Holy Saturday

Known by different names, such as Easter Eve, Easter Even, Black Saturday or Saturday before Easter, the day is  often considered a time of both sadness and joy among the Christians around the world.

Traditionally considered to be a time of reflection and waiting, Holy Saturday is the last day of the Holy Week and the end of the season of Lent.

It is good for us to spend time in quiet reflection on this day before Easter. Lieut. Colonel Richard Slater wrote a song on the tenth anniversary of his conversion in 1892. I have been singing the chorus of this song.

"I think of all His sorrow,
The garden and the morrow,
When cruel death did follow.
'Twas all for me, 'twas all for me."

When I survey the wondrous cross

When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. (Isaac Watts)

I never tire of singing this beautiful hymn written by Dr. Isaac Watts. 

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6: 14

May my contemplation on this old hymn lead me into a deeper devotion to Jesus my Saviour and Lord.

The Missing Cup.

In 1495, Duke Ludovico of Milan asked the Florentine artist Leonardo DaVinci to portray the dramatic scene of Jesus last supper with His disciples as they gathered in the Upper Room before His crucifixion. The scene was to be painted upon a large wall of the dining room at Santa Maria delle Graazie monastery in Milan. DaVinci, then 43 years old and already famous as a painter, sculptor and architect, agreed to take on the assignment.

Working slowly and with great care for detail, he spent three years completing the painting. The disciples were grouped in threes, two groups on either side of the figure of Christ, who sat at the centre of the table, His arms stretched before Him. In His right hand He held a wine cup, painted with marvellous realism. At last the painting was ready, and DaVinci called a friend to see it.  "Give me your honest opinion, " DaVinci said.

"It's wonderful," the friend told him in open admiration. "The cup is so real I cannot keep my eyes off it."

Instantly DaVinci immediately took a brush and drew it across  the sparkling cup. "If it affects you that way, it must not remain," he exclaimed. "Nothing shall distract attention from the figure of Christ."

Today, 500 years later both the beauty of his painting and the truth of his statement remain. At this Easter season, will anything take your eyes off Christ and the real meaning of His death and resurrection?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

The Blood of Jesus

Lenten series of meetings held at The Salvation Army Central Corps.

Monday:      Power through the BLOOD of Jesus (Captains Phiouthong)
Tuesday:     Faith in the BLOOD of Jesus (Ezekiel Tan - Singapore Bible Society)
Wednesday: Deliverance through the BLOOD of Jesus (Commissioner Lim)
Thursday:    Cleansing through the BLOOD of Jesus. (Colonel Bronwyn Buckingham)

To day it was my turn and I spoke on the topic "Deliverance through the BLOOD of Jesus"

1 The Blood of Jesus delivers sinners from the Penalty of sin - Past Salvation. He died for us all.
2  The Blood of Jesus delivers believers from the Power of sin by His daily care. Present salvation. He enables us to keep our relationship with God right
3 The Blood of Jesus will deliver  believers from the Presence of sin when He comes to take us Home. Future salvation.

Palm Sunday

What a joy it was for us to be invited to lead and speak on Palm Sunday at Balestier Corps (church) It was good to meet old friends and be introduced to new ones! The church is growing and the big challenge is space. Anyway, plans are in hand to have a second meeting at Kallang in the afternoon. This meeting will be bi-lingual.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey. This much despised animal enjoyed the wonderful privilege of taking the Messiah into the city to fulfill the mission of redemption.

"God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful." 1 Corinthians 1: 27 New Living Translation

Alone He prayed

Solitude and loneliness are not the same. All of us need moments of solitude. "The world is too much with us" says Wordsworth the poet. I find it necessary to have those times of solitude when I retreat into a world of mine own and spend time with alone with My Lord.

Jesus took three of His disciples - Peter, James and John into the garden up to a certain point. Then He said to them, "Sit here while I go farther to pray alone."

There are certain issues we cannot share with others. The greatest crises and decisions need to be faced alone.

Jesus must go to the Cross alone.

"Lord in this quiet hour, I bare my heart to you. Speak Lord for Your servant is listening."

