Category: Bible Study

The Body Cycle of Blessedness: How a Believer can Enjoy the Abundant Life - A Daily Devotional

18/4/2018

The Body Cycle of Blessedness: How a Believer can Enjoy the Abundant Life - A Daily Devotional

In this daily devotional, you will learn how a believer can manifest great blessings in his or her life, and how that process flows through the body in the cycle of blessedness. Image credits: Techcrunch.com

The Eye and Ear Gates

Hi brothers and sisters in Christ! In this daily devotional, I’ll be sharing how a believer manifests a blessed life, by looking at the individual body parts that lead to this end results - for the sake of discussion, I'm calling it the "body cycle of blessedness"!

When we read or listen to the word of God, that is the beginning of the cycle of blessing.

The Book of Proverbs is a book filled with God’s wisdom.
It says that the beginning of wisdom is to prioritize and get wisdom in God’s word.

It is extremely important to filter what info we take in with our eyes.
The eye is one of the gates leading to our heart.
We allow either light or darkness in through this gate:

““The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23 NKJV)

When we read the word of God, we are flooding our bodies with the light of God. What we read goes down into our hearts. We will learn more about this as we go along!

Our ear is another gate that leads to our heart:

“The ear that listens to and learns from the life-giving rebuke (reprimand, censure) Will remain among the wise. He who neglects and ignores instruction and discipline despises himself, But he who learns from rebuke acquires understanding [and grows in wisdom].” (PROVERBS 15:31-32 AMP)

When we listen to the word of God being preached, the words also go into our heart.
If we keep them there and meditate on them, they will lead to understanding and wisdom.

Specifically what portions of God’s word should we read, listen to and meditate on?
I believe that passages that uplift God’s grace have a powerful cleansing effect as mentioned in this verse:

“By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart, And by the fear of the LORD one avoids evil.” (PROVERBS 16:6 AMP)

The words “mercy and lovingkidness and truth” in Hebrew are “hesed ve emet” which means grace and truth.
Allowing words of true grace through our eye and ear gates has a powerful purifying purpose in our hearts.
We should be doing it daily, like taking a bath.

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What is the Burden of the Spirit and What to Do when you Have it

13/4/2018

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What is the Burden of the Spirit and What to Do when you Have it

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when you receive a burden in your spirit, remember to pray in tongues. You may be saving someone’s life at that very moment by allowing God to work “on earth as it is in heaven”.

If you found this post helpful, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

It was 4am in the morning. Something woke me up and I felt a churning, uneasy burden in my belly area.
No I wasn’t having an upset stomach, haha!
This isn’t the first time that this has happened.

I knew what was about to happen too - I tried to tell myself “No it can’t be, she won’t wake up.
Suppress your vibes of uneasiness if not it will really affect her and wake her up!”

Like clockwork, moments later, my 2 year old daughter Maeleth woke up nearby, crying loudly for her mum.
I sleep in the same room as Mae because we aren't ready to let Mae is ready to sleep on her own in the room yet.

How can I explain this strange phenomenon except by saying that the Holy Spirit woke me up and let me know in advance that Mae was about to wake up?
She usually sleeps through the night: from 10pm all the way to 8am.

Accompanied by the uneasy burden in my belly was the strong desire to pray in tongues.
I prayed silently, with stammering lips, like it says in God’s word.

“Indeed, the LORD will teach this people [in a more humiliating way] By [men with] stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen.”(ISAIAH 28:11-12 AMP)

When God places the burden of the Spirit in your heart, it's something important and urgent - pray right away!

I believe that when God places a burden in our spirit, He also wants us to pray right away.
The Word says that God gives His beloved sleep. If it wasn’t urgent, I’m sure He wouldn’t have jolted me awake at 4am.
Since we don’t know what He wants us to pray for, its best that we pray in tongues - the perfect prayer for every situation.

“In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.” (ROMANS 8:26-27 AMP)

I think that when I was praying in tongues that morning, I was receiving God’s grace and empowerment to handle the night feed and to put Mae back to bed.
I was seriously tired and it’s only by God’s grace that it all worked out.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, when you receive a burden in your spirit, remember to pray in tongues.
You may be saving someone’s life at that very moment by allowing God to work “on earth as it is in heaven”.

“‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” (MATTHEW6:10 AMP)

Let us always be prepared to use our mouths which have been sanctified by Jesus’ finished work at the cross, to serve our loving Heavenly Father - not out of a slavish mentality, but as a response of love because we are beloved sons and daughters of God.
We are also royal priests after all, and we can stand in intercession for people here on earth.

““You have made them to be a kingdom [of royal subjects] and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.”” (REVELATION 5:10 AMP)

When God gave man the gift of free will, He was essentially promising not to force His blessings on man if they didn’t want it.
That’s why the church is so important: when we pray, we are allowing God to work in the area that we are praying about.

Meditate on this: The awesome power of praying in tongues, which is essentially letting God do exactly what He wants to do - much more accurate and powerful than homing missiles.
God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and He loves us with an everlasting love - you can be assured that whatever you're praying for in tongues will lead to a good future for you:

"For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. " (Jeremiah 29:11 AMP)

Pinterest Pinnable Image - Pin this image to share with your family and friends about the burden of the Spirit and what they should do when God places it in their hearts.

Have you ever experienced the burden of the Spirit? Share about it with me in the comments below!

Remember, if you enjoyed this post, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, devotionals, sermon notes, and eBooks that are not available anywhere else.

I hope that you have been blessed by reading this post on "What is the Burden of the Spirit and What to Do when you Have it".

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Be blessed and walk in divine favor,

Milton Goh
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If God Loves me then Why do I Suffer? (A Devotional based on Paul’s Journey to Rome in Acts 27-28)

15/3/2018

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If God Loves me then Why do I Suffer? (A Devotional based on Paul’s Journey to Rome in Acts 27-28)

If you were blessed by this original Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

You may be going through a rough patch in life right now and you're wondering what is the purpose behind your suffering.
In this post, I will be sharing why God allows our suffering and His divine plans for your future.

In Acts 27-28, the Apostle Paul is being escorted to Rome by a Roman regiment because he appealed to Caesar concerning a dispute that arose between him and the Jewish leaders.
It turns out that this journey to Rome was not meant to be smooth sailing. You know how we always hope that life will be free from problems and that somehow we'll never have to experience any pain or loss?

What Paul was about to experience depicts the moment when we realize that it is just our wishful thinking.

“saying, “Men, I sense [after careful thought and observation] that this voyage will certainly be a disaster and with great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” However, the centurion [Julius, ranking officer on board] was persuaded by the pilot and the owner of the ship rather than by what Paul said. Because the harbor was not well situated for wintering, the majority [of the sailors] decided to put to sea from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. So when the south wind blew softly, thinking that they had obtained their goal, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, hugging the coast.” (ACTS 27:10-13 AMP)

During the journey to Rome, the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to warn the centurion and his soldiers about a coming disaster that would happen to them if they did not heed God's warning.

The centurion did not listening to Paul's advice, and instead chose to trust in the so-called 'expert' advice from the pilot and the owner of the ship.
After all, Paul wasn't a pilot or sea-man - how was he to know better than them right? Well, the centurion was wrong.

When I think back to times in my life after I became a believer in Jesus when terrible things happened, it was mostly because I ignored the prompting in my spirit and acted based on my reasoning or experience instead.

When a decision you want to make feels right in your heart, as a believer you can trust that because God has put a new heart in you from the moment you were saved, and the Holy Spirit guides you from your heart.

"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them." (Ezekiel 36:26-27 AMP)

The problem comes when a decision is not so straightforward to make. If you go by the mind's reasoning and logic, it seems like a really good offer to take, but yet your spirit is telling you "No, there's something wrong with this".
It's those moments that we have to consciously choose to trust the spirit and not our mind.

“There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, But its end is the way of death.” (PROVERBS 14:12 AMP)

When we follow our mind, things mess up - we cannot see the future with our limited brain, but God can see everything, from beginning to end.
We must trust that God has our interests at heart and He's not just trying to spoil our fun.

However, the good news is, even when we choose wrongly and follow our mind instead of our spirit, God's grace will still catch us when we fall.

