St Andrew's Church, Brunei

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water.  2 Peter 3:3‭-‬5 NIV Have you ever forgotten something important like a birthday or anniversary? Perhaps an appointment? Or have you ever deliberately forgotten to invite someone to an event due to personal conflict or relational strain? Maybe you just happen to struggle with retaining information. This happens too.  In 2 Peter 3:1, the author told his reader that he wrote this letter as a reminder and as a stimulus that will incite in them the memory of God, Jesus and the Gospel. Why though? Because people forget! And this pattern of willful forgetfulness is found throughout the history of

I once heard a successful pastor’s testimony, where as she was growing up, she couldn’t see past how ugly she looked or how untalented she was. She lived believing those lies for so long that she couldn’t see herself as a righteous daughter of the Lord, so much so that she was living in self condemnation and identified herself as a person unworthy of God’s love. When we run away from His love, we often try by our own efforts to earn his love before we feel “safe” to return to Him again. Do you see yourself or others as unrighteous? Even if you don’t know how to judge or see for yourself, God knows how. The Holy Spirit not only convicts the world of sin, He also convicts us believers of our righteousness before God. If we live in condemnation and remain very self-conscious of our sins, we only allow ourselves to tune in to the voice of the Accuser (Revelation 12:10). We must also learn to position ourselves under the sound of the ruler of this world who has been judged through the cross

In today’s text, Peter is very near to his death but he was determined to remind the readers (and us) what we already know from the scriptures.  In verses 12-15, Peter uses the word remind or refresh three times and considering he was near death, this tells us that it is important to be reminded of the Godly values that we must adhere to. He is reminding them of the godly Christian character listed in verses 5-8 to strengthen our faith and pursue godliness, affection and love. Peter understood that we have the tendency to be complacent in our walk with God and we need regular reminders that we need to make every effort to increase our faith. Just think of about the last time you forgot something on your grocery list or forgot a task or a birthday. Our memory is usually not perfect. We forget things.  The story of the golden calf in Exodus 32:1-6 is one example of how we can quickly forget God’s commands and goodness. The Israelites has just seen numerous miracles including crossing the

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers[a] all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen. In this morning devotion I want to share about 3 ‘R’ which I have learned from 1 Peter 5:8 - 14; 1. Resist 2. Remember 3. Restore Resist : In verse 8 peter talks about what we should resist in our life. He encourages us to stay alert and resist our great enemy who is devil. Satan can dress himself up in many guises and disguises. He slithers into the lives of believers as the evil serpent, seducing those that are unprepared for his malicious ad

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or a thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household: and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, “if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner”. So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” This is a challenging scripture. Nobody wants to suffer pain or hardship. The thought of suffering a fiery ordeal (v12) would

4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude,  because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest  of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have  spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust,  drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not  join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to  give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.  6 For this is the reason the  gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. Why do many of those who are godly suffer? Examples include Jesus Himself, Job, Paul, Peter, and many others. Sometimes God allows suffering to occur to he

1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. With just these two verses, they do speak volumes to all believers of Christ, especially during this covid pandemic whereby people are affected mentally, physically and spiritually. These two verses relay to us the promise of God. When we trust in Him, we are like “Mount Zion which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” We have God’s protection all around us at all times. He surrounds us (His people) like the mountains surround Jerusalem and He will do so both now and forever!” Trust God – these two words are easier said than done. It is definitely easier to trust God when times are good with everything going smoothly and according to how you want or plan it to be. But when the bad times come and things feel uncertain, people tend to question God especially when help does not come fast enough. Ho