"To be there before You, Lord, that's all.
To shut the eyes of my body,
To shut the eyes of my soul,
And to be still and silent,
To expose myself to You Who are there, exposed to me.
To be there before you, the Eternal presence.   Michel Quoist

Singing psalms and hymns

"After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Matt. 26:30

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we have this statement as part of the Passover Supper scene. At the meal, the Hallel Psalms of Praise (113-118) were sung. Every Jewish boy had to memorise these psalms. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung near the beginning of the observance and Psalms 115-118 at a later point. At the end of the Feast the great Hallel Psalm 136 was sung.

I love the Psalms. It would be good for us all to read these psalms. Think of it, as our Lord moved towards Calvary these words were in His heart and on His lips. Let us join Him in saying, "The LORD is for me; I will not fear' What can man do to me?" Jesus went to the Cross singing these beautiful words.

We live in world of trouble, chaos, confusion. What will happen next? With God on my side, I fear nothing to fear.

An unknown writer has written this beautiful poem.

"I will not doubt, though all my ships at sea
     Come drifting home with broken masks and sails:
I shall believe the hand that never fails,
     From seeming evil worketh good for me.
And though I weep because those sails are battered,
    Still will I cry, while my best hopes are shattered,
         I trust in Thee.

I will not doubt, though sorrows fall like rain,
   And troubles swarm like bees about a hive;
I shall believe the heights for which I strive
   Are only reached by anguish and by pain;
And though I groan and tremble with my crosses,
       The greatest gain.

I will not doubt, well anchored in the faith,
   Like some storm ship, my soul braves every gale;
So strong its courage that it will not fail,
   To breast the mighty unknown sea of death;
O may I cry when body parts with spirit,
   I do not doubt, so listening worlds may hear it,
           I trust in Thee.

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength" Isaiah 30: 15
Simple words, simple text expressing a profound truth. It is the formula for adequacy for the demands placed upon us. This verse has brought me much help and comfort when I meet challenges that I feel I cannot cope.

Briefly let us look us look at the background of this chapter in Isaiah. Sennacherib was threatening Judah. Panic reigned; everyone was nervous and jittery when they thought of this formidable enemy. So the people. God's chosen ones, instead of trusting Him, decided to go to get help from Egypt. To safeguard their possible, they thought it best at that juncture to have an alliance with Egypt, a nation with horses, chariots and big army. The might of Egypt filled them with admiration. They somehow forgot Yahweh the Almighty.

We live in a trouble world and there is danger of us to leave out God Almighty in our calculations. Well has the Psalmist remind us, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord." Psalm 20:7

May we during this Lenten season, pause, be still and focus our thoughts on God Almighty Who in His great love sent Jesus into the world to be our Saviour. Let us put our trust in the Almighty God who is still in control of this universe He created.

In the secret of thy presence,
Where the pure in heart may dwell,
Are the springs of sacred service
And a power that none can tell.
There my love must bring its offering,
There my heart must yield its praise,
And the Lord will come, revealing
All the secrets of his ways.

More than all my lips may utter,
More than all I do or bring,
Is the depth of my devotion
To my Saviour, Lord and King.
Nothing less will keep me tender;
Nothing less will keep me true;
Nothing less will keep the fragrance
And the bloom on all I do!

Blessed Lord, to see thee truly,
Then to tell as I have seen,
This shall rule my life supremely,
This shall be the sacred gleam.
Sealed again is all the sealing,
Pledged again my willing heart,
First to know thee, then to serve thee,
Then to see thee as thou art.
Albert Orsborn (1886-1967)

The basin and the towel

Commissioner Edward Read of Canada, a very godly man. was a good friend of mine and we used to correspond with each other.He was a prolific writer and poet and I still have some of his books in my personal library.

One day he sent me this poem that has blessed me again and again in my devotions and certainly during this season of Lent.

The basin and the towel

And Jesus on His knees,

What graciousness is here,
What holy mysteries!
How needs of mine assail me when
I watch the Master and His men.

Such love He bore his own,
All selfless to the end,
To take the servant’s part,
On dusty knee to bend,
And girded with humility
He kneels to minister to me.

His lowliness is might,
His meekness majesty,
His holy hands can touch
A traitor lovingly!
Let pride be broken when it sees
That kingly love upon its knees.

