Author: Hans Sangtoki

Bible Reading: Psalm 73

“I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand” (Psalm 73:22-23)

When we introspect ourselves, who are we, Christ’s followers, compared to those in the world? What makes us different from those around us who do not profess Christ? It is a stark question to ask because many are unrepentant around us. We interact with worldly people daily. What differentiates them and us? 

Asaph sings in Psalm 73 with profound truth about this matter. On two ends of the extreme, we easily consider worldly people either, no different to us, befriending them without thinking twice, or strangers who should not be associated with. If we only look at the similarities and differences on the outside, we will leave much room for Satan to deceive us. 

The reality is, in person and nature, we are the same as the world. Woe to the arrogant who see themselves more holy, sanctified, and dignified than those of the world. Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”. 

What does that mean? Romans 1:18 reveals how the wrath of God is awaiting all sinners who have suppressed the truth of God. Not only that, Romans 1:28 says, “God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”. 

These statements are not only true for worldly people; they are true of us, Christians. We are all sinners. We all suppressed God’s truth. We all deserve God’s wrath, and we all have gone astray, turned our own way, and God in His wrath has left us to do the evil we desired.  

Asaph said, “Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin” (Psalm 73:18). See the wrath of God and the extent of sin there is in you and me. There is nothing inherent in you or me that makes us better than the world. What then makes us different as Christians? 

Asaph realises his state when he says, “I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.” Yet, the one thing that he had that separated him from the world was God himself. What makes us different from the world? It is only God’s grace that enables us to be loved by God and have a relationship with Him. 

What makes us different is this: God is continually with us. He holds our right hand. He guides us and gives us counsel. He will bring us into His eternal glory in the future. He is our strength and portion even when we fail and falter. He is our refuge. 

See that in all these things, God is the active one. We do not do anything. God actively chose to love us and guide our life. He chose to be faithful to us. He chose to prepare for us an eternal home. He chose to be our strength and portion. He decided to be a refuge for us. We did nothing. The one thing that differentiates us is God’s grace. 

If we can grasp this, our hearts should be humbled and brought low. Trust in God in your heart. Know that you are nothing, yet God decided to love you. Ask God for a sincere heart that can say, “whom have I in heaven but you? and there is nothing on earth that I desire but you” (Psalm 73:25). Only God can reveal these things about Himself to us. Ask that we may understand and our eyes are opened. 

Lord, please let me get to know You. Let me really see who You are and who I am. Create in me a humble heart. Shape me and mould me into what You want me to be. Show me Your glory, and do not pass me by. Let me grow in faith and truly get to know You. I also pray for my generation that You may reveal Yourself to those who are Your children. Thank You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Philippians 1:19-26

“As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:20-21)

Why do you get up each morning? Have you ever stopped and thought about the real reason you should get out of bed and go about your daily activities? Or, do you only get up because you have to and would rather not if you did not have to? 

For Paul, He had one thing that he desired, that Christ would be honoured through him whether he lived or died. Paul knew he was a child of God, and he wanted to please God with his whole existence. Paul also knew his weaknesses. He knew he was a horrid sinner, but by the grace of God, he had been rescued from the destruction of his sin. He knew by his own strength he could not honour God. And so, he put his trust in God who would hold him and help him live a life that now honoured God in all that he did. 

Because Paul’s existence had one purpose – to honour God in everything – Paul resolved that his life on earth meant service to Christ. Paul says to live is to serve Christ in fruitful labour. Paul actually said he desired to be with God in heaven (i.e. to die and finish the race on earth) more than he did being on earth. To serve Christ is hard. At the time of writing Philippians, Paul was imprisoned because of his ministry, and we can just imagine the kinds of struggle Paul and the early church had to go through. 

However, despite the struggle, Paul looked towards the example of Christ. Christ left his throne of Glory out of love to become the suffering servant here on earth who bore the weight and punishment of all our sin. Such profound truth we cannot truly grasp. However, Paul resolved in following Christ’s footsteps. It was not easy. Paul even said, “I am hard pressed between the two [ie. living for Christ or returning to Christ].” Yet, Paul returns again to his purpose. He desires to honour Christ. And so, he decides to stay to serve the church that they may continue to grow in faith and joy and that they “may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus”. 