“and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along. We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s skiff on the deck and secure it. After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind]. On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo; and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight]. Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us, from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned.” (ACTS 27:15-20 AMP)

When we choose to trust ourselves instead of God's wisdom, the negative consequences of our choices are unavoidable.
The gift of free will that God gave man has to mean something. If our choices don't change the consequences, then the free will is just a big lie.

Many times when we are suffering, we are still so stubborn that we want to fix the problems ourselves. We don't want to get God involved immediately.

This reminds me of recent times when I was sleep training my 2 year old daughter Maeleth. When I relied on my 'smarts', experience and efforts to make it work, things just got worse and nothing was accomplished.
But when I told God that I couldn't do this myself and that I needed Him, the deliverance came swiftly. You can read the full story of the sleep training journey and how it grew my faith here.

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What is the Purpose of Water Baptism? The Difference between the Baptism of John and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

10/3/2018

9 Comments

What is the Purpose of Water Baptism? The Difference between the Baptism of John and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

What is the purpose of water baptism? What is the difference between the Baptism of John and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? Your questions will be answered in this post. Image Credit: www.wmtlc.org

If you like this original Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

“Is water baptism really necessary today?”, “Is it a requirement for salvation?”. These are some questions that I had about water baptism.
In this post, I will answer these questions and show you from God’s word what is the difference between the Baptism of John and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Before we begin, I’d like to define our main terms. The Hebrew word for "baptism" is Mikveh and the Greek word for it is "baptizo". In both languages, the meaning is "to immerse".

I would define “Water Baptism” (in today's context) as:
Water Baptism is when a person is immersed in water as a public confession of his or her faith in Jesus Christ.

I’d also like to define what the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” is:
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when the Holy Spirit falls on a believer, immersing him or her.
As a result, the believer receives spiritual empowerment as well as the spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues and prophesying.

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My Slain in the Spirit Experience and How this Phenomenon is Biblical - A Daily Devotional

15/2/2018

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My Slain in the Spirit Experience and How this Phenomenon is Biblical - A Daily Devotional

Amilee and I attended the School of Evangelism course conducted by Christ for All Nations (CfAN) and Evangelist Reinhard Bonkke and we had our first slain in the Spirit experience!

If you like this original Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

Amilee and I's slain in the Spirit experience at School of Evangelism

I used to find this phenomenon of people being slain in the Spirit very weird and a little scary. I was also skeptical. "Were they faking it?", "Why must God make that person cry so loudly and spasm on the floor?" - these are real questions that went through my mind when I saw it happen for the first time.

Then one day, Amilee (back then my best friend and not yet my wife) and I attended "School of Evangelism" in Singapore, a four-day evangelistic course by Christ for All Nations (CfAN) led by Evangelist Reinhard Bonkke in October 2014.

In one of the segments of the course, Doctor Chauncey Crandall, a surgeon who was also a believer, taught about "The Miraculous in Christ" - I was blown away by his testimony about him raising a man from dead.
Towards the end of his session, he was led by the Holy Spirit to invite attendees of the course to head to the altar and he laid his hands on them.

While doing this, he was constantly praying in tongues and I still remember till this day the words that he spoke repeatedly in a calm manner: "Horaba Shente, Horaba Shente".

As he laid hands on people, one by one they fell to the ground as if they were knocked out unconscious - they were slain in the Spirit - and each person had different manifestations afterwards.

Some started to cry softly, some were wailing loudly, some were flushed in the face and looking peacefully as they lay on the ground, and some people were convulsing on the ground as if having a spasm.

Seeing all this happen, I was so excited! I thought to myself: I can finally see if this slain in the Spirit thing is real or not.
With faith and anticipation in my heart, I made my way to the front of the altar, and Doctor Chauncey laid his hand on my forehead as I closed my eyes and smiled like a fool.

What I experienced was like I was falling in slow motion to the ground as if invisible hands were supporting me from behind.
When my body finally reached the ground, I lay there experiencing a overwhelming sense of love and peace enveloping me - I knew I could get up at any time, but I didn't want to because it felt so great, so supernatural.

Amilee told me afterwards that I was the only one smiling and looking so excited to be slain the Spirit haha.

After that, I saw Amilee going up to the front for a touch of the miraculous as well and when Doctor Chauncey's hand touched her head, she stumbled a few steps backwards, looking as if she was very dizzy and was gently supported to lie down on the floor by a volunteer.

