On Purpose

2 Corinthians 3:11-18

11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Reflection of Bee:

Being Christians, does not mean we have become like robots, without any feeling of pains. It does not make us high and mighty or floating in the cloud. If any 'Christian' tells you that he /she has no feeling of pains or frustrations, he/she is lying to you or to himself/herself.

I have been a Christian for many years, yet I still could feel much heartaches for things that happened in my life. Due to certain broken relationship, I had been tossed to and fro frequently as if someone is pulling my left arm, while another is pulling my right arm. It seems that whenever I looked at something that reminded me of certain past events in my life I felt very hurtful, depressed, and I just felt like crying. Yet as I did my devotions and read God's words I remembered the purpose of my existence on earth, the hope of glory I will will receive... and they encouraged me once again.

This struggle never ends though I may temporarily forget in my busyness. Sometimes I just feel that this "thorn in my flesh" is allowed by God to keep me humble and reliant on Him. It's like a 'drug addict' who needs regular doses to keep going for another day. In this case, my 'doses' are the daily word of God.

Today is no different, sadness filled my heart just a while ago. So I quickly turned to the word of God for comfort. Yes, I found my comfort in tonight's devotion. I can have "freedom" (v17), whenever I turn my eyes upon Jesus instead of on myself (v16). He is my 'painkiller'.... I can't live without Him.

"The purpose of our lives is to let others see what God is like as they watch and experience His love through us."
- Joe Stowell, Today's Daily Bread

Yes, Christians, even matured ones, do experienced much struggles like anyone else (including the Apostle Paul). The only difference is how they handle these struggles in life through the Lord Jesus Christ.


Dear Lord,
I need You to be my 'painkiller', my strength, my guide, one day at a time, to go on this journey till I see You face to face. Thank You for keeping me, for not letting me go, for staying with me, for loving me.
May Your love be spread to many who also need comfort and rest. May my life be a testimony of Your goodness.
In Jesus' name I thank You. Amen.

Changing The World

Luke 6:41-45

41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit
43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Reflection of Bee:

How can we ever change the world or anyone when we find it so hard to even change ourselves? Even the great Apostle Paul acknowledged that he couldn't change himself when he said in Romans 7:15,24,25:

15For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.

24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Right, only God can change or transform us when we do according what Romans 12:1,2 says:

1 ...offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

In fact the above were the main verses quoted by the speaker of the seminar I attended tonight on "Discerning God's Will". When our minds are renewed by the Holy Spirit, we will learn to apply the 7 principles in discerning God's will for our life.

Yes, when we can "see clearly" we can then help others see clearly too (v42).

Dear Lord,
Thank You for tonight's devotion and the seminar I just attended. Thank You for speaking to me clearly tonight concerning the principles of discerning Your will for my life. Help me to be obedient and present myself as a living sacrifice to You. May Your peace reigns in my heart as I follow Your will.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Raised in Glory

1 Corinthians 15:42-49

42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[b] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

Reflection of Bee:

I saw an advertisement on a lamp post last month, where it showed picture of a teenage girl which said: "Do you know that 1 in 5 girls your age has gone through plastic surgery?"
Yesterday I heard a radio commercial when I was in the taxi: A lady asked her friend, "Why is it called plastic surgery? Is it because after surgery your face will become plastic or because the surgery uses plastic?"

Hehehe... sounded comical isn't it? But the truth is many people, young and old, male and female are seeking for ways and means to stay good looking. Our again process is something most find it hard to accept. However, for Christians, we have the assurance that our old aging bodies will be transformed into new bodies that are "imperishable" (v42). Isn't that wonderful to know?


Dear Lord,

Thank You that I shall have that perfect body one day. May this hope of glory spurs me on remember that I should lay my treasures in heaven and not on earth. For all the things on earth will pass away and decay one day.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

The Ultimate Physician

Luke 19:1-10

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Bee's Thoughts:

What makes a person change from 'bad' to 'good'?

An impulsive change can only last for a short while and one's old self will emerge again when the 'motivating factor' is gone. Example: when a man tries to court a gal, he might have a temporal change in order to impress and 'conquer'. However, once he managed to win her heart his true self would surface.

The change Jesus is talking about here is the transformational change, like the ugly caterpillar being transformed into a beautiful butterfly after going through a process. This change has no reversal effect... it's permanent. Only Jesus can perform such a change in a person.

How can one be transformed?

1. Be in Jesus Christ, accept Him into our life and claim this promise...
   

   "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
   

2. Give ourselves to God, let our mind be renewed, think differently from the worldview...
   

   "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual(reasonable) act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."Romans 12: 1-2
   

3. Stay close to, and be in, Jesus all the time... then we shall see the "fruit" of transformation...
   

   "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4

Yes, I find the above verses working in my life as I learned to claim them as promises from God. If God says so, it must be so! True enough, I see transformation in my life over the years, unknowingly. What I am today is different from what I was before I accepted Jesus Christ into my life.

Thank You, Lord, for transforming my life. I know there are many areas in me that need more polishing till the day I meet you face to face. I long to see you soon. Amen.

....the devotion of Bee