Paul ultimately decided to obey Christ. Just as Christ obeyed the Father and humbled himself to the point of death on a cross for our sins, Paul gave up his desire for comfort and peace with God in heaven, knowing there was a time coming for that. Paul lay down his life, every day and second of it, to serve Christ by serving the church with God’s Word for the progress and joy of their faith. 

So let me ask you again. Why do you wake up each morning? To what end do you live? If you give your days in obedience to Christ, serving Him wherever He takes you, death shall be the sweetest gain and the fulfilment of your hope. You will be able to hear God’s Words, “good and faithful servant”, and you will enter into eternal communion with the one You loved. However, if you give your days to anything else, what would death mean to you? 

Pray and resolve with Paul, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). 

Lord, thank You for each new morning and the life You still give to me. Take it all and use every part of it to serve You. Teach me to obey You and follow Christ, who has first loved me. Show me where You want me to serve You, and may my life exist only to fulfil that calling alone. I surrender all my hopes and desires into Your hands. May You be my strength, joy, and source of eternal contentment as I live out this life on earth. Thank You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might…For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10 & 12)

The Christian life is spiritual warfare. Satan is not happy when God is glorified. Though he cannot take away our salvation, he can and will meddle with God’s plans on earth so that God’s name is shamed amongst people on earth. Do not think that Satan is some scary-looking spirit out there somewhere waiting to jump-scare us. Even though he can be, those devils are stupid. The intelligent devils know what they are up against. They are up against Christians doing God’s will, who they need to defeat. 

We must be alert and aware of where Satan attacks. First, He will fish at our sins and failures. He will tell us how sinful we are, how unworthy and incapable we are at being followers of Christ. He will tempt us to give it up with the reason that we are sinful anyway and there are better people who are worthy to serve God. These lies are subtle, and little do we realise how they whir in our heads so very often. 

Satan will also attempt to destroy unity in the church. Satan knows that God’s kingdom advances through God’s people. If he could break the unity within God’s people, he will succeed in hindering God’s work. Satan does this by reminding Christians of their selfish desires. He will take little irrelevant issues and flare them up such that Christians quarrel, hate, and foster sin. He will encourage Christians to look down on one another, look into the pain that they experience, and in all, succeed in putting God’s work away from the Christian’s mind. 

How are we to respond to the devil’s schemes? Paul says we must be strong in the Lord. We are not to be strong in ourselves. In the Lord means a close relationship with Him and total trust and surrender to walk with Him. Using battle imagery, Paul exhorts, “stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness”. God’s truth and righteousness is our stronghold. How often do we equip ourselves again with God’s Word and promises? We need it to stand. 

Paul then goes on to say we need the “shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” Where does faith come from apart from the Word of God?

How about the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit? We can only be assured of our salvation if we look into the promises of God in the Bible. And, the sword of the Spirit is God’s Word itself. 

How then must we stand against the devil’s schemes? In God’s Word. In knowing God. Furthermore, Paul exhorts how we must pray for ourselves and one another. Why is that? Let me ask, who has God’s Word? Who knows God’s Word? It is God’s and God’s alone. It is no man’s to claim. We must pray for God’s Word. We must pray that God reveals Himself to us as He promised to. In all these, God wants one thing from us, that is, that we rely fully on Him. Have you surrendered to rely on God with all that you have? 

Lord, please help me stand against the devil’s schemes. In this spiritual war, let me live a life that continues to glorify You in all that I do. I need your Word, God. Give me a desire and hunger for Your Word. Speak to me and also to all Your church. Do not leave me, do not leave Your people. May Your kingdom be expanded, and if You will, let us take part in expanding Your kingdom as Your church. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Mark 10:13-22

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15)

A child obeys his father out of love and complete trust. He does not always understand his father’s intentions or will. However, he obeys rest assured that his father loves him and always acts in benevolence. It is a humble and pure trust. There are no twisted motivations in it.

