Daily Encouragement

May 10, 2009 - The Greatest Victory

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the pivotal event for human kind. Jesus had conquered sin and death for us. That is the good news! Since He has risen from the dead, those who have received Him as their personal Savior will also be raised from the dead with an immortal body when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound.

God's Word through the apostle Paul explains to us the indisputable fact of the resurrection of Jesus and its vital implication to all of us. He tells us God's future program after the resurrection. He describes to us how the resurrected bodies will be. There are so many details and information in these fifty eight Bible verses that we must spend time to learn them and be encouraged by them.

My wife's mother just went to her heavenly home last Thursday morning peacefully. As her body lied there in the convalescent home, we saw how peacefully her face was as if she just went into sleep. She was the wife of a pastor and missionary. She devoted her long life to serve God faithfully and spreading the love of God everywhere she went. Our family loved her very deeply. We cannot accept the reality of losing her. How can we prevent from being sad and crying uncontrollably when we talk about her? It is the thought of resurrection. We know that we shall see her face to face at the foot of Jesus someday.

Also are you having a hard time in serving the Lord diligently and zealously due to some circumstances? Meditate upon the resurrection too. No matter how fruitless or discouraging your work seems to be, God is going to reward you after the resurrection. He counts on your faithfulness, not human statistic. You will overcome.

May 11, 2009 - Loving God Or The World, No Middle Ground!

Meditation on 1 Corinthians 16

After we have read the entire letter of 1 Corinthians, we get the impression that Paul really loved the Christians there in Corinth. This was the church he founded and spent some times there to build her up. In this letter, he answered their questions. He spilled his gut to them concerning himself. He counseled them on many things and corrected their problems and attitude. He defended himself. He emphasized his relationship with them as a spiritual father. Especially at the end, he shared with them his personal plan and exhorted them with intimate terms. He closed the letter with these personal words, "My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen." (v. 24 NKJV)

I believe it was in this kind of loving atmosphere that he also wrote in the ending that "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!" (v. 22) This was a very caring admonition from his heart.

It sounds very tough. But it is the truth. The word, love in the Greek here used by Paul was "Phileo", not the highest form of love, "Agape". If a Christian does not even have human kind of loving relationship with the Lord, he is actually against God. For the Word of God says that "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." (Matthew 6:24) The Apostle John's letter says, "... If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15b) So if a person does not love God, he is loving the world. He cannot love both the Lord Jesus and something else at the same time. In other words, if a person does not love the Lord, it is an indication that he loves the world. There is no middle ground or neutrality before God. The Apostle James says, "...whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4b)

A person who loves the world cannot love God. That also means that he is not keeping God's word. If a person does not keep God's Word, it is clear that God is not abiding with him. (John 14:23-24)

The consequence of that condition is tragic. That person is accursed! Therefore trusting Jesus means loving Him. For He is love and will pour His love into us also. (1 John 4:8, Romans 5:5)

May 12, 2009 - Comforted To Comfort

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 1

God spoke through Paul to encourage the suffering Christians that God was the God of all comfort. God intended to comfort us in all kinds of situation so that we would be able to comfort others. Paul had experienced the comfort of God time and time again in his difficult and dangerous missionary journey. He knew what it meant to be in the most desperate condition. But God had delivered him and he was comforted with the assurance that God will deliver him again in the future. (v. 1-14)

Another great comfort is to know that God's promises are all yes, not yes and no or perhaps. Some Corinthians accused Paul for not keeping his promise to come to Corinth. As God's servant is a representative of God's character and reliability, Paul pointed out to the Corinthians that all God's promises are yes. (v. 20) He did not go to see them was for the reason of sparing them from his discipline. (v. 23) From the later content in this letter, we know that Paul was glad he did not need to face them with harsh judgment. The Corinthian had repented and changed their conduct as a result of his first letter. So Paul turned their earlier accusation into a forum of comfort to know that God's promise will always be true and fulfilled for our advantage.

Do you need God's comfort today? The Holy Spirit, the Comforter will come along side for you as you pray. Hold on to the promise of God. He will fulfill it for you in the most appropriate time. But remember, once you are comforted, you should turn to comfort others who may be around you.