The basin brims with grace
As Jesus comes again.
He holds the towel to me
To serve men in His name
To share in Christly ministries
I can but fall upon my knees.

Words: Edward Read

By His wounds we are healed

• Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53: 4-5

Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
Chorus
In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever;
Till my raptures soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Shed its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river. Fanny Crosby

Christ the Healer

Yesterday my wife and I were at Peacehaven Nursing Home and as usual to minister to the folk. Here are our people - the sick, the lonely, the bed ridden, the wheelchair bound, yes people in need. That evening when I came home, I sang the old hymn "At even ere the sun was set, the sick O Lord around Thee lay."

The Bible records many incidents of Jesus going round healing people. We don't seem to sing it the old hymn referred to these days; maybe due to the fact we don't hold Sunday evening Salvation Meeting.

At even, ere the sun was set,
the sick, O Lord, around thee lay;
O, in what diverse pains they met!
O, with what joy they went away!

Once more 'tis eventide, and we,
oppressed with various ills, draw near;
what if thy form we cannot see?
We know and feel that thou art here.

O Savior Christ, our woes dispel;
for some are sick, and some are sad;
and some have never loved thee well,
and some have lost the love they had;

and some have found the world is vain,
and yet from the world they break not free;
And some have friends who give them pain,
yet have not sought a friend in thee.

And none, O Lord, have perfect rest,
for none are wholly free from sin;
And they who fain would serve thee best
are conscious most of wrong within.

O Savior Christ, thou too art man;
thou has been troubled, tempted, tried;
thy kind but searching glance can scan
the very wounds that shame would hide.

Thy touch has still its ancient power.
no word from thee can fruitless fall;
hear, in this solemn evening hour,
and in thy mercy heal us all.  Henry Twells

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Matthew 8: 3

When Jesus came into Peter's home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Matthew 8: 14-15

When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows about this!"…Matthew 9: 28-30

Lord thank You, Your touch has still its ancient power. You are the same yesterday, today and in days to come. Lord, touch me again, Lord, touch me again. Amen

Jesus washing His disciples' feet - John 13: 1-17

Behind this simple scene, we see a deep significance to this act. He took off his outer garment. It signifies His setting aside His deity with power and glory. He left his Father's throne in submission to the will of the Father. He took on our humanity, became a helpless babe, grew up as a boy then a man, and subjected himself to all our human frailties. He emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race. He was prepared to set aside the outward visible manifestations and prerogatives of deity and assumed the form of a slave.

He took a basin of water and girded himself with a towel. In other words, he took on the menial task of a servant. He knelt down and washed his disciples' feet, symbolising the extent He was prepared to go. In order to wash the feet of the disciples, He had to kneel down before them.

Humility  We see the human side of Jesus, perfect obedience and submission. Now we come to the other side in John 13: 4-5 a contrasting picture, not normally associated with our idea of authority. "He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel round his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.'

Humility is not ignorance of our own capabilities or talents. That gifted person is in control and uses his gifts in serving others without arrogance and pride. He serves for one purpose - the glory of God. He did not have to command the disciples to do something. "Come on, you guys; get the job of feet washing done." Jesus did not have to emphasise the importance of humble service or servanthood. He merely acted in humility.

JESUS IN THE UPPER ROOM - John 13: 1-17

Demonstration of Servanthood

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, there were no good roads in Palestine. In the dry season there was plenty of dust and during the rainy season there was plenty of mud. The ordinary people wore sandals which were simply soles held to the foot by a few straps. There was little protection from dust and mud.

So people normally would keep water pots at the door of the house. A servant would be there to see that feet were washed before the guests enter the house. Evidently for Jesus and his disciples there were no servants in attendance, so none had their feet washed before entering the room to have their meal. Nor was there anyone among the disciples humble enough to take on the role of servant.

Picture this group - Jesus and his disciples arrive at the house and make their way to the Upper Room - sparsely furnished, but ready. See Jesus and his disciples sitting on the low meal table reclining on cushions on the floor, their feet still dirty. There is no servant to attend to them. No one seems humble enough to start the proceedings - feet washing. It is too menial a task.

