To Be in Christ’s Kingdom, You Must Be Changed

To Be in Christ’s Kingdom, You Must Be Changed

Based on 2 Corinthians 5:17

Khen Lim

Image source: suzannegiesmannblog2.blogspot.com

Introduction

Throughout our lives, we talk a lot about change. Nobody I know has never vowed to change for the better. Everyone does at some point in his life to improve in one way or another. 

Athletes promise change so that they can perform more consistently at an even higher level. Manufacturers talk about change where they can offer products that are more efficient or reliable. Or more profitably. People in general immerse themselves in change that makes them less fallible or vulnerable.

Christians, too, talk about change. Because we are, like everyone else, integral to change being an ongoing part of our life and faith. We are not unlike others in the sense things are in an ever-constant flux, persistently reinventing in order that we meet our life’s changing demands. 

Schedules change. Plans change. And sometimes, even the people in our lives change. And so essentially, the more things stay the same, the more they actually change. Change is the only thing that is constant. It’s our new norm.

Near-Death Teaches Us Valuable Lessons

Near-Death Teaches Us Valuable Lessons

Khen Lim



Image source: Shutterstock

Even before my wife and I were married, we made the decision to live with my aged parents instead of finding our own home. With my elder brother living with his own family and working abroad, there was little chance of him being able to help in any real way. The best we could expect from him was a once-a-year visit, which for all intents and purposes, wouldn’t make much difference. 

My mother passed away in October 2015 and would have painfully missed the birth of my twin girls, which was a mere week later. By all accounts, Heather and Bridget were supposed to be born the day after she died in the same hospital and with that in mind, she fell short by a mere fifteen hours.

After my mother’s passing, my father’s health steadily declined. A year before she was diagnosed with duodenal cancer, he was pulled up for an abnormally high level of platelets in his blood. On further investigation, it was discovered with a persistent case of low haemoglobin count. 

Eventually then came the shocking news that he also had Stage III kidney failure. Apart from all of this, his heart was weak and his longstanding fight with diabetes and enlarged prostate all added up to more than any family could handle in addition to my mother’s cancer.

To Be A Living Stone for Christ

The same Jesus whom others have seen as a stumbling rock was actually a precious stone. The foundation is the most important part of any building of which is the chief cornerstone – Jesus.

Image Source: legendsofamerica.com

By Alan Smith

Back in the days when the Old West was being settled, there were a lot of pioneers who made their way over the Oregon Trail. When they got to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, they found a stream a little too wide to cross in one step. So they ‘two-stepped’ across by using an ugly lump sticking up out of the water in the middle of the stream.

The Bridge Builder

Image Source: danrmorris.wordpress.com

Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA in 1860, Will Allen Dromgoole was a prolific author, writing not only novels and plays but also more than 8,000 poems. She was the writer behind the bestseller, ‘The Island of the Beautiful’ released 1911.

‘The Bridge Builder’ first appeared in 1900 allegedly in a book entitled, ‘A Builder.’ It was later a feature of another book called, ‘Father – An Anthology of Verse’ published by EP Dutton & Company in 1931. The poem is often reprinted owing to its popularity but it is in the religious context that it is frequently quoted.

When the End is Near, We Put Plans into Gear

By Khen Lim

Image Source: kentucky.com

Here’s a story for you: A few years ago, this person was asked by church members to visit a woman they know who was dying of cancer at a hospital. Not sure of her spiritual condition, he went and was greeted warmly by her family who assumed he was a doctor. But on realising he was there to talk about spiritual matters, the atmosphere turned. Then he left and said he would return.

Movie Review - God's Not Dead

By Khen Lim

Image source: Pure Flix

For Christians, it’s hard not to get excited with such a movie title. For many of us, this movie served up great opportunities to spread the Word to non-believers who are willing to be objective or open-minded but it seems that there have been reviews that slated the movie for various reasons but principally, they levelled on the movie’s weak arguments against atheism. There are too many and too complex issues brought up that I would raise here but suffice to say, all of them deserve some form of response here.

Hope for the Hurting

Standing fast in the true grace of God

Khen Lim

Source: prayer-coach.com

While we all have different personalities and characters, the one thing that draws us together is how we tend to relate to other people. The fact is that for most of us, we usually remember people’s wrongs and forget all too easily the good they have done. 

It doesn’t matter that they may have made amends and change because the bad things usually stick long enough for us to judge them in a less favoured light. If we look at some of the Bible characters, we can see clearly what our shortcomings are.