After the whole session ended, it was followed by a time of praise and worship. Halfway through the session, I felt led to place my right hand on Amilee's head - she was standing on my right.
Immediately, she stumbled again like when Doctor Chauncey placed his hand on her head. She was slain in the Spirit again.
I was so shocked that it could happen through me too. I realized that God can work His miraculous power through whichever believer he chose.

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God Help the Outcasts: How would God reply Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notre Dame - A Daily Devotional

7/2/2018

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God Help the Outcasts: How would God reply Esmeralda from Hunchback of Notre Dame - A Daily Devotional

God Help the Outcasts sung by Esmeralda in the Disney film "Hunchback of Notre Dame" is full of wrong believing about God. Hopefully this post can help to clear His name and show you that He is a loving God who is definitely a Defender of the weak and humble.

If you like this original Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

Disney movies don't talk about God very much. But when they do, He is portrayed in a negative light.
"God Help the Outcasts" sung by Esmeralda in the cathedral scene is a beautiful and touching masterpiece, except that it depicts God as Someone who is distant from man, stern and totally unapproachable. That couldn't be further from the truth.

The way Esmeralda almost begs God to have mercy on her people and the outcasts shows a false image of our kind, loving God who is a Defender of the lost, last and least. Let's take a look at the lyrics of "God Help the Outcasts":

[Esmeralda]
I don't know if you can hear me
Or if you're even there
I don't know if you would listen to a gypsy's prayer

Yes, I know I'm just an outcast
I shouldn't speak to you
But still I see your face and wonder
Were you once an outcast too?

God help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They don't find on Earth
God help my people
We look to you still
God help the outcasts
Or nobody will

[Townspeople]
I ask for wealth
I ask for fame
I ask for glory to shine on my name
I ask for love I can possess
I ask for God and his angels to bless me

[Esmeralda]
I ask for nothing
I can get by
But I know so many
Less lucky than I

Please help my people
The poor and down-trod
I thought we all were children of God

God help the outcasts
Children of God

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A Year of Bible Study on the Book of Proverbs - The Hesed Wisdom Challenge

13/1/2018

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A Year of Bible Study on the Book of Proverbs - The Hesed Wisdom Challenge

You are reading: A Year of Bible Study on the Book of Proverbs - The Hesed Wisdom Challenge. Get wisdom this year 2018!

In this post I will be sharing the nuggets of wisdom that I received from doing daily Bible study on the Book of Proverbs in 2018.
I will be constantly updating this blog post to include my new revelations so keep checking back - you could save or bookmark this page and visit it weekly.

If you like this Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies and devotionals that are not posted anywhere else.

Bible Study Takeaways from Proverbs 1

When reading the Book of Proverbs or any book of the Bible for that matter, the first step to receiving God’s Hesed Wisdom is to worship God. If you truly worship Him, you will want to know everything about Him and your heart will be open to receiving whatever He has for you.
Are you a fan-girl or fan-boy of God?

“The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.” (PROVERBS 1:7 AMP)

When you have God’s Hesed Wisdom, beauty and glory will be seen upon you.

“My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not reject the teaching of your mother. For they are a garland of grace on your head, And chains and ornaments [of gold] around your neck.” (PROVERBS 1:8-9 AMP)

Never make a decision based upon greed. Greed takes doesn’t add life, it takes life away.

“So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; Greed takes away the lives of its possessors.” (PROVERBS 1:19 AMP)

Jesus is the Wisdom of God. This section of Proverbs 20-33 is actually referring to Jesus and how He is giving an open call for men to receive salvation and the good life from Him, but the fools and self-righteous people ignore it.
God promises a safe and secure life to all those who live by His Hesed Wisdom.

“Wisdom shouts in the street, She raises her voice in the markets; She calls out at the head of the noisy streets [where large crowds gather]; At the entrance of the city gates she speaks her words: “How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning? How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing, How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge? “If you will turn and pay attention to my rebuke, Behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
“But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live securely and in confident trust And will be at ease, without fear or dread of evil.”” (PROVERBS 1:20-23, 33 AMP)

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Is Teleportation Possible and What Does the Bible Say About it? With God Nothing is Impossible

12/1/2018

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Is Teleportation Possible and What Does the Bible Say About it? With God Nothing is Impossible

Is teleportation possible? Read what the Bible says about it and be encouraged! You don't have to wait for scientists to invent teleporting machines because God has promised it in His word - with God nothing is impossible.