Suddenly Jesus stands up. All eyes turn to him. He takes off his outer garment, puts on an apron, picks up the basin, pours water into it and moves toward the nearest disciple. He kneels down and starts to wash the disciples' feet. Then he takes towel and wipes the feet of the disciple. He is doing something no one else has thought of doing. There is complete silence in the room and you can hear a pin drop. All are too embarrassed to speak or do anything. He comes round to Peter. The silence is broken, "You mean you want to wash my feet? No, you can't do this. "

Gently Jesus responds, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." He adds, "Unless I wash you, you have no part of me."

Peter is shocked and embarrassed that the Master should condescend to what he and his fellow disciples have failed to do. Well meaning Peter cannot bear to see his Master performing such a menial task. He feels it improper for Jesus to wash the disciple’s feet. Don't blame Peter. We think the same way. Unthinkable that the Lord of glory should wash anyone's feet. We tend to project out own thoughts or attitude on to others.

Jesus fully understands Peter's feeling and corrects him. "You do not realize what I am doing, but later you will understand." Peter does not understand the significance of feet washing. His mental process is not able to grapple with this action of Jesus. One day he will. These are words of encouragement, not rebuke.

We sometimes find ourselves in that sort of situation when we work under the lordship of Christ. We don't understand our Lord's ways of doing things. What is the secret when we come to such occasions? We hold on to Him and this is what faith in God is all about.

The impulsive Peter cries out, "You shall never wash my feet." I can't let you do that to me. I am embarrassed. I feel awful. You showed me up. 

Jesus' response, "Unless I wash you, you have no part of me." Pretty strong words to come from Jesus! No part of me. No share of me. It implies relationship.

There is always that human feeling of wanting to belong. We belong to families, to groups, to churches, to organisations. To be told 'you don't belong here' speaks of rejection. Not needed, not wanted. You don't belong!

Foot washing in this incident becomes a lovely metaphor or analogy for the life of faith. We must not take the words lightly. "If I do not wash you, you have no part of me." The life of faith is one of continual submission. It is this continual giving of oneself to this servant ministry.

To have no part with his Lord! How unbearable to be shut out, to know nothing of the unfolding heart of Christ. Unthinkable to have no part with Christ! O the thought of future days, months and years and have no part of Christ in his work and fellowship of the Spirit.

At first Peter thought that Jesus was doing too much, but now he feels Jesus is doing too little. “Not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well.” The earnest disciple, like many of us today, goes from one extreme to another.

Jesus replies, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feel, his whole body is clean,” Jesus is referring to spiritual cleansing.

The act is followed by a word of explanation in which he instructs his disciples that they should imitate him in loving, lowly service. We should make it our aim, not just to secure the physical comfort of others, but their moral and spiritual cleansing as well.

Let us pray that the Lord will enable us to live that servant life. By his grace he helps us to bend down. You cannot wash someone’s feet without bending down. In bending down to serve others, we serve our Lord.

Humility, O grace so sweet! Come, dwell within my heart; Oh, press me to my Savior’s feet; There lowliness impart. Refrain: Come softly from thy throne above, O grace so sweet and fair; Come, touch my heart in gentle love, And scatter meekness there. Humility, in Christ complete, I seek thy pleasant ways; For lowly place at Jesus’ feet My heart with longing prays. Humility, the sweetest cup Of which my heart e’er drank! I’ve taken but one little sup, But deep within it sank. Humility, O gift divine, Thine odors fill the air; And while our hearts to thee incline, Oh, shed thy fragrance there. O sink my heart to nothingness, Down, down to lowly planes; Then up, far up in joyfulness, My soul in glory reigns. O heaven’s grace—humility! Thy cherished charm I’ll wear; I must be humble, Lord, like Thee, Thy holy image bear. Charles E Orr

Wisdom for living

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6: 8

Jesus our Saviour is the perfect example for Christian living.

"Lord give me the wisdom and grant me Your grace today -  to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with You.  Amen

Jesus demonstrates servanthood

Ask any young person what he would like to be when he grows up. The normal response is - I want to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, architect and the list goes on. Have you heard any one saying, "I want to be a servant?"

