Category: Scripture Sunday

Revelation 21:4 NKJV

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

A few days ago, a close friend of mine lost his grandpa and his passing has been particularly difficult since it happened so suddenly. I also lost my grandpa back in December and it hurts realizing that he never saw me in-person, all grown-up. To help my friend, I decided to write an open letter to him and offer my condolences.

Dearest friend,

If you’re reading this just know that those who have accepted Jesus into their hearts will go to heaven, and receive a new life and new body as promised by God in Revelation. If you were to see your grandpa in his renewed life, he might appear as a young man in the flower of his youth; robust and full of vigor free from the shackles of his old body, which was a part of the fallen realm, our world.

You’re going to feel pain more acutely now and his passing might cause you to reprioritize your values and the things that are truly important. I’ve realized that small everyday moments with my parents have become more valuable now and I spend more time with them. I’ve also accepted sacrificing a few days of work and choosing instead to spend all day with my parents.

I try not to cry about the loss of my grandpa mainly for my grandma’s sake. Although she is in Beijing and won’t see my tears I still try to be strong for her, in case I visit her I’ll be prepared and have control over my emotions.

When I called my grandma after I found out about my grandpa’s passing, she said, “Please don’t cry or I’ll cry even more, a good child shouldn’t cry.” This was her way of saying, “I don’t want you to suffer and feel this type of pain.”

Likewise, stay strong for your grandma and mom because they will need your love more than ever now.

If your grandpa believed in Jesus, take comfort in knowing that he will be there waiting for you. I hope you don’t mind me saying this, I know you struggle with your faith but once you are baptized, both physically and spiritually, you will no longer fear permanently dying.

A baptism is more than just a pastor dunking you underwater; the spiritual side of it occurs when you feel Jesus’ presence washing your sins away and that might come after you’re physically baptized.

My heart reaches out to you and this loss is a mutual feeling and I will pray for your family. Mourning alone makes life more difficult so don’t be shy in reaching out to family and close friends. Your grandpa would want you to continue living as normal and celebrate his life by cherishing all the memories you’ve made together.

Love is truly a powerful thing and you’ll realize how much stronger you’ll be after the initial stages of mourning end, especially with family and friends supporting each other.

Honor your grandpa and spend time with family.

Your loving friend,

Lena

Psalm 41:1-3 King James Version (KJV)
¹ Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
² The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
³ The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

Psalm 41:1-3 describes the physical and spiritual sickness that King David suffered from at some point during his life.

Those who are kind, generous, and thoughtful towards the poor lead a righteous life. The word, poor has a greater significant meaning in this instance since it expands beyond poverty and includes those who are spiritually downtrodden or helpless.

During times of need, turn to the Lord and ask for strength. Good works can only get you so far in your physical life on earth, but it has its limits since certain things like disease or disasters are often beyond our control.

Every relationship must be nurtured including that between you and the Lord.

Matthew 28:6 King James Version (KJV)
⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

It’s Resurrection Sunday and one of the most joyful Christian holidays. God raised Jesus from the dead after three days and it proved to believers that life continued after your earthly body has died and proof of God’s love for humanity when He sent his only son to die.

Jesus was so passionate about liberating and protecting the poor and disenfranchised that He took on all our hatred and sins, but loved us with all His heart and refused to return that hate.

Imagine if you had a best friend who loved you unconditionally and constantly forgave your shortcomings, and would even sacrifice himself to fight your enemies. But also imagine you could care less about his gift of sacrifice and instead choose to care about earthly desires. Your best friend continually gives you gifts and support but you casually brush them off and only come to him when you need something. This sounds like a one-sided relationship doesn’t it?

Many of us treat Jesus in a similar manner. Resurrection Sunday also reminds us to pray and cultivate our relationship with Jesus and to be grateful for washing our sins away. It’s also a reminder to be faithful to Jesus’ teachings and practice nonviolent principles every day.

But no matter how far you stray from Jesus He will always be there for you and welcome you back into His loving arms.