If you like this original Bible study, you can also check out my Patreon for more exclusive Bible studies, sermon notes, devotionals and eBooks that are not posted anywhere else.

Teleportation is a fantasy for many fans of science fiction.
You walk into a portal or machine, and BANG, a moment later you’re at another location.
Sometimes when I travel for long durations, I would think to myself “Why can’t I just teleport there instead??”

The Oxford Dictionary defines “teleport” this way: to transport or be transported across space and distance instantly.

Is teleportation just a figment of imagination, or is it possible? Or rather, has it already happened before?

Actually it has, and it was recorded a few times in the New Testament of the Bible.

In the Book of Acts, Philip, a believer and disciple was teleported from the desert to Azotus.
Let’s take a look at what happened:

“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40 NKJV)

As you can see, the Holy Spirit caught Philip away and he was found at Azotus. This is definitely not describing natural movement from one place to another -
Philip was in the desert and a moment later he found himself at Azotus - if that’s not teleportation then I don’t know what is!

Another incident was recounted by the Apostle Paul of someone that he knew who experienced supernatural teleportation.
However it is not clear whether he was teleported in his physical body or it was happening as a vision in his mind’s eye.

“I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (II Corinthians 12:2-4 NKJV)

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Questions About Life that Make you Think: If Someone Died for You, How Would You Live after That? - A Daily Devotional to Meditate On

12/11/2017

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Questions About Life that Make you Think: If Someone Died for You, How Would You Live after That? - A Daily Devotional to Meditate On

Here's a Question About Life that Makes you Think: If Someone Died for You, How Would You Live after That? Hopefully this short story helps you to gain some insight of what you believe about our Lord Jesus Christ!

Daily Devotional Bible Verses to Meditate on:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ‭‭(Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (‭‭I John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Think about someone important and close to you in your life: Imagine that you and that person are walking on a street one night and are unfortunately caught in the middle of a fire fight between two gangs.

While hurriedly looking for a place to hide, a bullet comes flying straight towards your heart, and the person who is important and close to you jumps out in its path, sacrificing for you.

As the bullet punctures a vital organ and the person you love and care for is bleeding profusely, you hear the person a speak these words weakly, "Don't worry about me. Go... you must live well."

With the last bit of strength, the person squeezes your hand reassuringly, and then that hand drops limply to the ground, motionless.

The gunfire intensifies, bullet shells are dropping to the ground on your left and right - their light, clinking sounds suddenly seems like bomb explosions to your ears.

As hot tears stream down your face, you lift your loved one's body by the armpits and drag it away carefully and protectively. You manage to escape the danger zone and are now safe.

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Bible Study: Can Christians Eat Pork? - What the Bible Says About Unclean Foods Under The New Covenant of Grace

3/2/2016

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Bible Study: Can Christians Eat Pork? - What the Bible Says About Unclean Foods Under The New Covenant of Grace

"What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, do not you defile and profane by regarding and calling common and unhallowed or unclean." (Acts 10:15, AMP)

This is an original Bible Study. Read more of my original and exclusive Bible Studies, Sermon Notes and Devotionals on my Patreon.

Are there any unclean foods under the new covenant?

Is there any food that I should stay away from because I believe in Jesus Christ?

These are probably questions that many Christians have, and chances are, the reason why they ask these is because they want to be right with God.

This personal Bible study is written to answer these questions and to explore what the Bible says about this.

I will be showing two sides of the coin: For and Against the belief that "yes, a Christian cannot eat pork and there are unclean foods under the new covenant of grace".

Enjoy this Bible study, and remember to like, share and leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post! :)

Let's start with the case FOR the belief that "yes, a Christian cannot eat pork and there are unclean foods under the new covenant of grace".