We are called to have child-like obedience before Christ. What has God set before us today? Are there certain sins we must repent of? Are we living out God’s present calling for our lives? Do we humbly submit to God’s mighty providence, which works for our good? 

The kingdom of God is not for the proud-hearted. It is for those who surrender in complete trust to God’s goodness and plan like a child. He does not understand the bigger picture, but he obeys all the little things his father commands him to do. 

After Jesus had blessed the little children, a rich young man came up to him. He wanted to obey, and he had — by submitting to all the ten commandments. However, Jesus knew his heart. He did not have complete child-like obedience. Jesus loved him and said, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21). 

A child-like faith does not store plans for himself. He has no idols; he has no backup plans. He is utterly dependent on his father and simply follows him. A child does not worry about what he will eat tomorrow because he knows his father will provide. Similarly, we must put out trust in God. He has a plan for us, and He will provide us with all we ever needed. In him, there is satisfaction, contentment, peace, joy. 

He calls us to follow Him. This means simple one-step-at-a-time obedience. Have you given up your own ways and resolved to submit to God’s today? 

Lord, please help me to have child-like obedience. I do not always know Your plans and ways, but I want to submit to Your will and direction. Please forgive me when I go my own way. Please forgive me and help me to follow You. Show to me what it means to follow You and hold me that I may follow You for the rest of my life. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Mark 8:34-37

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37)

There is only one life in this world that will bring us the satisfaction and peace that we desire. That life is the life of the cross and life for the gospel. 

Jesus said anyone who wanted to follow Him must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. This means to leave behind old sinful ways of sin and replace them with simple obedience to Christ and His ways. This life is not easy; it is full of strive and struggle. Many times we fall, but God is faithful in sustaining us and returning us into His path. 

A life of obedience to Christ is the only life that is worth living. If we were to pursue our own desires, passions, dreams, we would gain many good things in this world. However, the one thing we cannot do is save our lives. The time in the timer will soon run out, and there will be nothing we could do to save all the riches we have obtained. 

On the contrary, Jesus said, “whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Those who are willing to give up living selfishly and turn to the way of obedience will save their life and enter into abounding peace and joy for eternity in Christ. Note to whom this address is given. Whoever desires to give up their lives in obedience to the gospel will save it. Also, note the certainty. It is not that he might save his life, but he will save his life. For those who truly seek, they will find. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Have we given our lives to Christ? Have we decided to live in obedience to Him? Or maybe, we have fallen out of line and have slipped back into our sinful ways and desires. 

Our God is a faithful God. 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Have you asked for forgiveness? Have you surrendered your life into the forgiving blood of Christ that purifies all sin? 

The love of God is something we will never be able to comprehend in its full. Why would God love us so much to offer us another chance to live for Him? Why would He offer us another go at living in the way of the cross? 

Submit and surrender yourself to Him today. 

Lord, please forgive me when I stray from your truth. My heart is so deceitful, and it loves the ways of the world. Please forgive me. I want to deny myself, take up your cross, and follow you. I am a sinner, but I want to trust in Your love and sacrifice found in the blood of Christ. What else is there to gain in this life than to be with You and to live in obedience to You? You are my desire Lord, please accept me and use my life for the sake of your gospel. Thank You, God. Praise be to Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Matthew 15:21-28

“It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs”. She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:26-27)

As Christians, we take God’s grace for granted all too often. We forget who we are and what God has given us. 

Ephesians 2:1-3 reminds us of who we are. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

In summary, we are rebels against God who decided to take Satan as our master and follow all our sinful lusts and desires, living out all the evil that we desired. Whether we told a lie or committed murder, our hearts were the same — in conscious rebellion against God’s ways which we knew and ignored in our hearts. As a result, we were destined for wrath and judgement, and in our sins and trespasses, we were so ignorant and blinded that we were dead. 

Soak that in. That is you and me. However good the world might define you and me, we are defiled, horrendous creatures before the Holy God. People like us do not deserve mercy, let alone grace. We do not deserve pardon, let alone a new life in the truth. 

