Disclaimer: As a rule of thumb, emails, SMSes, blogs etc. should not, as much as possible, be sent at night. When we are tired, it's best to keep silent. But as I have given my word to S5, I must honor my word.
TRUST & OBEY
My 3 salient takeaways for sharing
Introductions
Like Cheris' sharing, mine is also regarding obedience.
OT reading: Job chapters 8-10
1) God’s sovereignty - you sure you wanna argue with… GOD?
Job 9:2 - How can a man be righteous before God?
Job 9:3 - If one wished to contend with Him, he could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
Job 9:15 - For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him; I would beg mercy of my Judge.
Can anyone argue with God? No way, based on what Job said above. The NT equivalent is Romans 9:16 - So then it is not of him who wills, or of him who runs, but of Him who shows mercy.
This may be hard for teenagers/ young adults to accept. But sometimes, we can only trust and obey. God expects us to treat Him with this level of respect. He also expects us to treat our parents/ elders/ leaders likewise.
2) It's NOT how good we are!
NT reading: Acts 8: 26 - 40
The above principle is echoed in the NT reading.
In the New Testament, three persons were recorded to have confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. They were
(i) Peter, the apostle in Matthew 16:16. Being a paternal society (i.e. male enjoying more authority), Peter's confession of faith in Jesus Christ, given his leadership position amongst the apostle, was expected. However, the next person was unexpected.
(ii) It was Martha, Mary's sister, a woman, in John 11:27. She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."
(iii) The third person was an even greater surprise, an EUNUCH! In Acts 8:37,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."
Again, this shows you, it is not how clever, how smart, how hardworking or how good we are. God, He reigns. (For further reference, see 1 Cor 1: 26-27)
(3) Hence, trust and obey!
ODB's passage – Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of your father.
Amazingly, today's ODB - Advice for the Groom - is along the same grain, talking about the same thing! If we cannot even trust and obey our parents, elders, church leaders, how then can we obey God?
Homework
Read up till Matthew chapter 20 before school re-opens.
May you GROW in Messiah, dear children,
Kar Keat
PS. Thank you also, S5, for starting this blog, and putting up the memory verses.
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