One of the key principles to leadership is servanthood. Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first among you must be your slave. (Matt. 20: 26-27)  Notice, Paul always referred to himself as 'a servant of Jesus Christ.' Turn with me to Isaiah 42: 1 'Behold my servant whom I uphold.' Those were the words of prophecy concerning Jesus who took upon himself the form of a servant.

Prayer of Humility
. . . All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ''God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty Hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. - 1 P 1 Peter 5: 5-7

Jesus proclaimed His mission

Jesus needs to fulfil his commission in spite of misunderstanding and opposition. He begins in Galilee (in Hebrew Galil) which means 'circle'. It is so called because it was encircled by non-Jewish nations. 

Jesus walks into the synagogue - the centre of religious life. There was only one Temple where sacrifices were made. There were many synagogues all over the country. It was mandated that whenever there were ten Jewish families a synagogue be built.

Picture the scene. It is the Sabbath Day, the day of worship. Jesus walks in just as the elders are looking around for someone to read from the scroll of the prophets. One of them spots Jesus, son of a carpenter who has been travelling and teaching the people. He has become somewhat of a celebrity. The scroll is handed to Jesus. He takes it, moves to the front and begins to read from Isaiah.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

He rolls up the scroll and hands it to the attendant and sits down. It was customary to stand while reading the Scripture, but to sit while teaching. All eyes focussed on Him. He adds, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  They are astonished by this claim. In actual fact Jesus is saying, "The principle of the year of Jubilee and the promise of the coming of the Deliverer are found in a Person. That Person is Jesus. The Deliverer or Messiah has come and is sitting right in front of them!

The words of Isaiah are still echoing in their ears. He has not come to usher in the Year of Jubilee. He has come to usher in an age of Jubilee.

The people are stunned and confused. They are amazed at His teaching, full of grace and truth (John 1: 14). But they know him as the son of the local carpenter.

Jesus turns to them and speaks

"God's Spirit is on me:

     he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,

Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and

     recovery of sight to the blind,

To set the burdened and battered free,

  to announce, "This is God's year to act!"

(Luke 4: 23-28). The Message.

This is too much for the people. "How can this be - son of a carpenter becoming the Messiah, the One whom they have been looking out for? He must be out of his mind. Let's get rid of Him."

Clearly it has been demonstrated, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown" Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem; he was brought up in Nazareth in Galilee. “. He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene.' Nazarene was virtually a synonym for 'despised'. Recall when Philip told Nathaniel about Jesus whom Moses wrote about, Nathaniel responded. "Nazareth, Can anything good come from there?" Don't we all have our prejudices! 

Let's look at the message of Christ. It describes His mission at that time and still is today.

First, To preach the gospel to the poor. He cares about the poor. "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed." (Luke 14: 13-14). He was poor himself. "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head." (Matt. 8:20) But Jesus did not come to make us materially rich, owners of cars, condominiums, credit cards, country club memberships. He did not come to end poverty or balance the social economic classes. Yet He did come to free us from poverty. Many people do not see themselves as living in poverty.

This verse is not primarily refer to material deprivation.  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven  (Matt. 5: 23) To be poor means to have nothing. It implies hopelessness and helplessness. In the Message Eugene Peterson puts it this way, "You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope." Have you reached the end of the tether yet?

Salvation begins when we realize we are sinners. We have offended God who is holy and righteous. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Rom 3: 23 "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23) We cannot do anything for ourselves and are totally dependent on God. The message of this Lenten season is this. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins and opens up heaven for us to spend eternity with God. We all must come to the point of praying the sinner's prayer of repentance and faith.

Jesus came to set us free from our poverty by recovering our vision for life as God has intended for us. Jesus said in Luke 12: 15 “…a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Our wealth consists of things that cannot break, rot or stolen.

Jesus came to reconcile us to God, to restore that relationship between man and God. But we are more concerned about friendship with this world and how much we can get out of this life. If we believe we are wealthy enough with earthly goods, we are blind to the wealth of heaven. But if we see our poverty with God, the good news is that God wants to give Himself and His eternal blessings to us. “God who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously gave us all things." Rom. 8: 32 If God gave of the supreme gift of His son to save us, He will certainly also give whatever is necessary to bring to fulfilment the work begun at the cross.

