“ Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”
Matthew 4: 4
Besides satisfying our physical hunger, we also need to satisfy our spiritual hunger. To do this, we need to read the Bible, spend time with God and let him fill our lives. In Matthew 4, it talks about how Jesus was tempted by the devil. But because He has fed himself with the word of God, He is able to use it to counter the temptations of the devil. Ephesians 6:17 says that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit.
It is important for us to not only know the Word of God but also obey it. We need His word and His promises for us to stand strong when we are faced with temptations. In Ephesians 6:11, it says “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.
Do not be complacent with your walk with God. We have to keep pressing on for more of God. We often run to God only when trouble comes, but take the times when everything is going well to feed yourself with His word so that when difficult times come you already have a strong foundation that you can stand on.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Obedience
"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until i bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."
Matthew 2:13
After giving Mary and Joseph a child which would potentially bring them humilition because the child was bore before they got married, God did not leave them in this difficult situation. Instead, God guided and protected them throughout, from finding a manger to give birth (though not very glamorous), to warning the wise men not to go back to Herod, to warning Joseph about potential dangers. On joseph's part, it would have been very easy to dismiss these warnings. I don't think it would have been easy for a couple to flee to some far far away place with a new born child considering they did not have cars/aeroplanes. They probably had to walk or sit on a camel and endure a bumpy ride. And knowing babies they probably cried all the way. Despite the inconvenience that surrounded that situation, Joseph was obedient to the angel's warning, which was very important as it determined Jesus's safety and survival.
I don't suppose any of us have had angels coming to talk to us about things. haha. Well, we have the Holy Spirit in us that whispers into our hearts whats right/wrong, what should/shouldn't be done. It could be just a simple nudge in your heart to give some money/food to someone, or call someone up to enquire bout them or talk to someone. You just won't know what the other person is going through and our little actions could make a lot of difference if we just obey what the spirit tells us to do. Or it could be something big, like making important life choices. Whatever it is, God knows whats best for us and being in tune with Him and the Holy Spirit is important for Him to speak to us. And when we hear Him, we should obey the things that he calls us to do.
Father, I thank you that you are always guiding us. I pray that you will help us to be receptive to your voice and your will. I pray that you will also help us to be obedient to the things that you put in our hearts to do. Amen.
Matthew 2:13
After giving Mary and Joseph a child which would potentially bring them humilition because the child was bore before they got married, God did not leave them in this difficult situation. Instead, God guided and protected them throughout, from finding a manger to give birth (though not very glamorous), to warning the wise men not to go back to Herod, to warning Joseph about potential dangers. On joseph's part, it would have been very easy to dismiss these warnings. I don't think it would have been easy for a couple to flee to some far far away place with a new born child considering they did not have cars/aeroplanes. They probably had to walk or sit on a camel and endure a bumpy ride. And knowing babies they probably cried all the way. Despite the inconvenience that surrounded that situation, Joseph was obedient to the angel's warning, which was very important as it determined Jesus's safety and survival.
I don't suppose any of us have had angels coming to talk to us about things. haha. Well, we have the Holy Spirit in us that whispers into our hearts whats right/wrong, what should/shouldn't be done. It could be just a simple nudge in your heart to give some money/food to someone, or call someone up to enquire bout them or talk to someone. You just won't know what the other person is going through and our little actions could make a lot of difference if we just obey what the spirit tells us to do. Or it could be something big, like making important life choices. Whatever it is, God knows whats best for us and being in tune with Him and the Holy Spirit is important for Him to speak to us. And when we hear Him, we should obey the things that he calls us to do.
Father, I thank you that you are always guiding us. I pray that you will help us to be receptive to your voice and your will. I pray that you will also help us to be obedient to the things that you put in our hearts to do. Amen.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Problems be gone
" Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly"
Matthew 1:19
Put yourselves in Joseph's shoes for a moment. If your soon to be wife was suddenly pregnant, your first thought would be she slept with someone else. Imagine the frustration, anger, disappointment that Joseph must be feeling at that moment.
Joseph did not understand that the child Mary bore was of the Holy Spirit. He wanted to take matters into his own hands. "Put her away secretly"---> does that mean he wanted to kill her, stone her, lock her up? Joseph leaned on his own understanding of the situation and tried to solve it himself. He didn't know that God has a greater plan, that through Mary a King will be born. Can you imagine the consequences if Joseph had gotten rid of Mary and the child?
Often we see ourselves faced with frustrations and disappointments. We try with our own understanding to make sense of these situations and we try to solve them on our own. We forget that God is our helper in time of need and all we need to do is look to him and seek His guidance. We need to remember that He has our lives in his hands and he has got good plans for us.
Father in heaven, I pray that you will help us get a kingdom mentality and lean not on our own understanding when situations arise. Help us to focus on you and not on our situations. I pray for your guidance in each and every part of our lives. Amen.
Matthew 1:19
Put yourselves in Joseph's shoes for a moment. If your soon to be wife was suddenly pregnant, your first thought would be she slept with someone else. Imagine the frustration, anger, disappointment that Joseph must be feeling at that moment.
Joseph did not understand that the child Mary bore was of the Holy Spirit. He wanted to take matters into his own hands. "Put her away secretly"---> does that mean he wanted to kill her, stone her, lock her up? Joseph leaned on his own understanding of the situation and tried to solve it himself. He didn't know that God has a greater plan, that through Mary a King will be born. Can you imagine the consequences if Joseph had gotten rid of Mary and the child?
Often we see ourselves faced with frustrations and disappointments. We try with our own understanding to make sense of these situations and we try to solve them on our own. We forget that God is our helper in time of need and all we need to do is look to him and seek His guidance. We need to remember that He has our lives in his hands and he has got good plans for us.
Father in heaven, I pray that you will help us get a kingdom mentality and lean not on our own understanding when situations arise. Help us to focus on you and not on our situations. I pray for your guidance in each and every part of our lives. Amen.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Introduction
Welcome everyone to our new blog. This blog is created for the purpose of SOAP journaling.
S - Scripture
O - Observation
A - Application
P - Prayer
I believe that through this we will be able to encourage each other to be consistent in our devotion. We will also be able to learn a lot from each other. I pray that we can all grow together in unity.
Besides SOAP journal feel free to share your thoughts, prayer requests, praise notes etc.
So to start off our journey together we will look at the book of Matthew. Each week we will devote ourselves to read one Chapter. From there choose one verse that you like the most or speaks to you the most. Share with us what you observe from that verse and how it can be applied to your life. Then conclude with a prayer that encompasses everything (e.g. ask God to help you apply that to your life).
S - Scripture
O - Observation
A - Application
P - Prayer
I believe that through this we will be able to encourage each other to be consistent in our devotion. We will also be able to learn a lot from each other. I pray that we can all grow together in unity.
Besides SOAP journal feel free to share your thoughts, prayer requests, praise notes etc.
So to start off our journey together we will look at the book of Matthew. Each week we will devote ourselves to read one Chapter. From there choose one verse that you like the most or speaks to you the most. Share with us what you observe from that verse and how it can be applied to your life. Then conclude with a prayer that encompasses everything (e.g. ask God to help you apply that to your life).
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