Closer Day By Day

Epistle - James 1-3

After struggling through the book of Proverbs and realizing that I am really short of the wisdom that comes from God, I am not confronted with a book of action - the epistle of James. James is a compact, hard-hitting letter about practicing the faith.  Religion is not about how many members there are in church, how much do we contribute or what is said in church.  The true test of our religion is...

Epistle - Hebrews 11-13

We have come to the end of Hebrews and I must say Hebrews is one of my favourite books in the Bible. These last three chapters contained so many valuable lessons that I have a hard time deciding on which one to focus on. Bible Passage:  Hebrews 11-13 Faith is… Chapter 11 is our famous chapter on “Faith”, and examples were quoted extensively from the Old Testament, but I have to...

Epistle - Hebrews 8-10

The Bible teaches us to be contented with what we have. Remember that 1 Timothy 6:6 says that godliness with contentment is great gain. Are we contented with our present state? Let us first read Hebrews 8 - 10. Bible Passage:  Hebrews 8-10 While we know that, as Christians, we ought to be contented, today’s passage teaches us not to be contented. What am I saying? But now He has obtained a...

Epistle - Hebrews 5-7

If you find Hebrews a difficult book to understand, you are not alone. However, I believe it is the language and style of writing that we are having difficulty with, and not the theology within. It is indeed the blessing of God that most of us in Church are able to understand the Words of the Bible for ourselves. After all, for most of us, it was the sweet Truth that attracted us to church in the...

Epistles - Hebrews 1-4

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past…..” The second time I read today’s passage, this first verse jumped out at me. How true! Haven’t we felt God at various periods of our life? Have we not heard His voice at different occasions, calling us back or comforting us? Furthermore, in Hebrews 1:2, we are reminded by the author that, in this end...

Epistles - Philemon

A runaway slave… A hapless master… A caring brother… A loving God… Follow the adventures of Philemon, Onesimus, and Paul as they seek to make good what was lost, and embrace what is ahead. Read Paul’s letter to Philemon. Bible Passage:  Philemon If ever there were to be a single-episode drama written based on an entire book of the Bible, Paul’s epistle to Philemon...

Epistles - Titus 1-3

If you are also on the church’s mailing list for regular christian message, you would have receive one email yesterday titled “Three things we lack” - we owe God glory, we lack love towards our brethren, and we still owe the debt of preaching the gospel. Coincidently (or maybe not :)), today we read Paul’s epistle to Titus, exhorting him to stay in Crete, so that he may “set...

Epistles - 2 Timothy 3-4

“How confident are we before the Lord when He comes again?” Have we asked ourselves this question? Some of the junior youths were asked this question during their bible seminar last year. It did not really surprise me when (if I remember correctly) none of the students could raise their hand with confidence. Perhaps we will say that it is understandable; after all they are still teenagers. In...

Epistle - 2 Timothy 1-2

2 Timothy. The last of Paul’s epistles. Written at the end of his life. Paul is approaching the end of his ministry to God. His race is finally going to end. He is soon crossing the finish line. But before that, he continues to exhort Timothy, his son in the faith, regarding the ministry of the gospel, which includes enduring sufferings and afflictions. Even to the end of his life, his mind...

Epistles - 1 Timothy 4-6

1 Timothy 4-6 being such a practical book on Christian living really give me so much insights and thoughts that I cannot possibly cover all in this short posting. I had a hard time choosing a few to focus on. So I hope that you readers can also share your own thoughts on these practical words of the Bible. Let’s read 1 Timothy 4-6. Bible Passage:  1 Timothy 4-6 Are we too comfortable? The junior...