Are we plugged into the Holy Spirit?

Are we plugged into the Holy Spirit? We should if we have the Spirit living inside us. Yet how is it that some of our lives are as dark as those of the world? Aren’t we supposed to be the light of the world? Think of a very dark room, even if the light source is small, light can never be overwhelmed by darkness. Agree? And the first thing that will catch a person’s attention if he or she is in that room will be that light. Are we living our lives so that they catch peoples’ attention (of course in a good way) or are our lives no different from the world’s so much so that we merge nicely with the rest? If we are the latter, maybe the Spirit is not in us!

Rev. Lee Kien Seng
TWPC

Crucifixion

The thing about crucifixion is that it produces death not suddenly by gradually. When we say that our sinful nature has been crucified on the cross, that sinful nature does not die suddenly. It is not immediately destroyed and we will not succeed in completely destroying it while we are on this side of heaven. Nonetheless, as long as we have fixed it to the cross and we are determined to keep it there, it will expire. The goal of the war against the sinful nature is final execution. It may be a slow death but it should die eventually. This is what sanctification is all about – becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ, being transformed into His likeness as we embark on this journey of faith. If we don’t see that happening in our lives or if we don’t even have the desire to see that happening in our lives, maybe the sinful nature is no longer affixed to the cross! Did the sinful nature manage an escape? If so, I will be terribly concern!!!

Rev. Lee Kien Seng
TWPC

Why do we detest seat belts?

Recently, there has been a number of accidents where people were badly hurt or even died because they were not buckled up. I guess we don’t quite like seat belts because they are restrictive – they restrict our movements, curtail our freedom and we feel stifled. Yet they serve a very important function. They protect us from being flown out of the car or from any form of concussion whenever we are involved in an accident. Yes, seat belts restrict us in order to protect us.

Likewise, we always think that God’s laws are very restrictive. They curtail our freedom and they stifle our adventurous nature. I hear some people put up such a defence: God’s laws DO NOT serve to restrict. They serve to protect. My response: God’s laws DO serve to restrict and I will not apologise for that but they serve to restrict in order to protect. Given our sinful nature, we need God’s laws to rein us in. Otherwise, we will have a natural inclination to pursue evil to the detriment of both body and soul.

Comments?

Rev Lee Kien Seng
TWPC

让我们“去”吧！

我在当兵的时候有一位的回教朋友问我一个问题，“为什么耶稣需要道成肉身住在人中间呢？”当时我对他的答案是，神是为了要体恤人类的痛苦和为了人的罪而来。可是我的答案对我回教朋友而言是完全不符合逻辑的。因为站在回教神学的角度来看，一个全能的神是无需贬低自己来了解人类的痛苦，因为既然神是全能的，是全知的，所以他一定能够知道甚至体恤人类一切，也能在一声令下把所有人类的罪洗尽，也无须死在十架上。因此若耶稣的动机是为了体恤民情和赦罪的话，耶稣就不是上帝，因为他所行的是多此一举。当时他的回应把我击倒了。之后我一直找寻一个满意的答案但找了几年都找不到，直到念神学后才明。答案其实很简单，原来人类所知道的一切都只是现象，在现象以外的本体不是人们理性所能了解的，所以福音的本体就是耶稣。因此当耶稣这个的“道”来到人间时，是要向人表现神最高，最真实性的启示，也就是使人真正了解“道”与“爱”的本体。如果耶稣不这么行的话，人类只能永远知道现象而不可能真正的认识本体（耶稣或真道）。所以耶稣来不只是为要了解人类的痛苦那么简单，而是为了突破人知道的范围，让人类能够真正的认识真神。耶稣“去”为了让人认识他。那么这对我们有什么学习呢？有些教会有个不整全的布道神学，他们认为传福音一定要“去”（太28：19），而这个“去”的布道法一定要作街头布道，而不能使用其他的方法。即使街头布道的效率低，此方法始终是不能换的，因为此法才合乎圣经。我并非小看街头布道法，而是信方法可以圆滑，而且从整个教会的历史来看，我们看见上帝一直允许信徒以多元化的方法发展教会。而马太福音中的“去”这个字是个观念但并非方法论，换句话说不是只有街头布道才合乎圣经。传福音的方式、地点、听众因时代的原故在改变，所以基督徒需要灵活的把福音传给人。注意！方法可以变，可是福音的本质是不可改变的。这个字“去”表示基督徒应当有积极行动把福音传开，我们需要知道非信徒是不会自动走进教会来听福音。信徒是需要把道带给他人的！如果信徒不主动，不行动，非信徒将永远不能听闻福音。请你想想，若不是基督的“去”，世人是不能认识他的。若不是使徒们的“去”，以色列和欧洲地带的人们就不能认识耶稣。若不是欧洲伟大的宣教士“去”了东南亚一带，我们也不能认识耶稣。弟兄姐妹你们愿意“去”吗？现今还有许多人没有听闻福音，信徒若不去传，他们怎能认识耶稣。历代以来，许多伟大福音的使者都“去”了，你愿意吗？我也希望将来也会有人将你们伟大“去”的行动写下，成为后人的勉励。

（陈瑞福传道 著作 恩泽堂）

Synod Games Day 08 Clues Reveal!

Starting today (I finally have a breather), I will be revealing one clue a day, and the answer the following day. I will also talk about the clue so that future game designers will learn from my experience.

There are all together 10 routes. I will describe Routes A-D in One Body, E-G in One Spirit and H-J in One Faith. Have fun solving!