A Place of Discovery

KNOWING GOD AND PERSONAL BRANDING . “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.” James‬ ‭3:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ . “Don’t tell anyone about this...” said Jesus (Mark 1:44). Jesus didn’t need a self promotion nor personal branding, even when the disciples found out   that He was The Christ, the Saviour (Mat 16:18:20). . While on earth, He walked from village to village, town to town faithfully teaching people about God and doing many good deeds—“the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” Matt.‬ ‭11:5‬; Cf. Mat 10-11). In those days, good news spread fast. Though bad news, I believe also dispersed in a competitive speed.Not so sure abou...

THE SIN OF FAVOURITISM . “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? . If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?” ‭‭James‬ ‭2:1, 3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ . How well are we handling this tension: To be aware of the charm of the rich and all what their money can do? To be sensitive and compassionate towards the poor and needy without being overwhelmed by their needs? . How can we love both the Haves and the Have-Nots as how Jesus would love them? To relate with them as how Jesus would relate to them? Jesus remained the same when dealing with the Rich Young Ruler and with the poor and the destitute people around Him! He might minister and love each of them differently according to their needs and ...

FAITH AND GOOD DEEDS “Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” James‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I accepted Jesus to be my Lord and Saviour when I was at Primary 4. I was put to make a decision after reading a Muslim c omic about hell. And I knew to escape hell, I need Jesus, the only way to heaven. One thing that troubled me that time, “what will happen to grandma?” She had died possibly without ever heard about Jesus. To me she was an angel, the kindest person I had known. Without fail, she would feed two crippled brothers who came her house every day. They were unable to make their own living, poliomyelitis since they were infants. In those days, the crippled esp if they were also poor were despised. Perhaps the same...

BE WISE AS HEARERS AS WELL AS DOERS (James 1:21-27; 2:14-16—Ps Paw Liang) The issues in this text: the people failed to listen and to learn from God’s word therefore there was no connection between their belief and the way they lived. Three things involved from hearing God’s word to living our God’s word: 1.   Good listening (v.19) We listen for various reasons: to obtain information/knowledge, to kill time, for enjoyment, for learning or to listen for life? The Lord requires us to listen to His Word for life, to let the word of God shape and nourish us, to be the bedrock of our life! To save you ...The challenge is how to listen well? The ancient Chinese character “ 聽” ( ting) reminds us: to listen with our ears as well as our eyes, and heart, with an undivided attention as if we’re listening to a king.   Second challenge, to listen with a clear purpose, ... and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. To listen for “life”, for the abundant li...

BE WISE IN HANDLING YOUR ANGER (James 1:19-20; 4:1-2)   What is your view about anger? What are some bad experiences you have had for failing to control your anger? Anger is a normal human emotional experience. Anger by itself may not be dysfunctional, but the way we express it can be worrying. The Bible never say anger is a sin, but Paul reminds us, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” (Eph 4:26). Anger is God-given energy intended to help us to solve problems. Anger will alarm us when something is not right. Expressing anger can be God-pleasing and constructive when our underlying motivation is to restore relationship, fight injustice, or battle evil. For example: Moses was in rage when he found the Israelites were worshipping the golden calf. Jesus was angry when the Jews defiled God’s temple in Jerusalem (John 2:12-18). Anger is destructive when it estrange our relationship with God and with other people and split the...

GROWING STRONG IN SPIRIT “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:2-3‬ ‭NIV As someone who have lactose intolerance, milk isn’t something i naturally craving for. Nor do I enjoyed in the past, as it would only caused stomach upset. . Only after endless efforts, my system could somehow begin to absorb and be benefited by milk. . I wonder this is what might be the condition of our spiritual life? Some kind of “intolerance” in our system that make us unable to enjoy nor to be nourished by spiritual milk? Hindering some people to taste the goodness of our Lord? . Unless we grow strong in spirit, grow up in our salvation, with spiritual nutrients, would there be other ways to get rid of all malice and deceits, hypocrisy m, envy, and slander of every kind? To stop inflicting on others or be able to overcome when we are being attacked? . How could w...

JEHOVAH JIREH “When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: “Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.” ’” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16:15-16‬ ‭NIV This story reminds me to know God as who HE IS... HE IS our Jehovah Jireh (God the Provider). God sees our needs even before we realise it, that His “pro-vision”. God knows what is possible, and what is the best in the given situation and time. He gave manna to His people in the wilderness. “Manna” was not what they knew or expected from God. But manna is what His people need in that moment! God’s provision is always enough for everyone. Take as much as you need... the problem with us perhaps “to know how much we need”! We can find such a dilemma in parties or buffet restaurants ...? How often we, too, get stuff that we do not really ne...