Second, He came to free us from our prisons. “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and the recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.  Luke 4: 18-19 We are all prisoners, some of us are able to hide our prison bars better than others. The convicted criminals are put behind bars in prison. The rest of us whose prison bars are less obvious either deny or don’t realise we need to be set free.

We are behind the prison bars of fear, anxiety, regret, guilt, self-righteousness or insecurity. These bars are real and they isolate us, imprison us and isolate us from God and from people. Jesus comes to set us free. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8: 31. God’s truths are the keys that can open up the prison doors of our lives.

Jesus comes to give us freedom – free from the slavery of sin. Accept him and you will be able to join the ransomed in singing,

"My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed thee."

In freedom I rejoice! Thank You Lord for giving me this freedom in Christ.

The road to Galilee - Luke 4: 14-28

The temptation in the wilderness was a time of testing and Jesus came out victorious. Satan was forced to leave him for a season. The testing was completed, the loyalty to the Father and His mission proved without a shadow of doubt at all. 

Immediately after this time of testing Jesus goes into Galilee. He is given a new commission to fulfil. Appointment always follows testing. One victory leads to another challenge. That's the way God works in our lives. Jesus accepts the responsibility. 

For the Christian we are to walk this road to Galilee. Once we have accepted the love and forgiveness of God in Christ we are called to the wilderness of temptation. Once we have proved ourselves, we move to the next stage of our journey in life. We must walk our Galilee.

To Jesus, Galilee is the hardest place in which he could begin his work. It is home territory. It is 'balek kampong.' Ever since their return from Egypt, he and his family had lived there. Jesus, who is he? He is just the son of the village carpenter Joseph. No difficulty for them accepting him as one of the villagers but to see him as divine! Well, that's another thing. They look at Jesus and think to themselves 'What conceit! Perhaps hallucination!' Many a young people after accepting Christ goes home to the family to witness this new found faith and perhaps even face opposition.

Temptation in the wilderness

Satan's mounts his subtle attack. He attempts to bring Jesus down with three temptations. Each one is designed to lure Him away from the Father and His mission. Here is the test. Jesus has to settle how to apply His Messianic powers in relation to His mission. Temptation is not sin, yielding to temptation is sin. Here Jesus is sorely tempted.

First temptation - the appeal to appetite.

Jesus is hungry. He has not eaten for forty days, that's pretty long time for anyone to go without food. We feel hungry when we have to miss one meal or even when we walk past a Food Court or Hawkers' Centre. So the first attack is along the line of natural appetite. God gives us appetite for our survival. It is not wrong to need food. Jesus looks around him and sees the little round pieces of limestone rock, they look loaves of bread. So turn the stones into bread. It is a very reasonable suggestion. What's wrong with that?

Satan’s argument goes something like this. ‘You are hungry. The people around you are hungry. You are the Messiah aren’t you? Remember the voice of God, the descent of the Spirit on you? You have the power to do something about your hunger and the peoples’ hunger. It is legitimate isn’t it to take those stones, turn them into bread and feed the people. They will all come and follow you and you can call it mission accomplish.’

The temptation to turn stones into bread is to do the right thing in the wrong way. Jesus repulses the suggestion with words from the Scriptures “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” With that statement Jesus declares His submission to the will of God. The spiritual power is not for Himself. Spiritual strength does not lie in the assertion of our rights, but in submission to the will of God. The temptation to turn stones into bread is an appeal to misuse the creative power for personal purposes.

Second temptation - the appeal to possession.

Satan is a subtle opportunist and very persistent too. He does not give up easily. He keeps on at us. The first assault is defeated, so he tries again and draws fresh material for a new attack. There is subtlety in the choice of setting for this temptation. The Holy City and the Temple means much to Jews and certainly to Jesus. The Temple is a place of revelation and of glory. As for the pinnacle it is the most awe-inspiring point from which to gain an impression of the splendour of the city. Satan has chosen a religious setting

The pinnacle is a place of privilege as well as peril. Listen to the cunning suggestion of the devil. “Cast yourself down. Surely God will not let you die. He will send His angels to protect you. Demonstrate to the people your faith in God. This is a quick way to success. People love the sensational. They will be awed and they will all come flocking to you because of this miracle. Easy way to fulfil your mission.”