The following Old Testament verses are what some Christians and even non-Christians from other religious groups quote to show that Christians cannot eat pork, and that pork is considered an unclean food:

“And the swine, because it divides the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11:7-8 AMP)

“Yet these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or have the hoof split in two: the camel, the hare, and the coney, because they chew the cud but divide not the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the swine, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh or touch their dead bodies.” (Deuteronomy 14:7-8 AMP)

However, like my church pastor Pastor Joseph Prince teaches, context is key. If you remove the "text" from the word "context", all you're left with is a con. Let us explore the context behind these instructions given by God.

Before the Books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, is the Book of Exodus.

Notice that the Ten Commandments and the Old Covenant of the Law was given before God said that the swine (pig) is unclean for the children of Israel. Take a look at the verses below:

“IN THE third month after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, the same day, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. When they had departed from Rephidim and had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, they encamped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him out of the mountain, Say this to the house of Jacob and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated, set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall speak to the Israelites. So Moses called for the elders of the people and told them all these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you and believe you and remain steadfast forever. Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Go and sanctify the people [set them apart for God] today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes And be ready by the third day, for the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai [in the cloud] in the sight of all the people. And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, Take heed that you go not up into the mountain or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. No hand shall touch it [or the offender], but he shall surely be stoned or shot [with arrows]; whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain. [Num. 24:8.]” (Exodus 19:1-13 AMP)

The word "wings" in "how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself" is the Hebrew word "kanaph". It represents God's grace.
For more explanation on that, click here to read Pastor Joseph Prince's sermon about Psalms 91 that expounds on this.

God is saying that from Egypt until Sinai, God had been dealing with the children of Israel by grace, and that grace is the covenant relationship that He wants to have with the children of Israel.

However, the children of Israel responded in an arrogant, prideful way, boasting in their own strength and ability to keep God's commandments. The focus was on themselves and not on God.

From that point on, God changed His attitudes towards them, not dealing with them by grace, but by the Covenant of the Law.

Essentially, the children of Israel had asked for the Law themselves. It was not God's original plan for them.

The instruction that God gave to the children of Israel with regards to not eating pork because it was unclean, was never the original plan for them!
It was only because they were under the Old Covenant of the Law, that's why it was pronounced unclean to them.

Many Christians and even non-Christians from other religious groups also use the following verses to strengthen their argument that pork is an unclean food. Take a look:

“THEY CAME to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. And as soon as He got out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. This man continually lived among the tombs, and no one could subdue him any more, even with a chain; For he had been bound often with shackles for the feet and handcuffs, but the handcuffs of [light] chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he rubbed and ground together and broke in pieces; and no one had strength enough to restrain or tame him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones. And when from a distance he saw Jesus, he ran and fell on his knees before Him in homage, And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [What is there in common between us?] I solemnly implore you by God, do not begin to torment me! For Jesus was commanding, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! And He asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he kept begging Him urgently not to send them [himself and the other demons] away out of that region. Now a great herd of hogs was grazing there on the hillside. And the demons begged Him, saying, Send us to the hogs, that we may go into them! So He gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered into the hogs; and the herd, numbering about 2,000, rushed headlong down the steep slope into the sea and were drowned in the sea. The hog feeders ran away, and told [it] in the town and in the country. And [the people] came to see what it was that had taken place. And they came to Jesus and looked intently and searchingly at the man who had been a demoniac, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, [the same man] who had had the legion [of demons]; and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear. And those who had seen it related in full what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the hogs.” (Mark 5:1-16 AMP)

Firstly, why did the group of demons called "Legion" asked to be sent into the hogs (pigs)?

It's simple. It is simply because the pigs were nearby on that hillside and the demons could see them there!

The demons just didn't want to be sent away out of that region as Legion said, that's why they settled for the pigs - they just needed living hosts to possess.

If there was a herd of sheep or goats or cows, instead of a herd of pigs, I believe that they would still beg Jesus to be sent into that herd, regardless of what kind of animals they were!

It is not that they specifically wanted to possess the pigs.

Secondly, just because the demons possessed that herd of 2000 pigs, doesn't mean that all pigs are possessed by demons!

In fact, the pigs knew that the demons were unclean and they would rather rush into the sea and drown to death than to be possessed by the demons.

If the pigs were so unclean, wouldn't they have warmly welcomed the demons and basked in that uncleanness, instead of killing themselves to free themselves from the demons?

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