Yet, Ephesians 2:4-7 shows us, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” 

In spite of our evil, God decided to love us and make us alive through the death of Christ, His Son, where our sins were punished in Him on the cross, and His righteousness is given to us that we may have life. He forgave us and made the dirty clean. Moreover, he did this so that he could show us even more of his immeasurable riches of grace in the coming ages. 

What should be our response to such grace that we have received? 

Ask God for a heart like the Canaanite woman who begged Jesus that the demon in her daughter be cast out. Jesus said that she was a dog and undeserving of His grace. However, she was not offended. Instead, she humbly admitted, “Yes, Lord”. She knew who she was and how she was significantly undeserving. Yet, she begged for the crumbs that even the dogs get to scavenge. She begged for and prizes the tiniest crumb of God’s grace because she knew that that was the only thing of eternal soul-saving value. 

So too, we must act. Prize the grace of God highly. Know that each opportunity to know God, serve Him, and be renewed in the truth is invaluable. It is a great privilege, given to the most undeserving. More than that, we must beg for it. As Ephesians said earlier, our God is “rich in mercy”. Appeal to His character and beg for His mercy and grace. 

This way, we will not take for granted God’s grace and live in arrogance. Rather, being humbled and made low, we will walk in fear and trembling, adoring and glorifying the riches of His grace which He peels back a layer at a time for us to take in. 

Lord, please give me a heart like the Canaanite woman. Do not let me take for granted my relationship with You. Let me know that this is all Your love and grace, and I do not deserve any of it. Teach me to see each new grace for what it truly is in Your eyes. Teach me to walk with You in humility and awe of Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Bible Reading: Mark 8:11-21

“And he said to them, “do you not yet understand?” (Mark 8:21)

After feeding the four thousand, Jesus hops on a boat to Dalmanutha. There, He meets with some Pharisees who seek to argue with Him. The Pharisees wanted a sign to know that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus sighed deeply at the question because He knew what was in their hearts.

Jesus knew that they did not really want to know the truth. Rather, they wanted to uphold their pride as religious leaders and always be looked upon as ‘righteous’ people. Their hearts were not opened in humility to acknowledge their wrong and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah from the clear signs He had already given. Rather, they asked for a sign to get approval and honour for their ‘righteousness’. Jesus said, “no sign will be given to this generation.” He knew their stubborn and selfish hearts and left them, returning on His boat. 

On the journey back, he said to His disciples, “Beware of the Pharisees’ leaven and the leaven of Herod”. What Jesus meant was that the disciples should watch out for having hard hearts like the Pharisees who did not want to repent but instead asked for more signs. However, the disciples had no clue what Jesus meant. They started discussing the fact that they had no bread on the boat. 

Jesus says to them, “Do you not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear?”. The disciples could not comprehend the spiritual truths that Jesus was speaking of. Instead, they worried about the physical matters of bread. They had forgotten that just earlier, Jesus had fed four thousand with seven loaves of bread. 

Observe how stubborn, foolish, and clueless humanity is. Like the Pharisees, we are stubborn to repent and have hardened hearts that reject the Messiah, unable to perceive who He truly is. On the other hand, even those who want to repent and follow Him like the disciples are dumbfounded and have no understanding of who Jesus really is and have no idea what it means to follow Him. 

To such a sinful generation did Jesus come. Why should Jesus come for people so immersed in sin? Why should He descend to earth for people blinded and deafened by their rebellion against Him? Our sin has caused us to reject God. Our sin has caused us to be dead to spiritual matters, having no understanding of the life that Jesus offers. 

Romans 3:10-12 says, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Yet, for this stubborn generation, Jesus came. For the worthless and unworthy, Jesus came. Those who would humbly repent, He came to heal and give life. As Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida, so in Mark 8:29, Jesus heals the eyes of Peter so that he may see and proclaim, “You are the Christ”. 

Have our eyes been opened? Have our sinful and rebellious hearts been healed? Come to Him in repentance and humility because He has so loved the world to condescend to us, a stubborn generation. 

Lord, You are Holy and perfect, yet You came to earth to give hope to us, stubborn people and do not understand Your ways. Please help us realise how sinful we are, and please help us realise how big Your love is. Give us humble hearts and teach us in Your ways. In Jesus’ name, amen.