Let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. - Philippians 2:3-4

A community that has bonding and harmony would survive any outside threats. I remembered how in the 60s my Chinese neighbours would surround a Malay family and even stay in the house to ensure that the occupants were safe during a time of racial discord in Singapore.

Having the interest of others would ensure our own interest to be protected. It is like a train, each carriage is linked and when the locomotive moves forward, the rest would follow. Should any of the coaches decided to pull out of the line, it would cause problem for itself and others.

When we are all in the same boat, no matter who is rich and famous, if the ship sank, all will be affected. Equally important is the Captain of the Ship. We are in the Lord's command and standing united would ensure victories. We can lose a battle but never a war which is lead by our Master and Lord.

In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

Looking to the needs of others honours Christ.

Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. - Ephesians 4:1

A product can sell just by having it's famous and well respected company's name or country of origin. Before, any product from China was received with some concerns but not any more. Once I bought a product in France and presumed it to be a French made one. Upon unwrapping when reaching home, low and behold, it was made in China. It was a good product. However with greed and dishonest intentions, some companies have brought shame to their companies and countries.

Reputation goes before us. People could avoid or welcome us. It is important that we need to be consistently reminded that any word or action can be a stumbling block for others. We must be mindful that our desire to have a closer walk with Jesus each day is not practiced only during our quiet time, in church or in the company of fellow Christians. 24 hours, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds in each day is important for our Lord. He wants to be our Lord and Master every second of each day. One second of lapsed concentration can destroy 86,399 seconds of faithfulness.

A Christian reflects Jesus Christ.

Love the Lord your God, obey Him and be faithful to Him, and then you and your descendants will live long in the land that He promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. - Deuteronomy 30:20

Hard work with discipline is what most of us have been taught as the ingredients for success. If we add to it, God's love, obedience and faithfulness, we are assured not only success but everlasting peace and joy. 

To reach the destination, we need to take the first step forward. The beginning could be most difficult. Once we are on the way, the journey can be much easier. We need to take one step at a time and in no time we could accomplish half the journey and the end could be soon in sight. Rushing and actions done in haste will eventually go to waste.

The journey with Christ is the same. All we need is to take is one step at a time. Read and memorize one verse a day, seven in a week, thirty in a month and soon we will have 365 verses by the time we celebrate His birthday. Remember; do not let God down with one step forward and two steps back!

One small step of obedience is a giant step to blessing.

Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!" - John 20:28 

I empathized with Thomas. He earned the name of "doubting Thomas". He said that he would not believe that Jesus appeared to the other disciples until he had seen Jesus in person and touched His side. When Jesus appeared before Thomas, He told him to stop doubting and believe. Yes, at times we are not prepared to accept unless we see it with our eyes. Yet, we can be fooled and be deceived by magicians and con men. We could have been injured and had been weighed down by the wound in our lives. It is good to take some time in prayers and ask God to reveal the depth and scope of our wound. Revisiting the scene of our injury can be frightening but with Jesus by our side, He will help us to open our hearts to the truth once and for all.  

It is important to know that no matter what we have gone through; our God welcomes us home with opened arms with no questions asked. He will do His part as our Lord and our God. 

A child of God is always welcomed home.

He must increase but I must decrease. - John 3:30

John the Baptist knew that he was only a messenger for the God's purpose. It is not easy for anyone to take the back seat in any race and to allow another to chest the finishing tape. At times, it is rational thinking that we need to move aside for another. To build a good organisation, it is important for the current leaders do ensure continual renewal.

As we move on in time, inadvertently, with the fast changing world, we have to admit that the future belongs to our young. In the meantime, we should be mentors and help our young to understand the past and to prepare them better for tomorrow. Attitude towards this end must come from within, without any pretense, self interest and pride.

When we forget about ourselves, we do things others will remember

God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals that were with him in the ark. - Genesis 8:1

At times when the going get tough, we tend to resent and even question God for His intention of putting us through such a situation. The frustration at times can cause us to divert our attention and turn away from God. We may be attracted to short term gain that cannot be sustained.

In no circumstances, God do not care for us. In fact, He is always near and it is by our own default that we should experience any distance. By constant prayer and keeping regular quiet time with God's Words, we will know that God cares. If He can provide for the sparrows, how much more He would for those who love Him and do His will. Do not be despair. Trust and obey for there is no other way, to be happy with Jesus is to trust and obey.

To know that God sees us brings both conviction and comfort

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink ....... Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. - John 7:37 - 38

We all know that when hunger and thirst strike, we do need food and liquid. Our bodies are made to depend on air, food and water. Any deficiency of each of these would render the body to react poorly. On the other hand, too much impure food or liquid would equally damage the body.

Spiritually too, the dearth of holiness would grieve our heart and soul. We need to safeguard ourselves from allowing unwelcome spirit to fill the gaps that we unwittingly left them available to wrong desires. Remember that our Lord would send His Holy Spirit to replace His presence. Our heart can never be half filled or half empty. Jesus will provide His overflowing love that is sufficient to let us have life abundantly. 

Christ departed so that the Holy Spirit could be imparted.

Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. - Romans 5:20

The sunrise services that many churches organised today must be memorial encounter for the attendees. The hymns and messages helped us to actualise and participate in the atmosphere of the missing body of Christ and the actualization of knowledge that our Lord has risen from the tomb.

There are many things that are forbidden and yet we have a yearning for them. We say that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Today, with Jesus' resurrection, He gave unto us the victory over sins. We can have His wisdom and grace to be discerning over what we need from what we want.

With Christ, we are blessed and have the intimacy of an inward transformation of both our mind and soul. Jesus is alive. He is risen. He now lives within our hearts.

When Jesus is our Lord and Master, we can be more forbearing, patient, self-control and long-suffering.

Our sin is great - God's grace is greater.

If we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. - Romans 8:25

All of us has hope, dream and longing. We all wish for a better day. We anticipate and aspire to achieve the best. However, when we are able to expect the unexpected, we shall be better prepared to handle moments of despair, disbelief and pessimism.

Jesus promised by His death to give us a better life and have it more abundantly. We can fulfill this only when we have straightened our outlook, longing and dream. Jesus is capable of strengthening our faith and confidence on things we do not see. He said to those who were with Him that it is more blessed to those who do not see Him in person and yet believe.

Just like today, a day Jesus was lead into the tomb has no name. Would imagine that His disciples today were hopeless, despair, fear and maybe disbelieve with what had happened. This nameless day has turned out to be a victory for the world and God.

God took the worst deed of history and turned it into the greatest victory