"I Am Thirsty"

“I Am Thirsty”

A short study of Jesus’ humanity

Khen Lim | March 22 2020

Image source: nymag.com

Introduction

From what we can tell scripturally, Jesus was put to the cross at 9:00am. There, under the scorching sunlight, He endured the first six hours. Then darkness came and stayed for three hours. At the end of it, on the ninth hour, He cried out, “Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?” Translated, Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mt 27:45-46)

At the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, showed the world a powerful and evocative sense of humanity. Jesus’ humanness was, in fact, far more so than many of us could display in all our lives. The first three statements He made were focused on people other than Himself. He spoke about His enemies, the two thieves next to Him and also to His earthly mother, Mary, and His disciple, John.

But it was ultimately His final three statements that underscored Jesus’ humanity. In centring on Himself, His last words were about His body, His soul and then His spirit. In speaking of His body, Jesus simply said, “I thirst” (Jn 19:28) although in original Greek, it was only a single four-letter word (more of that later). 

It is this part that we will be concentrating on in this article. When He spoke about His soul, Jesus said, “It is finished” (v.30; Isa 53:10) and then when it came to His Spirit, His last words were, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit” (Lk 23:46) and with that, He was taken up.

When the Pulpit is Powerless (Mt 7:28-29)

When the Pulpit is Powerless

Based on Matthew 7:28-29 | September 29 2019

Khen Lim

Image source: embracingjesus.blogspot.com

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, for He taught with real authority — quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” (Mt 7:28-29, NLT)

Teaching is something I have been doing for more than three decades now. It all began when I was a Journalism student in college and I tutored students from my same year on a voluntary (unpaid) basis at my own rented flat. Not long thereafter, I joined a commercial music school and taught piano to students from age 8 to 70. That went on for as long as I was in college as a means of financially supporting myself.

Understanding the Golden Rule

Understanding the Golden Rule

Based on Matthew 7:12

Khen Lim | August 25 2019

Introduction

The very verse that is central to the title of this article is none other than the Gospel According to Matthew 7:12 in the New Testament. As many will know, it is an integral part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and is a very well-known verse that goes by the name, the ‘Golden Rule.’

As for the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:12 is the fitting summation. Let’s take a look at the verse here:

“Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” (Mt 7:12, NLT)

Not unpredictably, there are a few ways to look at this verse. In some translations, it seems to be independent of others, standing on its own and a self-sustaining way. In some others, it appears to be an extension to the preceding five verses that centre on how to pray effectively (vv.7-11). 

All You Need to Know About Biblical Fasting (Mt 6:16-18)

All You Need to Know About Biblical Fasting

Based on Matthew 6:16-18

Khen Lim

Source: Grammy.com

During the Eighties, American songwriter, singer and fellow Christian, Dolly Rebecca Parton (b.1946) was interviewed by the People magazine and was asked, “Where do you get such a strong character?” That’s when Dolly recounted how faith was central to her entire family, beginning with her grandfather who was a preacher.

“I quote the Bible real good!” she answered.

Undaunted by such an answer, the interviewer then asked, “What about psychiatry?”

“So many people find the need to get counselling especially in the stresses of show business.”

“No,” Dolly replied, “I don’t see a psychiatrist. I fast instead.”

Loving as God Loves

Loving as God Loves

Based on Matthew 5:43-48

June 23 2019

Khen Lim

Source: olsterwijk-marketgarden.com

The time was September 1944. The place was Arnhem, Holland. Allied airborne forces were looking to capture a very important bridge here in what was an error-filled Operation Market Garden. This is the story of a remarkable man, Major Robert Cain (1909-1974) who did the unthinkable in what was the most improbable of escapes, turning it into the unlikeliest of triumphs.

