jesus would.

We can do this by first thinking of them as someone who's hurting, rather than just as someone who causes hurt to us. That change of attitude may help us see them in a more compassionate light. It's also important to keep our focus on changing our own heart towards them, rather than on their actions. And, we need to do all these in love and acknowledging how the relationships in our spiritual family are ultimately more important and longer lasting than those formed in our physical families.

Dear Father, thank You for the good fellowship I had with the brothers and sisters in the church lately. I pray that we will continue to spend the time we have in encouraging and building each others up in our spiritual walk. And teach me not to show partiality but to love and care for one another and their needs like how Jesus would be. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.