Today's reading: Deuteronomy 22:1-30

Another tough one on application. But I found some interesting insights and applications.

Quite a few laws handled here in this chapter which can be categorised into:

1. Acts of charity and good neighbourliness , in the care of strayed or fallen cattle, and lost cloak (v 1-4)

2. For the preservation of order and distinction (v9-11) - cross dressing and needless mixtures

3. For the preservation of birds (v6-7)

4. For the preservation of life (v8)

5. For the preservation of the commandments (Numbers 15:37-41)

6. For the reputation of a wife abused if she was innocent (v13-19), but for her punishment if she is guilty (v 20-21)

7. For the preservation of the chastity of wives (v22), virgins betrothed (v23-27), or not betrothed (v28-29) and against incest (v30)

On item 1, it is interesting to note that the cattle and cloak of a person is important, one as a source of his livelihood and the other his source of protection against the cold. They must be returned even at personal cost or inconvenience of looking after it temporary until it's found by the owner, or returning it ourselves.

Let me mention that the standard is even higher in Exodus 23:4-5 "If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it."

Here the act of charity is extended to an enemy. How much more it is required for our neighbour? We are to do good to all men. If God gave such concern and attention to an animal that has gone astray, how much more we need to do that for fellow men when they have gone astray from God?

James 5:19-20 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Today's reading reminds me of the character and attributes of God, that through these laws, we are aware of His heart for everyone, especially the poor and needy, and those lost without eternity. Do we give such attention and eye to those around us? "Lord, open my eyes that I may see." This is precisely what Rev C.B. Samuel preached about this weekend in church.

Why study the feasts? Further comments on reason 2

Interestingly, from today's reading, Deuteronomy 21:22-23, I think I heard you say, "How in the world am I going to get something out of this? This is gross! Capital punishment and hanging the body on a tree?"

²² If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, ²³ you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

The intensity of punishment for the crime of murder is shown here. However, prolonged exposure of body gives undue attention to the crime and the criminal. In an earlier post, I had dealt with the meaning of being "hung on a tree."

This crime places a person under God's curse. God had condemned murder, and hanging on a tree symbolizes divine judgment and rejection. Christ accepted the full punishment of our sins, thus becoming "a curse for us" (Gal 3:13) ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

Because of our sins, we are all under God's divine judgment. Jesus took our sins on the cross, and subject Himself to God's curse, so that we need not be cursed. He took all that we deserved and put it upon Himself. This is the ultimate demonstration of God's love, that He was willing to sacrifice His Only Son, and His Son was willing to lay down His life for us. We are extremely valuable to God. Unless we come to that point of understanding, we can never understand the love song sung throughout the entire Bible.

Therefore here we see an Old Testament law pointing to the Lord Jesus.

Why study the feasts? Reasons 1 & 2 of 12

This is a normal question to ask as we can be totally bewildered and confused by all the do's and don'ts of the Law. Are there any relevance to modern day living? So why do we need to study the feast?

As Hosea lamented: I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien. (Hosea 8:12)

The intricate detail of all things Mosaic would be meaningless unless they are all seen in the light of the Cross in relation to Christ and the Church. Apart from the Feasts, why then do we need to study the Tabernacle of Moses, the Tabernacle of David, the Temple of Solomon, the Priesthood and the Offerings?

Let me give you Twelve major reasons over the next few posts why all these should be studied. They are taken from "The Feasts of Israel" by Kevin J. Conner and I will elaborate on each of the points.

1. Because they are part of Scriptures given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God said it, so it must be important.

There's an old adage that goes:

God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!

Not entirely accurate. Whether I believe it or not does not make it any truer. It should read:

God said it, and that settles it! That's why we need to study it so that we have the whole context of the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work

2. Because they are a 'shadow of things to come'. They all point to Christ.

Shadow in the sense of a lesser. If only the people in the OT could have a glimpse of what we are enjoying today as God's redeemed people!

Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Hebrews 10:1-2 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

Deuteronomy - One Place of Worship

It has been fascinating just reading Deuternomy slowly. I will attempt to share with you in the next few posts some insights into the Feasts of Israel and the various offerings that were mentioned in the book.

One thing we must watch out for when we read or study the Word of God is to look for repetitions. If something is repeated enough, it may be important. For e.g. note these two phrases:

• The place the Lord will choose
• The place the Lord your God will choose

In my bible study, I have compiled these phrases in the table here.

The Lord requires a single place of worship. Why? The tabernacle, the Lord's dwelling place during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, will eventually be located in the city of Jerusalem, where the Lord will choose to dwell. The ultimate fulfillment of this command came centuries later when God let David move the tabernacle to Jerusalem where his son Solomon built the temple. The command for a single sanctuary promoted or emphasized three things: the unity of God (He is One, not many), the purity of the Israelites’ worship of the Lord, and the people’s political and spiritual unity. (Bible Knowledge Commentary)

The Tabernacle of Moses

Solomon's Temple

Moses stresses the importance of centralizing the place of worship in the promised land, where the Caanites had established many places of worship for their many gods. The people of God must be different from them.

