Category Archives: Monday

Being a prophet is not something which one takes upon himself or herself, and the message to be delivered is to be from God, regardless whether message is good or bad. Sometimes, we come across so-called prophets who curry-favour or win over people who crave for good news, with the intention of gaining popularity, wealth and fame. Such so-called prophets are what we call false prophets, misusing the word “prophet” for their own ends and purposes.

In today’s reading, we come across an example of a false prophet named Hananiah. The reading warns us of the consequences of being a false prophet: “The prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah, ‘Listen carefully, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you; and thanks to you this people are now relying on what is false. Hence – the Lord says this, “I am going to throw you off the face of the earth: you are going to die this year since you have preached apostasy from the Lord.”‘ The prophet Hananiah died the same year, in the seventh month.” As we can see, a false prophet is asking for trouble, since such persons are not only deceiving others, but they would also face the wrath of God.

Are any among us behaving like a false prophet? Let us take heed of the warning the reading gives us. Let us stop our false ways and the nonsense we have been saying and doing, repent and return to God’s ways, before it is too late.

We live in a world where more and more unjust deeds are being committed in different ways. For example, we see discrimination in different forms happening, where certain groups get certain privileges, just because they claim to be the original settlers of the land, but in actual fact they are not. In some situations, we see people loving for a reason, sometimes for selfish reasons or personal gain. Once they have gotten what they wanted, these people may not love the same way as before, or even run away to seek other ways to achieve their ambitions and goals. Also, we see some folks behaving as if they are the smartest, brightest, cleverest, or even richest. Some of such folks proudly flaunt their abilities and wealth, thinking that no one can measure up to them. Sometimes, such folks even put others down, to prevent others from becoming like them. Are some of us guilty of doing such deeds?

In today’s reading, we are reminded: “What is good has been explained to you, man; this is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.” All our wealth and achievements are merely illusions, temporary things that come and go. But what matters most is whether we are in right relationship with God and with others, and whether we are prepared to meet the Lord. May we not be caught off-guard, and make more effort to grow closer to Him.

Sin and God are incompatible, that is, God will not tolerate any trace of sin within us. This means that as long as we have the stench of sin attached to our soul, no matter how small or trivial the sin may seem, we are in danger of drifting away from God. To cleanse us from our sin, Jesus died on the cross to save us and redeem us, but that is only part of the story. We too need to do our part by doing our best to avoid sin, and if we sin, we should not delay in going for confession, to seek forgiveness of our sins and to ask our loving God to help us not to sin again. Of course, this is easier said than done, given the fact that there are many temptations of this world which try to snare us and entice us to sin. This is why we must always remain in the Lord, and let Him guide our thoughts and actions.

In today’s reading, the Lord is beckoning us to “wash, make yourselves clean. Take your wrong-doing out of my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow.” God is calling out to us to return to His ways. Are we willing to rid ourselves of our sins with His help and mercy?

Among the many sins a married couple may encounter, one of the most difficult to forgive is unfaithfulness or adultery. This is because the party who committed such a sin has lost the trust of the other party. The situation is even further aggravated if a pregnancy is involved, or if the party who sinned has contracted some disease as a result of such unfaithfulness. It takes a lot of courage, love, mercy and compassion for one to forgive the party who sinned. Forgiving the party that sinned is one thing, but rebuilding the trust that is lost is another thing altogether, and it may take quite some time before some trust is restored. Humanly speaking, it is not easy to rebuild the trust, but with time and with God’s help, perhaps the trust may be somewhat restored.

But when it comes to God, He shows us what it means to forgive and rebuild trust. In the reading, the Israelites had been unfaithful to God, and had been seduced by Baal. But God had not given up on them or abandoned them. Despite their unfaithfulness, God is willing to take them back and make them His own. If God can be so loving, forgiving and merciful to such people, what about us when it comes to broken or unfaithful relationships? Are we willing to follow God’s ways, forgive and rebuild trust? Are we willing to let bygones be bygones, pick up the pieces, and move on, especially if the party who sinned wants to come back to us and remain with us? Or are we going to allow the hurt, anger, pain and disappointment control us and even cause our marriage to fail?

It is interesting to observe how people behave when times are good and when times are bad. When people are experiencing prosperity, wealth, success, popularity, riches and many other seemingly good things the world has to offer, how many of such people would still be rooted or grounded with God in their lives? But when disaster strikes, when the going gets tough, when there is trouble and suffering, how many of such people will remain faithful to God, and how many would give in to other forms of help, only to find out that they have gotten into an even bigger mess?

In today’s reading, God had a covenantal relationship between Israel and Himself. If the Israelites chose to break the covenantal relationship with God, they do so at their own peril, since God was not obligated to guide them or protect them. Throughout the Old Testament, we have seen how disaster had struck when the Israelites chose to turn their backs on God, and despite trying to find their own way and their own solutions, the Israelites ended up getting into even more serious trouble. The reading even reminds us that flight will not save even the swift, the strong man will find his strength useless, the mighty man will be powerless to save himself. In other words, without God, we are nothing and we cannot save ourselves.

So what does this mean to us today? It means that we must learn to constantly grow in relationship with God. We cannot depend on what the world offers, because what the world offers is only temporary. We too are temporary, we are weak, if we try to block God out of our lives. May we come to a realisation of what is really important, what really matters, and take measures to prepare for our eternal future, before it is too late.