The Murderous Heart

The murderous heart

Murder is not much an action but our attitude (based on Matthew 5:21-22)

May 19 2019

Image source: Meaww

Introduction

On May 9 this year, 3-year-old Zoey Pereira died a suffering death, incinerated in her father’s 2008 Audi A6 car, strapped to a baby seat in Queens, New York City. She was found in the locked car that was set ablaze covered in gasoline. In other words, she was burned alive. She was murdered.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness

Based on Matthew 5:10

Khen Lim

Image courtesy of doxologia.ro

Introduction

Whenever we speak of persecution of Christians, we automatically look toward our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East or in many parts of the African sub-continent whose sufferings are well documented for years. To stretch a little further, we’ll have to include Pakistan as well and in recent news, with Xi Jinping installed as China’s new eternal emperor – no term limitations, in other words – Chinese Christians are under a new wave of persecution that is far worse than even the days of Mao.

Blessed Are Those Who are Meek

Blessed Are Those Who are Meek

Based on Matthew 5:5

Image source: breadforbeggars.com

In a devotional Bible lesson,¹ some kids were asked why God blesses those who are meek and we have some very interesting answers that are worth sharing here.

Six-year-old T.J. puts it nicely, “If you are really good and you don’t brag, you will get better stuff.”

Taylor who is four years older, says, “Meek means to be disappointed,” but he continues, “A good example is when you get to a championship game and lose. That’s when you are meek.” It’s easy to see how so many people confuse the word ‘meek’ with something else but we’ll get to that later.

Taylor’s peer, Sarah says, “Happy are those who are humble before God. The meek think of God more than they think of themselves.” Bingo.

The More Things Change, the More We Realise God Doesn't (Part 2 of 2)

The More Things Change, the More We Realise God Doesn’t (Part 2 of 2)

The Christian strategy against liberalism, political correctness and every change that is destroying the world

Khen Lim

Image source: IFL Science

No bright horizons

The world isn’t just an unhappy place but it is also doomed for destruction. Unless something miraculous happens that would turn it around, we have no way out. And even as we lay the blame squarely at the feet of liberals and corrupt politicians, perhaps we may be partly held accountable too because all these decades, many of us had placed so much importance on prosperity and growth that we ourselves ignored the changes that have shifted our social and cultural perceptions. Some of us might have thought they were harmless. Some might have even believed that these changes would never last.

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.

Living Up to God's Gift

Living Up to God's Gift

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10)

Khen Lim




Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson, originally published February 26 1986 (Image source: gocomics.com)

In the Parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30), Jesus relates how a master had planned a journey that would take him away for a very long time but before he set about to depart, he called upon three able servants and entrusted them with a fairly substantial amount of money in a hope that they would do something positive with it. This would be when he return in the future asking for an account from each of them.

How Did We Come To This? (Part Two/Final)

The grim reality of our unstoppable immorality

Khen Lim




Image source: advindicate.com

Unchangeable and permanently irreversible?

This is the kind of hope that the world can no longer depend on. Immorality has virtually come to stay. In the twenty-four fairly detailed areas we have described, the reader may begin to understand the depth of problem we are under throughout the world but these only scratch the surface. We certainly have not talked about many of the other examples of serious immorality including the following:

How Did We Come to This? (Part One)

The grim reality of our unstoppable immorality

Khen Lim




Image source: metal-archives.com

Introduction

Look at the world around us today. The eternal optimist will say it’s a great world out there. No conservative would ever be this optimistic. Only a liberal would believe that the world is changing for the better, that the people want equality, affirmative action, minority rights, free education and all sorts of handouts by the government and that they have the right to insist that the wealthy pay for their daily needs.

Gone is the world in which our parents remind us that success comes to those who work hard at their goals. Gone is the world where if you’re good at something, you can be any race, creed or colour because people will notice your skills and recognise the real value of your talents. Gone is the world in which honesty is cherished and immorality is not tolerated at all levels of government.

What we have left today is worse than a half-eaten plate of stale dog chow. We have an incredibly corrupted world filled everywhere with so much immorality that it’s a real worry trying to hand this world over to our children to inherit. There is so much evil happening literally around us that it’s difficult to know which target to aim at first and perhaps the hardest thing to swallow is that our governments are not in a hurry to do anything concrete in protecting their people from it.

In this in-depth article, we look at immorality and determine what it is that churches can do for their flock but before that, we have handpicked twenty-four areas to see how far we have turned away from God and the values He commanded us to embrace. Each of these areas offers us a cursory glimpse as to how much society has brazenly sinned against God and we try to offer some real-world examples for the reader to take note of.