Jesus responds, “It is written. You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Yes, Jesus wants to fulfil His mission. In doing so, He cannot avoid the suffering of the cross. No short cuts. The faith that depends on miracles alone will be short lived.

Third Temptation - the appeal to prestige

The battle with temptation rages on. Satan does not give up easily. Satan is the prince of this world and will not bargain,- he goes straight to the point. He shows a vision of the kingdoms of the world. Wow, the world under the sway of evil. Everywhere unholy men rule, wickedness prevail. He goes again, “See what succeeds. By their methods you can win the world too. You want to win the world don’t you? Easy. Just accept me as your lord. I will not put any obstacle in your way to spread your kingdom. You can fulfil your mission. I know the way to win the whole world. Reject me and few will follow you in fact they will reject you and in the end crucify you. Yes, just bow down to me, worship my way of doing things and the whole world will be yours.”

Satan does not want Calvary. It would mean exposure of sin and the disclosure of God’s love. It would be the beginning of the end of Satan’s rule. Jesus knows he has to suffer death for the sake of the people he has come to serve. There is no short cut to fulfil his mission.  He recognizes man is a spiritual being.

His response is clear. He repulses the devil with language that speaks of his authority “Away from me Satan. For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Yes, Jesus will obtain his kingdom, not by paying homage to Satan.

Satan leaves him for the time being. Suddenly angels appear to minister to him. Had Jesus failed, the angels would have had no affinity with him.

Temptation is a universal experience of human life. 'No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.' 1 Cor. 10: 13) Jesus came to earth and took on our human nature and it is to be expected that this would form part of His experience. He was divine yet human. The wonderful thing is, He was tempted, but he emerged from the ordeal of temptation unscathed and untainted.

These three temptations covered the whole range of human desire - appetite, avarice and ambition. We see the parallel in the Garden of Eden when Satan appeared in the form of a serpent to tempt our first parents. We read in Genesis 3 of the same essential elements

The lust of the flesh - appetite 'fruit good for food.'

The lust of the eyes  - avarice  'delight to the eyes'

The pride of life - ambition 'desirable to make one wise'

In the wilderness we read of

The lust of the flesh - appetite 'turn the stones into bread.' Satisfy your hunger.

The lust of the eyes - avarice  'all the kingdoms of the world'. Simply submit to Satan.

The pride of life - ambition 'cast  yourself down.' Simply impress the crowd.

The Method of victory. In this incident, Satan tempted Jesus three times and each time, Jesus unsheathed the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Jesus held a high view of Scriptures. God's word is always authoritative and powerful.

Holiness is not freedom from temptation. Jesus was perfectly holy, yet he was tempted. Being tempted is not sin, but yielding to temptation is sin. We thank God, He understands us perfectly. "It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as High Priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it himself - all the pain, all the testing - and would be able to help where help was needed." Heb 2:17-18. (The Message)  "Now that we know what we have - Jesus, this great high priest with ready access to God - let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a high priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all - all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is ready to give. Take the mercy and accept the help (Heb 4: 15 - 16 The Message)

Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin;
Each victory will help you some other to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue,
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

Refrain:

Ask the Savior to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.

Shun evil companions, bad language disdain,
God’s Name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kindhearted and true,
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.

To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown;
Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down;
He Who is our Savior our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through  (Horatio R Palmer)

Behold the Lamb of God.

We are going on a journey with Jesus. The journey will take us to the cross, but that will not be the end. We shall go farther than that, to the grave. There we shall witness the great miracle of the resurrection. We shall join in the chorus with the angels and sing, Christ the Lord is risen again, Hallelujah.

Our journey starts from a crucial point in Jesus' life. At the age of thirty, this young carpenter puts aside his tools, bids goodbye to His family and heads for the Jordan River. There he meets his cousin John. John is rather a strange person. He is clothed in odd clothes made out of camels' hair, eats strange exotic food of locusts and wild honey and preaches fearlessly an unusual message. He has a specific duty to perform - to announce the coming of the Messiah or Saviour. He is much focused and puts all his energy into this task.