What sort God do we believe in? Do we believe in a god that grants us all our wants and needs? Do we believe in a god that gives us lots of wealth? Do we believe in a god that will protect us from our enemies? Some of us may think that this seems to be a silly question, since some of us think that we believe in God Almighty. But if we believe in God Almighty, then we should be following His ways, keeping His commandments, and growing in His providence, care and friendship. But are we really doing these things? Or have some of us begun believing other gods, thinking that we would get what we want according to our whims and fancies?

In today’s reading, the Israelites had a problem. What was their problem? They had gone astray. The reading tells us: “The Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshipped other gods, they followed the practices of the nations that the Lord had dispossessed for them.” Even though the Lord had given Israel and Judah plenty of warnings through the prophets and the seers, the Israelites were still so stubborn and went against God. Because of this, the Israelites were conquered, captured and deported by the Assyrians.

What about us? Could we end up being deported as well? We could be deported from our eternal heritage, especially when we sin and refuse to seek forgiveness and reconciliation for our sins. We could be deported when we refuse to forgive and be forgiven. May we take caution and not end up being deported, since we have only ourselves to blame.

Are we content with what we have or what we achieved? Or have we become accustomed to looking for more and more? When we want more and more, what happens? We begin to work hard to try and achieve or attain more and more. But what if what we want to achieve or attain is beyond our reach because it belongs to someone else and cannot be given away or sold? Some of us may just let it be, but some of us may resort to doing something unthinkable, even to the point of committing sin, to get what we want. Would you go to the extent of sinning to get what you want, come what may?

In today’s reading, king Ahab wanted Naboth of Jezreel’s vineyard. Naboth had no intention of giving away, or exchanging or selling his vineyard, since the vineyard was ancestral land. So what did Ahab do? He, with the help of his wife Jezebel, had Naboth killed, so that he could take possession of Naboth’s vineyard. What do we see here? We see a classic example of several mortal sins being committed, such as: committing murder, coveting neighbour’s goods, and bearing false witness. Is obtaining such land that important? To some of us, it may not be a big deal, but to Ahab, he had allowed his heart to become poisoned and enslaved with greed, envy, wrath, passion, pride, ego and many other vices.

What about us? Where do we stand? Could some of us already have become like Ahab? Do we value only what we can get or gain here on earth, at the expense of our eternal reward? Would we be in danger of gaining the whole world, but losing our soul?

Sometimes, we come across people who are so obstinate and stubborn, that we are unable to help them change right away. Such people may need to be left alone for a while, so that they may perhaps come to their senses or acknowledge their error, before they could be helped. One example of such a person is found in today’s reading. In today’s reading, we come across king Ahab, who had done wrong towards God, but had refused to admit it, or acknowledge his error. As a result, the prophet Elijah left the presence of Ahab, until such a time Ahab was ready to repent and return to God’s ways.

What about us? Have we been so stubborn and obstinate and refused to mend our ways and right our relationship with God? Just as Ahab ended experiencing severe drought in his kingdom until such a time he made amends with God, we too may experience a severe drought in our soul, until we realise our folly and return to God’s help and providence. May we come to realise our error and change our ways, before it becomes too late.

Christian faith in itself is meaningless if we do not show our faith. Christian faith is not something which we keep only to ourselves, or hide it in a closet, or sweep it under a rug. Christian faith must be shown, witnessed and lived, so that others would come to know what it really means to be a Christian, not by mere words, but by the example of our attitude, behaviour, conduct and our lives. So how do we show our faith? What do we need to do as Christians?

Today’s reading gives us some ideas: “…you will have to do your utmost yourselves, adding goodness to the faith that you have, understanding to your goodness, self-control to your understanding, patience to your self-control, true devotion to your patience, kindness towards your fellow men to your devotion, and, to this kindness, love.” If we say that we have faith, then we must show our goodness, our understanding, our self-control, our patience, true devotion, our kindness towards others, and ultimately, genuine love. Sounds like quite a lot is expected of us, isn’t it? Well, nobody said that being a Christian is going to be easy, but let us be joyful and glad, since the benefits are out of this world.

Many of us are fortunate that we are not being severely tested in our faith and in our resolve to keep our faith. This is because we live in a somewhat peaceful environment. Of course, off and on, we may experience some form of persecution, but such persecution is still manageable, compared to some Christians in some countries where they are being tortured or butchered for refusing to denounce their faith. But what if, some day, we too experienced such torture and butchering? Would we be able to remain steadfast to our faith, even to the point of death?

In today’s reading, we are comforted by the fact that our faith may be tested, but if we do not allow ourselves to falter and remain steadfast, we will have praise and glory and honour: “Through your faith, God’s power will guard you until the salvation which has been prepared is revealed at the end of time. This is a cause of great joy for you, even though you may for a short time have to bear being plagued by all sorts of trials; so that, when Jesus Christ is revealed, your faith will have been tested and proved like gold – only it is more precious than gold, which is corruptible even though it bears testing by fire – and then you will have praise and glory and honour.” May we be ever ready to stand by our faith, knowing that our God will protect us and lead us to everlasting joy.