Betrayal

(picture taken from http://www.snoopy.com/)

Words from yesterday's sermon still linger in my mind. It reminded me of this sentence that Auntie Song Ci said.

"不要让你的行为出卖你的信心!"

As we read about the Judas betraying his teacher(Jesus), I thought perhaps he was not the only one who betrayed Jesus. Peter denied his relationship with Jesus, with fear that his association/relationship with him will bring him danger/death. Perhaps we have betrayed him too. We may have hidden our relationship with God. We may have said or done something which hurt Jesus. We may have pushed Jesus away to pull something else (i.e money, fame, pride etc) towards us.

As we enter the period of Lent, let us once again bring our broken and contrite heart before God
and seek to know our loving savior more. May godly sorrow bring about enduring repentance.

A familiar song...

I was preparing the quiet time material for choir prac yesterday and I recalled the funny, awkward, sweet and warm performance that the guys did for the girls a couple of years back. (I think someone did upload the video on this blog. Look through the archives, yah?)

Anyway, I played with the idea of using part of the song to capture the special, wondrous relationship God has with us. Happy Valentine's Day! <3>

L is for the way You LOOK at me…

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” (Genesis 1: 31)

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…” (Colossians 1: 22)

O is for the ONLY ONE I see…

“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in the temple.” (Psalm 27: 4)

V is VERY VERY extraordinary…

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15: 13)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 8)

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression – it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2: 4 – 5)

E is EVEN MORE than anyone that you adore…

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ…” (Philippians 3: 7 – 8)

Radical love

To love at all is to be vulnerable. ~ C.S. Lewis

Today, we had a sobering reminder that love is not self-seeking but rather, self-denial.
The self seekers expect gain from a relationship but God wants us to think about his concept of love and see love in a different light.

Here in Luke Chapter 6:27-36 is a snippet of what God's love is about: loving your enemies. One who study his words will wonder what he mean when he said that "to him who strikes you in one cheek, offer the other also(1). And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either(2). Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back(3)."

That's insane! You mean I have to do this literally? Just what is Jesus getting at?

1. In the midst of rejection, Jesus wants us to continue to serve Him even if it mean exposing yourselves to the threat of rejection. Love is vulnerable, likely subjected to repeated abuse.

2. One should not seek revenge but remain exposed. One should also be willing to take even more risks because of love.

3. One is to be generous (= putting others' needs first = self-denial) and not keep count.

Such self-denial is the essence of love. The consummate example is the cross, where Jesus gave to those who had taken.

• When God commanded us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves did it occur to you that our neighbours actually include our enemies?
• Having known the love of God, are we sensitive to the conditions of our neighbours? Do we put ourselves in their shoes before we judge them?

May God's love compel us to love like how he loves us.

God is always ready to love

The parable of the prodigal sons tells us that we have a father unlike any other.
We may not be ready to be God's children but God is always ready to be our father.
We may not be ready to be God's lamb (Isaiah 53:6) but God is always willing to take care of us.

Have we yet to lay our deadly 'goodness' down before Jesus and embrace him as our only good?

ref : http://download.redeemer.com/sermons/The_Prodigal_Sons.mp3