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Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)  In our society when someone says Satan is working day and night to make their life difficult people often laugh at them. They consider them crazy. Even professing Christians are skeptical about it. But Peter says, ‘stay alert’. Be on the look out for Satan! He is more at work than you realise!  The devil may not be in the cupboard or behind the chair, but he is scheming and working 24/7 to undermine the children of God. If Satan experiences a lockdown or take annual leave Peter would not need to shout to us: “stay alert". All true followers of Jesus are in a perpetual "state of war".  Just as the government has told us that invisible enemy Coronavirus has changed our lives, when someone becomes a follower of Jesus, he or she now has a new invisible enemy, the devil. As you obey the slogan of the government to “stay alert” t...

He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty Job 6:14 LESSON: Those who fear God make for good friends .

Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were 300,000 choice men, fit for war, able to handle spear and shield.⁶ He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents of silver.⁷ But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites.⁸ But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.”⁹ And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The LORD is able to give you much more than this.”¹⁰ Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah...

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem.² And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.³ For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 2 Chronicles 34:1-3  LESSON Depending on how we read this passage in the context of the whole book, Josiah sought the Lord very early for his age (16 years) or very late for a king (it took him 8 years to get, plus another 4 years    before he did anything). The lesson for us is obvious: we are never too early or too late to live for the Lord, as long as we have breath. Let us seek the Lord whilst He may be found.

He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  Colossians 2:13-14 LESSON Everyone has a dirty record of their life! A record of your high treason against God! On that record is written all the sins of your past. Some of the sins are common and run into millions of actions and thoughts. Other sins few and yet fill us with shame and heartache at the mere thought of them. Other sins are things we never did that we should have done! The record also has contains sins of the present. We have turned our lives to Jesus and yet everyday our actions and thoughts bring shame to the name “Christian”. Apostle Paul reminds us that “whatever does not proceed from faith [in Jesus] it is a sin”. Who can really say that faith in Jesus informs everything they do? The record sheet also contains sins of the future. Someone has said that there are only two things...

Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;  he who despises his ways will die. PROVERBS 19:16 LESSON God is the ultimate life support! Next time we hear the word “ventilator”, may it reminds us of Him who is the precious ventilator of all life!  May it comfort us that not only is God holding our physical breath but in Jesus he holds our spiritual breath too.

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. PROVERBS 18:22 LESSON Three lessons:  1. A wife is a rare gift - God helped the husband to search and find her successfully. 2. A wife is a good gift - God has entrusted the wife to her husband for safe keeping.  3. A wife is a gracious gift - God has given the husband a gift he does not deserve. Since all of this true, the husband should value the wife as a rare, good and gracious gift from the Lord. The wife should aspire to be outside what she is already inside. She must pray and work to be that rare, good and gracious gift to her husband.  And for those who are single here is the wonderful news: you are already married. All who trust in Jesus are the bride of Christ in this passage. You are the rare, good and gracious gift given by God to His Son, our Husband, the Lord Jesus. You are the pearl of great price! A day is coming when you shall attend your wedding feast in Heaven!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. EPHESIANS 6:10-11 LESSON We are not as strong as we think we are. Your strength is not enough to withstand the superhuman powers at war with you. We need the strength and might that only Christ provides. Put on the gospel armour!

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. Whoever has ears, let them hear. "If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed." This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God's people.

And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals  Revelation 5:5 John was weeping loudly because he looked at the situation and saw no hope. But one of the elders reminded him: Jesus is the People's Champion. He has conquered sin, death, Satan and Hell for us. There is no need for us to feel hopeless in any situation!  A time indeed is coming when those  who have weeped for their sin before Jesus will weep no more. You will weep no more about yourself, your family, your work, your church, your country and your future. Since we have such a future ahead of us, let us not weep today like those who have no hope. The Lion of Judah has conquered all things for us. Amen!

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Luke 9:57-58 LESSON : To follow Jesus is to follow a homeless man and become a stranger and exile on the earth. This inevitably means embracing divine engineered uncertainty in this life. There are going to be times when following Jesus means not knowing where your next meal is coming from. There will be times when your plans will fall through. The salary might not allow you to buy a home. A thief may break into your house. Radical generosity may be required to meet another person's desperate need. A debilitating illness may befall. Can you bear not knowing how Jesus is going to provide for all these urgent needs and still trust that he will? If your answer is yes, then you are a follower of Jesus!

Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. John 14:19 LESSON It is important to remember that the only hope for your life and mine, in this life and beyond, is this remarkable Union that is available 24 hours day, 7 days a week, with God through His Son. No Jesus, no life. No matter how much you have accumulated. This is true for terrorists, prostitutes, drug dealers and corrupt leaders. It is also true for you. You need this Jesus 24/7. If you put this Jesus first, God the Creator comes to live in your heart. God does not just save you, He becomes your very life! What a great honour!

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:59-60 LESSON: Jesus is God and you must learn to pray to him directly, not just "in the name of". Some falsely teach you can only pray to God the Father not Jesus. You must reject such heresy. At the worst juncture of his life, Stephen called out to the Jesus he knew and loved. The practise of praying directly to Jesus, God the Son, is a powerful reminder to us that our hope is only in and through Jesus. There is no God, but Jesus Christ. All others are idols. Do not pray to idols, as Apostle John warns. Start your prayers during the day like "Dear Lord Jesus" or "My dear Jesus, my precious Love and Eternal Friend". And of course you should continue to pray directly to God the Father and God the Spirit as well.

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Deuteronomy 10:16-19 LESSON God loves immigrants because He was once an immigrant in this world. More than that, God is working towards a world without borders, so you must stop spiritualising every verse and start obeying his commands to love immigrants. Stop looking after number one. Join God's ultimate plan to create a world without borders.

Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. Revelation 15:3-4 LESSON: When all of God’s actions are added up at the end of time, it will be plain that the sum total of His works are righteous. From the evils of history God has brought unquestionable good, worthy of the highest praise. Keep trusting in the goodness of God!

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Donʼt be afraid; just believe.” MARK 5:35-36 ‭‭ Lesson: When we are tempted to give up hope, that is when we must become quiet and overhear the words of the Master, "Don't be afraid; just believe".

To what can we liken our human condition?  Isaiah says our condition is like that of a patient in need of a doctor : Your head is injured, and your heart is sick. You are battered from head to foot—covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—without any soothing ointments or bandages . (Isaiah 1:5, 6) The gospel account written by Mark tells us that the doctor is Jesus of Nazareth: Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners . (Mark 2:17) Have you come to Jesus the great physician of the human soul? 

Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them" ISAIAH 1:2-3 Lesson: The emotional pain expressed in this verse reminds us that our sins break God's heart.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  (2 Corinthians 5:21) Lesson: I am completely righteous in Jesus Christ whether Satan likes it or not. Not just righteous but the very righteousness of God! Not merely just an exchange of his righteousness for my sinfulness but completely transformed.

Job responds to Zophar : Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him?   Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God?   Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?   He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality.   (Job 13:7-10 NIV) Lesson : A poor defence of God is a sin.