May 13, 2009 - This Perfume Is Not For Sale

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 2

Paul said that He was not peddling the message of God. (v. 17) But with sincerity, he diffused the powerful fragrance of Christ's salvation everywhere. This fragrance was so powerful because it was an aroma of life to those who believed but an aroma of death to those who did not. (v. 14-16) As Paul followed the triumphant procession of Jesus Christ, the general, he would have the sufficiency to enjoy the victory of proclaiming the word of God always.

Paul was so happy that the Corinthians were sorrowful of their problems. After they received God's message through Paul's letter, they dealt with the offending party severely who repented of their sins. Paul asked them to forgive the sinners and restore them into fellowship. Indeed the message of God granted them all victory. (v. 1-11)

There are more lessons we can learn today from this passage. First, we should not use God's words as a means for merchandise to make money. Second, God's message is so powerful that people can smell it. The listeners can smell either life or death. Keep sharing it. That means you have joined Christ's parade of victory.

May 14, 2009 - The Transformation Process For Christians

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 3

How does a Christian grow in the Lord? How does the Holy Spirit renew a Christian's mind? This passage provides the answer. First of all, a Christian must turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to take away the veil in his heart that covers up his spiritual weakness. For the veil causes him blindness to understand more of the spiritual truth. Then when the believer in Christ turns himself into Scriptures and see Christ's glory in it, he will be transformed into more like Christ. Therefore Christ's glory will be imparted to him through the Holy Spirit.

In other words, a humble Christian after he asks Jesus to remove the blindness in his heart, should read, meditate and study God's Word. Christ's glory will shine upon him through the Scriptures like a mirror. He will understand the Word and be transformed in his character to be more like the image of Christ. He himself will then grow from one degree of glory to another. (v. 12-18 ESV)

Therefore we can see the absolute importance of reading and meditating upon the Scriptures and its principles every day in order to grow in Christ. For that is, the only way for us to grow as it is designed by God, it is not the letter of the word, but the Spirit through the word that gives life and growth. (v. 6)

Such spiritual growth is glorious!

May 15, 2009 - Turning Pessimism To Optimism

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 4

When we look at ourselves and the condition of the world today, we may easily feel discouraged. Though we may live longer but definitely our bodies are getting older and weaker. The health care cost is climbing up all the time. The cause of Christians are being attacked everywhere. More and more Christians are being persecuted around the world and we cannot help them too much. Many happening around us and in the world are discouraging. How can we prevent from losing heart?

The Apostle Paul provides the answer. First, he says that "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." (v. 16 NKJV) Our new self in Christ, our new mind, our new life given by Jesus is being renewed by the Holy spirit every day.

Secondly, all our suffering for Christ for bearing His cross and sharing His message and view are only producing "a far more exceeding and eternal glory weight of glory" for us. (v. 17) Our suffering for Christ each time will only add to the weight of the glorious award we will have.

Finally, Paul says that don't look at the things we can see. For they are all temporal, the thing of the world will pass. But the things unseen such as God and the souls of man and the spiritual things are eternal. These things we should pay attention. Then we will have great hope and endurance. God's compassion is new for us everyday. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

May 16, 2009 - Live For Him

Meditation on 2 Corinthians 5

God tells us through Paul that Christians will be clothed with a new, eternal and permanent body (house) after we will lay aside this tent (physical body) on earth. But we will still face the judgment in front of the seat of Christ. Therefore we should make it our aim to be well pleasing to Him. (v. 1-11)

Paul himself had set an example that he lived his life primarily for God. However sometimes people may misunderstood his life style as unreasonable in the world. So for the sake of God's people, he lived his life soundly in an acceptable manner. (v. 12-13)

But once again we are urged to live our lives for Christ. The reason is that Christ died and rose again for all of us, so we may live a new life. It is logical that we should not live for self any more but to live for Him who had made reconciliation to God on our behalf. (v. 14-15)

To live for Him then, means that Christians should be ambassadors for Christ and share with the world the message of reconciliation. (v. 16-21)

Would your like your life to be well pleasing to God?