Christmas Peace

 

 

My office offers a lovely view of the lake nearby. During a quiet time while meditating on the Christmas message of peace and goodwill, I saw four small ducks on the water. Despite the cold December afternoon, they were picture of tranquillity – at peace in their situation. Quite soon, those ducks were surrounded by dozens of large Canada geese. My heart skipped a beat since I feared that the ducks would be attacked or in some way disturbed. However, that picture of peace and goodwill prevailed. The small ducks swam around the larger fowl, seemingly unperturbed by their presence. They showed no fear. Though the birds were different in size and shape and sound, harmony reigned. In a world with national, religious, cultural, and racial differences and conflicts, such scenes of peace and goodwill inspire me. I remember the angels' song, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace.” The gospel says, “The Holy Spirit reveals to Simeon that he will not see death until he has seen the Messiah” (Luke 2:26, NRSV). We find that during troubled times, many people were looking for signs whether God is really at work in the world and that the future would be in God's hands. That was true for Simeon in the first century. As he grew older, Simeon looked eagerly for the Messiah, God's anointed one.

Like Simeon, I praised God. Although I plan to continue living for some time, I'm not anxious about the future because He takes care of everything of my life. “The Lord is the light revelation to all Gentiles.” (Luke 2:32, NRSV).

Hence, you & I are to carry the Good News to future generations. From generation to generation, Christ's followers carry forward the message of hope. And, we do not have to be alike to live in peace.

As the Scriptures said, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours” (Luke 2:14, NRSV)!

Profile Background:
Robert R. Allen – (Missouri, U.S.A.), Upper Room Ministries;

Prayer Response to this featured article:
We pray that God helps us learn to wait for His promises with faith and anticipation. Do pray for those who wait for the fulfillment of God's promises that they would never wait in vain. We pray for God to renew us in His Spirit as we approach the manger of the Christ child.

(Written by Robert R. Allen – (Missouri, U.S.A.), the unrecalled date/year of published time)

Son of God – Jesus as Messiah

 

As I did my Advent’s meditation, I read there are two expressions of Jesus as Son of God and Messiah. And, I am being reminded of how the apostle Paul had been transformed by his meeting with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4, NIV) and that he spent the rest of his life communicating the great miracle of God’s redeeming love in Jesus and encouraging everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, to give their hearts to the Saviour (Romans 1:1–6, NIV), and how he addressed quarrelling factions, misunderstandings and false beliefs which are our weaknesses to our human frailty. Indeed, the apostle Paul showed us the context in the divinity of Jesus, the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection (Philippians 2:6–9, NIV) and the final triumph (Philippians 2:10–11, NIV).

Today’s meditation encourages me to share Jesus with pre–believers who have not heard of Jesus or have not encountered Jesus in their lives before, that they will hear and receive Jesus into their hearts as I share Him with them while demonstrating my care compassion for their well–being today. Indeed, I read how William Dunkerley (a successful businessman) lived his long life with the background of international aggression and tragedy through the Crimean War yet he had a great faith in Jesus Christ who offered him a better way, a rebirth into new life and a renewed hope in his life.

Being a prolific writer, he said, “In Christ there is no East or West, In him no South or North, But one great fellowship of love, Throughout the whole wide earth” (William Dunkerley, 1852–1941). Truly, James Montgomery also said, “Kings shall fall down before him, And gold and incense bring; All nations shall adore him, His praise all people sing. To him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows ascend, His kingdom still increasing, His kingdom without end” (James Montgomery, 1771–1854) based on Psalm 72 as both featured inside The Heartbeat of Hope devotional text by Elizabeth Rundle as I pondered over these two quotations upon my Advent weekend’s reading.

How would you describe Christianity to someone who had never heard of Jesus today?

Profile Background:
Jeremy Koh is a disabled graduate from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore – formerly known as Spastic Children Association (1987–1997). He graduated with Certificates in Microsoft Office Skills & a HR Administrator Graduate (CHRA) under Human Capital Singapore–SGEnable Collaboration of Partnership – HCS HR PowerBank (7th Dec 2021 to 3rd June 2022) | Former Project Assistant/Email Marketing Consultant |A Connecter in ServeHope Pte Ltd & GrowthBeans Team in Savior-Asia Consulting Pte Ltd | A KeyGuard Specialist @(these)abilites Pte Ltd handling all KeyGuard Operations for 10 months in World United College South East Asia (Tampines Branch) | an Executive Assistant with Vision Strategy Storytelling (3 months, Aug to Oct 2017); A Founder in the ground up initiative project called – Project Stories for LIFE (Affiliated with Youth Corps Singapore, a former member of the Special Needs Cluster) |A PwD Advocate – a representing voice of the Disabled Community to the public today.

Prayer Response to this featured article:
Jesus, guide us to share your salvation with pre–believers who had never heard of you, as the Holy Spirit leads us to the person/people today.

(Written by Jeremy Koh, 2nd December 2022)

Anchoring your soul

In my Advent’s meditation, as I meditated upon how the Psalmist said, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1, NIV), I could imagined how the morale of Israelites had reached rock bottom, feeling rejected by the storms and losing their hopes in God, as their future looked hopeless. Indeed, Christians in certain parts of Africa have become victims of violent persecution and even death especially in places that can be dangerous to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Truly, the apostle Paul said, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19, NIV) prompting me to anchor my soul to Jesus Christ knowing how God’s promises are true and that they will root my faith to God in the midst of stormy situations and challenges as I encounter them in my life today. Indeed, Priscilla Jane Owens said, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life; When the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain, Will your anchor drift, or firm remain? We have an anchor ... fastened to the Rock which cannot move, Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love” (Priscilla Jane Owens, 1829–1907) featured inside The Heartbeat of Hope devotional text by Elizabeth Rundle as I found this as encouragement during my reading today.

Is your soul anchored to Jesus in stormy times and challenges in your life today?

Profile Background:
Jeremy Koh is a disabled graduate from Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore – formerly known as Spastic Children Association (1987–1997). He graduated with Certificates in Microsoft Office Skills & a HR Administrator Graduate (CHRA) under Human Capital Singapore–SGEnable Collaboration of Partnership – HCS HR PowerBank (7th Dec 2021 to 3rd June 2022) | Former Project Assistant/Email Marketing Consultant |A Connecter in ServeHope Pte Ltd & GrowthBeans Team in Savior-Asia Consulting Pte Ltd | A KeyGuard Specialist @(these)abilites Pte Ltd handling all KeyGuard Operations for 10 months in World United College South East Asia (Tampines Branch) | an Executive Assistant with Vision Strategy Storytelling (3 months, Aug to Oct 2017); A Founder in the ground up initiative project called – Project Stories for LIFE (Affiliated with Youth Corps Singapore, a former member of the Special Needs Cluster) |A PwD Advocate – a representing voice of the Disabled Community to the public today.

Prayer Response to this featured article:
Jesus, help us to anchor our soul to you in stormy times and challenges in our life today.

(Written by Jeremy Koh, 1st December 2022)