A Devotional Life

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God's transforming rule is unstoppable

Luke 13:10-21. (The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast). One time, I was leading a service in our Church in London, and a homeless man walked in and sat at a seat we had reserved for our Senior Pastor. Somehow, he had slipped past the welcome team. One of the trainee pastors stared at me to do something, but I didn’t. Then I stared back at him to do something, but he didn’t. So, to avoid further awkwardness during worship, we let him sit there. What a situation! In today’s passage, a similar situation occurs, but this time the religious leaders respond in a way that prompts a rebuke from Jesus. In the passage today, Jesus heals a woman who was crippled for eighteen years on a Sabbath day. How transformative. She began to praise God, and the people rejoiced, but the religious leaders were upset that it wasn’t done their way (v10-14). So Jesus rebuked them, using parables to illustrate the ...

Wise living is being ready for the King's return

Matthew 25. (The Parables of the Ten Virgins, the Talents, and the Sheep and the Goats). Before the parables, Jesus in Matthew 24:36-51 describes His return as happening on an ordinary day, while people go about their daily routines. It will be sudden, like a thief in the night. So how can we live wisely? Jesus says by being ready (24:44). Jesus uses three parables to show what being ready looks like... Guarding what you have In Jewish culture, well-oiled lamps were needed to complete nighttime weddings. Losing oil and heading off to buy some is like losing the rings and heading off to buy some during your ceremony. Therefore, readiness, as shown by the wise virgins (v10), looks like guarding what you have. Notice where they are called wise: V4 “The wise took oil” V8-9 “The foolish asked the wise for oil, and they said ‘No’...

God’s response to repentance is great joy

Luke 15. (The Parables of the Lost…Sheep, Coin and Son). The three parables were Jesus’ response to a criticism from the Pharisees. They saw that tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus, and that He welcomed and ate with them (v1-2). And Jesus likened the tax collectors and sinners who had gathered around Him to something important that was lost (v3-32). Can you recall a time you lost something important? I once arrived at the airport and realised my passport wasn’t in my jacket. I thought, could I have forgotten it? In the middle of the check-in area, with everyone stirring, I emptied my hand luggage; my clothes, bank cards, documents, laptop, and everything else were scattered all over the place. I finally found my passport, which I had hurriedly packed with my clothes. Out of excitement, I yelled, “Yes, found it!” A few people began to clap. It was quite a sce...

True life begins with accepting the word

Mark 4:1-20, 26-29. (The Parables of the Sower and Growing Seed). How do you respond to God’s word? Jesus shows that the continuous experience of true life only comes from accepting the word of God. Anything short, at its best, only yields momentary joy. In teaching about the Kingdom of God (v11, 26), Jesus speaks of a farmer who goes to sow seeds and scatters them on all kinds of soils, with the good soil truly yielding life (v1-8, 26). The seed is the word of God (v14), and the soils are how we respond to the word. But there is only one right response. Accept it The parable shows that just as the kind of soil affects the yield, the kind of response affects the experience of the Kingdom of God. It’s like signing up for an online service, say Amazon; there are terms and conditions open to all. You can either ignore it, tiptoe around it, consider it or accept it. But there...

The Kingdom of God

Mark 1:9-11, 14-15. What do you expect a time of God’s reign to look like? Perhaps the end of oppression, or a better economy, or an increase in morality. In biblical times, there were similar expectations of God’s kingdom, including the end of Roman oppression (Luke 24:21, Acts 1:6), the formalisation of moral traditions (Mark 7:6-9), and others, all conveying the longing for a better life—one of peace, justice, and happiness. Why is this? Because of a promise! The promise… When God anointed David as King of Israel, He promised David peace and an everlasting kingdom through his offspring (2 Samuel 7:11, 16). The first partial fulfilment of this promise was with David’s son, Solomon, who is also called Jedidiah, which means “the beloved of the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:25, 1 Kings 2:46). What was the impact of Solomon’s reign? It brought a time of peace (1 King...

Redeemed into a new life

Ruth 4:1-22 NIV. In today’s passage, Boaz follows up on his promise to Ruth (in 3:12-13) to redeem her. From Boaz’s redemption of Ruth, we get a peek into the pattern of God’s redemption through Jesus. So what does this redemption look like? It is selfless—a costly act, no other redeemer could pay, v1-12 When Boaz met with the closer guardian-redeemer, whom we called Bob, he asked Bob if he would redeem his kinsman’s properties. Bob said yes, then declined when he realised that this included his kinsman’s widow, which would affect his estate. This shows the inevitable selfish motive of any redemption act which is outside of God’s provision. However, Boaz, motivated by love, acquired Ruth, notwithstanding the cost. This costly and selfless act points us to God’s act of redemption through Jesus, our Redeemer, who, out of love, gave His life to save us (John...