James 4:1-4 King James Version (KJV)
4 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Today’s Scripture Sunday focuses on why we pray and things we should avoid asking God. If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, I’ve created a series of posts called Scripture Sundays in which I focus on strengthening my faith and inspiring my fellow Christian readers.

What is the meaning behind James 4:1-4? How do we apply it?

Last Sunday I posted about the Lord’s Prayer which tells us the do’s and don’ts of praying. James 4:1-4 adds a few more guidelines.

In short, we are told not to pray for self-centered reasons like winning wars, lusting after someone, or other worldly desires of the flesh.

Praying for these worldly desires can lead to temptation and sin.

Matthew 6:5-15
⁵ “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ⁶ But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ⁷And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
⁸ “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. ⁹ In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
¹³ And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Lord’s Prayer is how Jesus taught us to pray. We say this prayer only in privacy, usually in our bedroom or when we’re alone.

This is also a good opportunity to ask for forgiveness, especially if you have a secret you want to get off your chest.

The Lord’s Prayer is by no means the only way to pray but one of many.

Ephesians 6:10-18 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Whole Armor of God
¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 

Continue reading The Armor of God

1 John 4:18 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁸ There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The concept of love is often confused with fear. If you find yourself in a relationship where there’s more heartache, you’re not in love but in fear.

Perfect love means you let God’s love take away fear. Those who fear God don’t have a growing relationship with Him, even for those who are already Christians.
Just like any other personal relationship, believers should grow with God. A true Christian understands that those who love Jesus shouldn’t live in fear of going to hell for the sins they’ve committed, but instead ask for God’s forgiveness.

Jesus taught his followers to forgive because he recognized that all humans are born flawed.

Here’s why you should let go of fear; it clouds your judgement and it drives you to constantly worry about things out of your control.

Many people fear the future because they feel uncertain about the next step in life.

Learn to let that fear go.

Although it’ll be difficult, you must realize that fearing the outcomes of things like an interview or test scores isn’t going to change anything for the better.

If the uncertainty you feel is beyond your control, it’s time to turn to Jesus and ask him for help.

When fear fills our heart, love can’t enter.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. 

Last week, I posted about being thankful to God and appreciating what we have. For this Scripture Sunday, I felt it appropriate to do another post giving thanks to God since my first public speaking engagement was a success.

In this passage from Thessalonians, it says to “pray at all times.” Does this mean we should literally pray every single minute? Of course not, but what it does say is that prayer should be frequent and persistent.

God wants us to remind us of His promises to humanity and in exchange, we give thanks in the form of prayers.

Wealth and honor come from you … We give you thanks, and praise your glorious name … Everything comes from you” (1 Chronicles 29:12-14, NIV).

In the spirit of my recent public speaking success, I’m reminded to always give thanks to God for making it happen.

Wealth, fame, respect from society, can be addicting because humans never feel they have enough. In economics, we call this phenomenon, scarcity, which can lead to greed.

Greed is inherent in every human but out of moral obligation, we learn to curb most of our animalistic impulses. In order to combat against greed, we praise God for the material and spiritual things He has given to us.

Make room in your heart to be spiritually satisfied because materialism is only temporary and ceases to exist when you run out of money.

Psalm 56

¹ Be merciful to me, my God,
    for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
    all day long they press their attack.
² My adversaries pursue me all day long;
    in their pride many are attacking me.
³ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
⁴     In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?
⁵ All day long they twist my words;
    all their schemes are for my ruin.
⁶ They conspire, they lurk,
    they watch my steps,
    hoping to take my life.
⁷ Because of their wickedness do not^[c] let them escape;
    in your anger, God, bring the nations down.
⁸ Record my misery;
    list my tears on your scroll^[d]—
    are they not in your record?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    when I call for help.
    By this I will know that God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise—
¹¹ in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can man do to me?
¹² I am under vows to you, my God;
    I will present my thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered me from death
    and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Continue reading Scripture Sunday: Trust God When Enemies Attack