Note: If you want to get on with the article and skip these details, wait for Part Two, which will be published next week and then head on to the chapter titled The Thessalonian Lesson.

The Parable of the Sower and the Soils

A Reflection of Matthew 13:23

By Khen Lim




Image source: termlifeinsurance.org

Lent has always been known as a dusty and pallid interlude in the period from Epiphany to Easter. It’s what some would call the ‘season of dirt.’ As of this time of writing, we’re nowhere near Lent but I remind myself that any time is still a good time to reflect on one of the most engaging of Jesus’ many celebrated parables. For here is a story that, whatever else it may be to others, it is about dirt. It is of no surprise that Jesus would once again be dealing with… dirt. God, it seems, has chosen to adopt a constant agrarian approach in many of the narratives in the Bible as evidenced from the time He “planted a garden in Eden, in the east.”

What is the Real Church of Christ?

By Khen Lim




Image source: berlinheightschurch.com

In the very near future, I will personally experience something that I have never had the chance before. I will be able to hear at least one child call me ‘Daddy’ for the very first time and it will be positively spine-tingling.

I’d wonder what would make her call me ‘Daddy.’ How would she know to call me that? What ‘clicked’ inside her to say that? Did God plant a seed inside her so that I can rejoice in what I hear?

When Jesus asked the Apostles, “Who do you say that I am?” the same sensation could also be up for grabs but before that, He posed a slightly different question:

“Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

And the Apostles replied, saying that He could be John the Baptist or Elijah or even Jeremiah or some other prophet. As we’d come to expect, very few Jews actually had sufficient clarity about who Jesus was. But when He asked that question, the impact was unimaginable, spell-binding and truly life-changing:

“…Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’”

Is There Value in the Sabbath?

An overview of the Fourth Commandment

By Khen Lim



Image Source: raykliu.wordpress.com

When Sabbath is the topic, it’s either going to be nothing to talk or too much to cover. On the one end, people maintain that Sabbath is Sabbath. There is nothing to read into it. It’s an old routine and it doesn’t mean much today. It’s merely a word but it’s not practical for today’s lifestyle. On the other end, people are saying that Sabbath defines who we are and the more we lose touch of it, the more we fail to understand its purpose in our lives.

So who is right and who is wrong? Or is it a matter of how one sees things in life? Maybe it’s a case of where one’s preferences lie in terms of what we gain out of life. To properly understand the Sabbath is to go beyond just skimming the surface. The Old Testament alone has enough to bury us in a pile and adding the New Testament reveals how much there is that we need to dig into.

There is Honour in God's Praiseworthy Name

A Perspective of the Third Commandment

By Khen Lim



Image Source: mamamia.com.au

When the disciples returned home, Mary remained behind, standing outside and weeping gently but quietly while she bent low to peer into Jesus’ emptied tomb. She saw nothing but two angels, seated where Jesus’ head and feet would have been had His body been there.

Notes to Understand the Parable of the Sower

By Khen Lim

This article is the sequel to the one entitled, Is It About the Soil or the Sower? published on the same date. It seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the Parable of the Sower.



Image Source: beliefnet.com

Is It About the Soil or the Sower?

By Khen Lim



Image Source: hayespress.org

Parables are a key feature in the Gospels and for good reason. They serve up moral or spiritual lessons. They are instructive and they are principled about the life that Christ wishes us to lead. The word parable itself has Greek origins - παραβολή – or parabolē (Hebrew מָשָׁל mashal) – is, simply put, an illustration or an allegory. The Gnostic standpoint is such that parables have their true meanings obscured so that only Jesus’ circle of disciples could understand.

God's More Than a Coke Machine

“One of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’”

Image Source: chicagovendingsolutions.com

By Michael Marsh

“As I recall my own life of prayer, prayers I have heard and conversations I’ve had about prayer, I can’t help but wonder if the coke machine isn’t our primary teacher of prayer. Think about it. We put in the correct change, make our selection, and get what we want.

“For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

So we offer the coins of our wants and needs, our beliefs, and our good behaviour. We tell God what we want and expect to get what we asked for.