Many people come to him to be baptized. Jesus joins in the queue and requests to be baptized. "No, I can't do that. I'm not worthy," protests John. But Jesus insists and is baptized. He hears the voice of the Father, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am pleased." To the Jews this phenomenon of a voice from heaven was not unknown. Moses heard the voice at the burning bush. (Exodus 3: 4) There were others like Elijah. The Holy Spirit descends on Him like a dove.

See the exaltation of that moment - the proclamation of John the Baptist "Behold the Lamb of God', the baptism, the voice and the descent of the Holy Spirit. These are wonderful experiences. The exaltation of the moment is followed by a sharp contrast.

Immediately after this experience, the Holy Spirit leads Him into the wilderness. There He is tempted by the devil. No one knows the enormity of the journey better than Satan. Satan wants to stop Him for Satan knows Christ's death and resurrection would seal his ultimate doom.

Lenten Meditation

 Significance of Lent

Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. This year it begins on 5th March and ends on 19th April 2014, which is the day before Easter.

Lent is that season of the church year where church goers are traditionally asked to give something up for the season. It is a period of self denial to use another term which we are familiar. Lent is about submitting ourselves to God’s will and following His direction wherever it is headed even when you can see a cross at the end of the path. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 26: 1-11

Moses was nearing the end of his life on earth. He would climb to the top of Mt. Nebo soon and see his people depart into the land God had promised them. He himself would not make that journey. For 40 years he had led them through the wilderness. Now their journey of promise was fulfilled. God had kept his word to them and he didn’t want them to forget. The danger of being blessed with bountiful blessings is that we can easily become more focused on the material things and forget the Giver of blessings.

Moses reminded them of his and their personal history. “My father was a wandering Aramean….” It was a personal way to remind people to take their faith history personally, as well as to retell the story of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the people of God to see before them the land God had promised to give them? On a hillside they sat back and then listened as Moses preached his farewell address. The Bible doesn’t say much about this account but what it does say is quite clear. Freedom, ownership, responsibility, a nation lay ahead for the people of God. No one offered to stay behind with Moses. All of God’s people continued faithfully forward into the Promised Land.

Lent is God’s way of preparing us for the Promised Land. The promise of salvation belongs to all people who repent and believe the Gospel. Don’t be tempted to think there is another way to God beyond repentance and faith in the Gospel. There are many who see no need for personal penitence. They are wrong.

Lent is a time for soul searching and repentance. It is season for reflection and taking stock. The Early church intended it to be a time of preparation for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves to the Lord. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians imitate Jesus' withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days.

It is good for us to observe Lent as a spiritual discipline. Let us use this period to remember the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. Lent is a season of self denial, a time to give up something. I am not talking about giving up chocolates or your favourite satay, although these could be included. It is a time when we give up the sin of selfishness, pride and hypocrisy. We call ourselves Christians but our hearts are still proud and self centred. Lent is a time for serious examination of our lives. Lent is an attitude.

Colonel Henry Gariepy in his book, "40 Days with the Saviour" tells the story of "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn who for many years was a prisoner in Soviet concentration camps. His days were made up of backbreaking labour and slow starvation. One day he gave up, feeling no purpose in fighting on. Laying his shovel down, he walked over to a bench and sat down. He knew that the penalty for sitting down was death. At any moment a guard might order him to get up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would probably beat him to death with a shovel. Solzhenitsyn had seen it happen many times.

As he was sitting there waiting for death, he felt a presence near. He lifted up his eyes and saw and old man with a wrinkled, utterly expressionless face. They had never communicated because prisoners were now allowed to talk. The old man took a stick, and in the sand at Solzhenitsyn's feet he drew the sign of the cross. As Solzhenitsn stared at the cross his entire perspective shifted. He realised at that moment that the cross was the hope of mankind, even against the all-powerful Soviet empire. He slowly got up, picked up the shovel and went back to work under the power of the cross, later to become a prophetic voice to the nations."

I hope as we journey with Jesus to the cross we be reminded of the cost of discipleship. Let us hear again the voice of our Lord saying to us "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." (Matt 16: 24)

Lent is a time not just to give up what distracts us from God or the Gospel. It is also a time to get up and follow him. To see Jesus do his work for forty days is to see God’s plan of redemption fulfilled. In the ancient church, the season of Lent was a period of instruction in the faith.