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Wait on the LORD

To Wait For The LORD: that is the constant posture of all the saints of God. 

Before Christ came, Israel was waiting for His appearing. Simeon and Anna (mentioned in Luke 1) were “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” They had grown grey in waiting, but still, they were among “them that looked/waited for redemption in Jerusalem.” The expression ‘waiting for the Lord’ aptly describes all the saints from righteous Abel down to faithful old Simeon.

It is the same for New Testament Christians. We also are, or should be, waiting for the Lord: “Looking/waiting for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” This is the Church’s glorious hope and we are still waiting for its blessed realization. In fact, even the glorified saints in heaven are waiting — “waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body,” at the return of our Lord.

 

To Wait For the LORD: that is a very blessed posture for all the saints of God.

eagle waitWaiting tries faith, and that is a good thing because faith grows by trial. Waiting exercises patience, and that is also a good thing, for patience is one of the choice gifts of God. Waiting endears the blessing when we finally get it. It is much more precious because we have waited for it.

In fact, God has said that those who wait on Him shall renew their strength, shall mount up with wings like eagles, shall run and not be weary, shall walk and not faint. 

 

WEI En Yi

To Be An Encourager

lift othersThere was a man in the New Testament whose name was Joses. Almost no one in the church today knows who Joses is. But actually, we do know Joses. We know him by his alias —- Barnabas! Barnabas is a nickname given to Joses by the apostles. 

The meaning of Barnabas is ‘son of encouragement.’ This means that ‘encouragement’ is the parent of Joses. This means that encouragement is the hallmark of this man. If you squeeze him, or just prick him, encouragement flows out!

Let us see 4 characteristics of Barnabas today, as they are distinctive features of what an encourager is like.

 

(A)        Generous.

And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:36-37)

This is the first time we are introduced to him in the Scriptures, and the first picture given to us is that he is a generous person. He is rich and possesses possessions, but his possessions did not possess him. His hands are opened and stretched out, giving to those in need. To encourage, we need to be generous — with our possessions, and with our time.

 

(B) Courageous

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9:27)

Many were afraid of Paul then. They were not convinced that he has truly been converted. Barnabas was convinced, and he was prepared to stick his neck out for Paul. He has the courage to differ from the majority. To encourage, we need courage at times.

 

(C) Willingness

Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all that with the purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. (Acts 11:22,23)

Here was a man prepared to travel the distance, to brave the danger, to undergo the inconvenience, in order to be at Antioch, to see and to encourage. He was willing to do this because that is what an encourager will do. To encourage, we must be willing to be troubled.

 

(D) Selfless

Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.  (Acts 11:25-26)

He knew that Paul is the best person for the church at Antioch. As such, we see once more that he is prepared to travel the distance to look for Paul and bring him to Antioch, Before long, Paul would be more well-known than Barnabas, but it does not matter to him. What is of the greatest concern is the spiritual well-being of the saints. He is selfless, like his Lord. To encourage, selflessness must be cultivated continuously.

Barnabas is held up in Scripture for our imitation. We may not be able to preach like Paul, but we can all seek to be an encourager like Barnabas. May God fill this church with many Barnabas!!

 

WEI En Yi

Anger 101

Angry ChildIn the Bible, we read that God was angry (Joshua 7:1 — due to Achan’s sin). Yet “slow to anger” (Psalm 103:8) was one of His glories. We know that Moses, a godly man, was angry (Exodus 32:19 – the incident of the Golden Calf) and Saul, an ungodly man, was angry (1 Samuel 20:30 – angry that Jonathan sided with David). In Revelation 12:12, we learn that the devil was angry. Ephesians 4:26 calls Christians to be angry and sin not, while Ephesians 4:31 exhorts Christians to put away wrath and anger. So what is anger? Is it ok or not ok to be angry? Should we work towards being someone with no anger?

“I’m against that!” These three words sum up what anger is. You encounter something, you assess it as wrong, you deem it as important to you and hence you move to oppose it, whether to right it or remove it. Put in this way, you will see that anger is rightly called “the moral emotion”. In anger, we make a moral judgment.

Let’s explore this using the following two scenarios:

[A] A single mother at the shopping centre with her 3-years-old boy. The boy wanted a candy bar, she said ‘No’ and he threw a tantrum. She slapped him, shouted at him and threatened to leave him!

By throwing a tantrum, that boy showed his anger. What happened? He wanted something but was denied. He assessed it as wrong — How can you say ‘No’ to such an important person as I? Hence, he created a scene with the goal of correcting the perceived wrong! By shouting, slapping and threatening, the mother expressed her anger. Maybe she felt burdened by him. Maybe she wanted a peaceful afternoon. Maybe she wanted to grab what she needed and get out of that place quick, without meeting anyone familiar. That’s all gone now, with his tantrum! He has embarrassed her once more! That’s wrong, that’s so unfair and so she exploded!!

 

[B] You were on your way to a holiday resort. You can’t wait to get there. But you were stuck in this traffic jam for the last 2 hours! You breathed hard, deep. You find yourself repeating curse words (under your breath) you’ve not used for a long time. 

Why were you angry? The holiday was crucial to your emotional well-being, but the jam was stopping you from your well-deserved break! Why can’t the government solve the traffic woes? Why can’t drivers drive more carefully and not cause accidents? Don’t the rest of the drivers know that it’s ME going for a break and that they should just give way to this VVIP?

 Now, as you looked out of your window, you saw young children, some without hands and some without legs, begging. Your taxi driver told you that they were actually controlled by a syndicate, that they were kidnapped, had their limbs chopped off so that they will look more pitiful as they begged. You exclaimed, “How terrible! The people behind this thing ought to be shot!”

In both instances, you were angry, you were saying, “I’m against that!” But in the 1st case, it was “perceived unfairness to yourself” that is in focus while in the 2nd case, it was “real injustice to others”. Is there any difference between these two instances of anger? In the second instance, was it better to have anger or no anger (indifferent)? Or if you have expressed pleasure at their misery?

Review the two scenarios above as well as the various passages quoted in the 1st paragraph. In every case, we encounter the same process: (a) something is encountered, (b) a negative assessment (it is wrong!) is made, (c) a personal evaluation (it is important to me!) is carried out, and (d) an action is taken. Note that (b), (c) and (d) are all moral in nature! In short, your anger reveals your moral value and it tells you who your real master is!!

Think of the anger of the devil, Saul, that single mother and her boy as well as the stuck-in-traffic-jam-Me. Imagine if you were indifferent to the terrible wrong done to those handicapped beggars. What moral values do they show? Who is the real master? Now think of God’s anger and Moses’ anger. They announce what is important to God and Moses. What do they announce?

You and I – we have all been angry, maybe even now! The more something matters to us, the more we care, the more important it is, the more we value it, then the more intense will our anger be! So what are you angry about?  What does your anger or non-anger announce about you? Your moral values? Your real master? 

My dear friends, in dealing with anger, let’s start with ourselves, with our own heart. What’s there?

 

Wei En Yi