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Our Best Thought
Everything for the Kingdom (Matt. 13:44-46)
From the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of great value, Jesus teaches that the kingdom of heaven is of such great value, worth far more than all that the men had, that when they found it, they would be willing to sell everything for it, and the man in the first instance even did so with joy.
Letting God be God (Matthew 5:1-4)
To be blessed is more than happiness, it means fundamentally, to be approved, to find approval. If this is God’s universe, can there be a higher ‘blessing’ than to be approved by God?
Our Good God (Isaiah 60:1-3)
Isaiah had prophesied of peace and prosperity to come during a tumultuous time of rebellion of God’s people. The nation had turned a deaf ear to God, offering meaningless sacrifices and committing injustices throughout the nation. God was not going to let them go on that. He would ultimately exile them.
All discipline of God are for our good and they will produce “a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
A Bruised Reed, He Will Not Break (Isaiah 42:1-4)
I grew up in a family where my grandma did ancestral worship, but the rest of the family were quite irreverent in matters of the divine. Money was the most important thing in my family, in place of God. But God turned this tragic family into a family with hope.
One day a relative was diagnosed by his doctor of having only 2 years to live. A family friend brought a pastor to pray for him, and he miraculously lived on for another ten years. His doctor said it was a miracle because there is no medical explanation.
As a result, my grandma in her late eighties was baptised, and my parents accepted the Lord. I begin to seek God, and at 20 years old, I accepted the Lord.
Swimming Against the Tide (1 Peter 4:1-2)
This passage reminded me of the ways of the salmon, swimming against the tide from the sea to rivers in order to spawn. They go through this hardship to ensure that their offspring will have the best chance to live.
Good Leaders Delegate Wisely
In Acts 6, we see that the growth of the church was increasing so rapidly that the needs of the Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) were not being met, possibly because of the language barrier. The apostles recognised the problem that while there is a need to be met, they themselves could not be the ones to meet them, as they were already responsible to devote themselves to prayer and the preaching of the word.
Living in Exile
While serving in exile, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were again pressured to worship a golden image which represented the pride and arrogance of King Nebuchadnezzar. When brought before the King, they remained ‘stubborn’ in their faith and would rather die in the fiery furnace than disobey their God’s commandments.
Esther’s Steadfast Spirit
Imagine that you are Esther from what we see in Esther 2.
1.Esther was orphaned. She did not have any other family members with her, other than her cousin Mordecai.
2.Esther was like her fellow Jews who lost their home and taken into captivity into a foreign land.
3.Esther was separated and isolated from her people and cousin. While in the King’s Palace, she was surrounded by people, cultures and values that she was not accustomed to.
Living under Human Government
In this pagan society, Daniel fought to balance his loyal service to Babylon with his ultimate obedience to God. Yet in spite of his disagreement with Babylon’s policies, Daniel gave his life to serve the nation. The book of Daniel is thoroughly political, revealing the power of God’s sovereign undertow beneath the tides of world politics, and all for the sake of His chosen people. Even as His people endured exile in Babylon, God sovereignly governed the world’s political leaders — raising, dropping, and reordering political powers for millennia (Daniel 2:21)
Faithful to His Promises
Hoshea was the last king of the north as God’s judgement finally came upon Israel some 200 years after the nation was divided. This was however not caused singularly by Hoshea although he was definitely also a contributor. In fact it was said of him that he did evil in the eyes of the Lord but he was not as bad as his predecessors (v2). That however was immaterial as he became the straw that broke the camel’s back.

