HOLY GOD FOR HOLEY MAN
How do we know if someone among us is an important person? Most of us quickly pick up cues from the other people around – their decorum, dressing, demeanor and the way they respond to the most elevated person in the room who carries substantial influence over the rest.
HOW SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Christians attending churches that are endowed with well-designed facilities and cutting-edge technology can be forgiven for thinking they are on entertainment-laden cruise ships rather than ammunition-loaded warships. Indeed, some churches today appear to operate like entertainment venues with a constant stream of on-site programmes and an obsession with filling up capacity.
WARRIOR OR WORRIER
What keeps you up at night? Some of us may lie awake worrying about our job security, finances, or relationship problems and playing out all sorts of scenarios in our minds. During times of stress, we can also experience a reduction in the quality of our sleep from excessive screen usage and caffeine intake that interfere with rest and exacerbate our state of worry.
FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS
If you had been miraculously saved from a near fatal accident or a deadly disease, would your life not be significantly redefined from that point when God snatched you from the door of death? How is it then that our salvation often turns into a non-event in our lives?
THREE REJECTIONS, ONE PERSISTENT FAITH
This week’s BeInReach session delved into a very uneasy conversation between Jesus and a visibly distressed Canaanite woman, recorded in Matthew 15:21-28. It was at a time after John the Baptist was beheaded and Jesus had tried repeatedly to retreat into solitude. When He finally found a sweet spot to rest in an area around Tyre and Sidon, He was approached by a Gentile woman who was determined to engage Him – no matter what!
Realization, Revelation & Resolution
In his vision of encountering God, Isaiah became acutely aware of himself and his sinfulness. His response was startling: ‘Woe to me! I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ (Isaiah 6:5).
MY WORTH & MY UNWORTHINESS
MAJOR LIFE TRANSITIONS often plunge us into uncharted waters and unfamiliar territories, leaving us with questions about our self-worth and feeling unprepared to tackle all that lies ahead. Whether it is an unplanned retirement, being single again, a career change, or simply growing older, we naturally think of what was, what has been and what will likely be the realities for us in the future.
FIRST CENTURY TRANSFORMERS
The Book of Acts recorded the first generation of Christians after Jesus was crucified by men and resurrected by God. They did not immediately get busy developing Bible-study or discipleship programmes, nor plan for church expansion.
START WELL & FINISH WELL
Whether it's a groundbreaking innovation, the start of a new relationship, or a new life stage, beginnings can be highly alluring. They often start with a bang before turning mundane after the initial hype.
PRAY AND WAIT
In the early days, believers were taught to have open conversations with each other and to support each other in prayer for powerful and effective living (James 5:16). Sadly today, we forget that conversations involve talking and listening: not just typing on our devices and reading text off them.
VALUE IN VALLEYS
When we talk about valleys today, we may think of places like the Silicon Valley – the epicenter of technological innovation and research, or the upscale residential area in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Or we may even recall seeing photos of the scenic Yosemite Valley in California on social media.
THANKSGIVING EPISODE
A good life is not necessarily one without upheavals, heartaches and disappointments. The way that each of us came into the BeInReach community at different junctures of our lives largely hinted at God’s Hand in the process. Once again, He meddled, He interfered and He made sure we were not left alone to figure out if He cared or not.
I AM BECAUSE HE IS
The ancient African word ‘ubuntu’ means I am because we are, suggesting that the community around us influences our humanity. This means that our capacity for compassion and kindness is largely influenced by the people around us.
REPENT + RETURN TO GOD
All humans hold some kind of beliefs. We believe that we will be alive tomorrow and so we plan ahead the things that we will do. We believe that our hearts are healthy enough to sustain us in a cycling marathon so we sign up. We believe that our jobs will be secure, so we take an extended vacation at ease. Of course, we are really talking about the level of confidence we have in something or someone. However, many people today struggle to believe in God.
LURKERS & TASERS
IT WAS AN EPIC DUEL that took place over forty days, away from the public eye. On the one side was Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit - lacking nothing in terms of His spiritual authority as the Son of God. On the other side was one who was uninvited and a master impersonator - the devil himself.
BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD
Toshikazu Kawaguchi wrote the book titled, ‘Before the Coffee Gets Cold’ to draw readers’ attention to the regrets and missed opportunities in their lives, and focus on the importance of living in the moment. The very notion of regret implies that we have the human agency to choose and decide what we want to do in our lives. Without agency, we can only respond to negative life outcomes with a sense of helpless resignation rather than regret over what we could have done.
VICTORIOUS LIVING – THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS
IN CONVERSATION, we often ask people about outcomes. When someone makes a career change, we enquire about the new job situation. When someone is charged in court, we are curious about the sentencing. After a medical procedure, we ask about the new prognosis. Following a divorce, we are curious about the settlement. We show far more interest in what comes out of any situation than we have concern about how someone is going through their personal ordeals.
C’EST LA VIE (THAT’S LIFE)
When we say ‘c’est la vie’, it means ‘such is life’. It often implies a fatalistic resignation and the feeling that one can do little to change life’s outcomes. We hope and pray that we will survive and emerge stronger on the other side of adversity. But if we are serious about doing life with God (and with each other), it will be anything but predictable.