In this passage, Peter admonished wives to submit to their husbands, just like how he admonished us to submit to every human authority for the Lord’s sake (1 Peter 2:13) and for slaves to submit to their masters (1 Peter 2:18). In this specific case, the wives are married to unbelieving husbands, and Christian husbands to unbelieving wives. There are 3 things we can learn from this passage . 1. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 .  Our actions speak louder than words. We are always surrounded by unbelievers, our families, friends, colleagues, etc. Sometimes when we use words to try to reach out to them, our words can fall on deaf ears. However, our actions and behavior can serve as silent preaching. We can win their hearts with our actions, for Him.  2. 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 .  Our attitude is our best feature. We sometimes spend so much time and money on our outward appearance but forget about our spiritual appearance. It is fine to look good on the outside, but we need a spiritual makeover, the incorrupt

How do we spiritually thrive in the midst of suffering?  What are the thoughts that we should have, as we walk through a season of wide-spread despair and anxiety?  How do we fight this daily COVID-19 battle to be able to interpret life through a biblical lens? When suffering, hardship, or judgment comes, these questions will be a part of the dynamic in one way or another.  In other words, pain of any kind causes us to ask really important questions, and it tests what we really believe.    It shows us who we really are, it surfaces what we believe about God, for, suffering is hard, but it is not bad. Chapter three contains probably the most familiar verse in the book thanks to the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”: 22 T he steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness .  (Lamentations 3:22–23) Most people sing this song with a view toward a reflective gratitude for what God has done.  It is typically

Two things I like to draw your attention to.  The first thing is the call to love one another fervently with a pure heart. What does this mean? It is difficult to fully comprehend as we all are very limited in loving people. Yet it is clear what Peter is saying, he is pointing us to Jesus, who love fervently (to the point of death on the cross) and with pure heart (100% for us, no selfishness or ulterior motive). In Christ we don't just see it, we experience it ourselves.  The second thing is the reason why love is expected of us in spite of the fact it seems almost impossible for us to achieve.  The reason is simple, it is the seed of the Gospel (of Christ) that we 'live and abide'. I have always take for granted our rice's quality until a paddy farmer told me that there are many types of seed for padi. Some are superior breed and others are less. Not only does the superior breed gives better quality rice, it also produces larger quantity.  That is how seed works. Here

The New Testament teaches us that the ground of our right relationship with God is the finished work of Christ on our behalf, laid hold of by faith. We are not made right with God or kept right with God by our good conduct or good works. Nonetheless, the New Testament also teaches us that how we conduct ourselves is an important component of the Christian life. We are urged over and over again to ‘walk in a manner worthy of the Lord’ (Col 1:10). We are called to a distinctive way of living in the world; Peter says believers are to ‘ be holy in all your conduct’ (v.15), ‘conduct yourselves with fear’ (v.17), ‘love one another earnestly’ in ‘obedience to the truth’ (v.22). But even in his explicit attention to conduct, Peter consistently anchors his call for Christian conduct in theological truth. Specifically, he urges us in our conduct to carefully ponder, and then take our cues from, four preexisting, God-anchored realities. ‘ Grace that will be brought to you at the revelation

Do not grumble against one another  One month ago, the second wave of covid19 swept through our nation. We were put under a partial lockdown within 2 days for the first reported case. Even in such times of uncertainty and possibly high level of stress, James reminds us not to release our pressure unto those who are around us. He was writing in the context of being patient in the midst of suffering and he tells Christians not to grumble with one another. It is reported in other countries that during the COV-19 outbreak last year that this can lead to relational conflicts as the restrictions caused us to live closer together with some people and further apart from others. The social distancing measures could have the effect of isolating us from friends and other family members. Some may also be experiencing financial stress brought about by restrictions.  As Christians, we are called and taught to be endure pressure and to be patient with one another. Ephesians 4:2 tells us to walk in a

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:11-12 ESV   Have you ever said things that you should not have against a fellow believer? What was the outcome of your words? Did you feel better after speaking those words? In James 3:1-12, we read that the tongue, though small, has great power and we ought to discipline our tongues because of the evil that sprouts from our mouths. James recognised that much of the evil and sin in the human heart manifests in the words. Hence in chapter 4 verses 11 and 12, James returns to the theme of evil in the form of slandering. At first glance, it seemed that these verses were speaking about judging people but a careful look will tell us that