The sacrifices, offerings and feasts will culminate in the Temple, where feasting and rejoicing takes place as well as celebrating God and His blessings.

What's the application of this truth? Simply that we must have only one place of worship and that is God in our hearts. He must take first place and be seated on the throne of our hearts. The Bible says we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit where the Holy Spirit dwells. Not just dwelling in us individually, but in the church as a community.

1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

2 Cor 6:16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Isn't that an amazing truth, that we can have a personal relationship with this God? No wonder the Israelites would exclaim:

Deuteronomy 4:5-8

^5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. ^6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” ^7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ^8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

People will look at the church and we can exclaim: "What other community is so great to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"

Is there a prominent place of worship in your life? Sing this song in your heart now:

Verse:

I will have no other gods before You

Only You will reign as my heart’s King

I will have no other gods before You

I will put You first in everything

Chorus:

With all my heart with all my soul

With all my might I want to love You Lord

With all my heart with all my soul

With all my might I want to love You Lord

Deuteronomy - What does it mean?

'Deuteronomy' comes from two words in the Greek language: deutero, which means 'second', and nomos, which means 'law'.

This is not talking about another new set of Laws, but a reiteration of it. When the Ten Commandments were given in Exodus 20, they were given to the first generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea with a huge natural show of God's power, camped at Sinai and heard the Ten Commandments for the first time. With the Ten Commandments are 613 laws of Moses. As we know, the people sinned and the consequence of it were the 40 years wilderness experience in the desert until the whole generation of those above 20 years old at the time of the escape died (except for Moses, Joshua and Caleb). They never had the privilege of taking possession of the Promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey!

The new generation were only little children when they crossed the Red Sea and camped at Sinai. Most would barely remember after forty years what had happened and certainly would not recall the reading of the law at Sinai. So, here's the purpose of the reading and explaining of the law for the second time, hence Deuteronomy, 'second law' to this new generation.

Moses was himself not privileged to lead the people into the Promised Land due to his own sin of striking the rock for water instead of speaking at it. (Numbers 20:1-13) He disobeyed God's Word and God showed him he was going to die in just seven days. Therefore Moses wanted to ensure that this new generation were informed about the past and ready to face the future.

Each generation must renew their covenant with God. The baton was passed to Joshua and the rest is history. But what a tragic ending for Moses when he stood on top of Pisgah (Deuteronomy 3:21-29), looking at the new land and not being able to go in. So near yet so far. I believe at that moment, it must have been his deepest regret.

We must be reminded that while we can start well, we may not necessarily end well. That's why the Bible repeatedly warns us to "be very careful". Keep focus in your Christian life!

Deuteronomy is the last of the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch. He was by then an old man of 120, and was entering his last week of life (the book ends with his death). Having seen the weakness of the present generation's parents, he was afraid they might got the same way. He saw ahead to the battles they would need to fight, both physical and spiritual.

In the last week of his life he spoke three times to them. The whole Deuteronomy is made up of three long speeches, each of which must have taken the best part of a day to give. This spoken style comes across. It is very personal and emotional book. Moses is appealing to the people, like a dying father to his children. (Unlocking the Bible, Pg 187)

Everyone is Beautiful!

Shaun and Ashton (the younger one)

I smile when I saw this photo that I took a few weeks ago. Thought I'll share this with you what went through my mind in conjunction with our journalling.

We are all made in the image of God. All of us are made beautiful in God's sight. Like any proud Father, our Heavenly Father is proud of His handiwork! Never wish you are someone else. Look in the mirror every morning and say "I like what I see. God did not make a mistake!" You are one of a kind.

When God listed names after names in the Bible of His people, the message clear. He knows everyone by name. He keeps a careful tab of you and your situation. He is concern about you. When one sheep is lost out of 100, like a good Shepherd, he notices your absence, leaves the 99 and look for you. (Luke 15) You are not just a digit in the billions of people. God knows you ... you are beautiful in His sight!

Vacancy open - all can apply! You can be beautiful!

Apostle Paul's Three-Step Leadership

You should have just completed Ephesians, Jude and Philemon.

Apostle Paul wrote to the churches in Colossae, Ephesus and Philippi, and in between a personal letter to Philemon. His two years of house arrest led to these wonderful letters that have encouraged the church since.

Let me comment about the way Apostle Paul wrote to Philemon to appeal for Onesimus. Let me quote from the NIV Study Bible:

To win Philemon's willing acceptance of Onesimus, Paul writes very tactfully and in a lighthearted tone, which he creates with a wordplay*. The appeal (vv. 4-21) is organized in a way prescribed by ancient Greek and Roman teachers: to build rapport (vv. 4-10), to persuade the mind (vv. 11-19) and to move the emotions (vv. 20-21). The name Onesimus is not mentioned until the rapport has been built (v. 10), and the appeal itself is stated only near the end of the section to persuade the mind (v. 17).

* verse 11: Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

Useless ... useful. A play on the meaning of Onesimus's name which means 'useful'.

Wow, I wrote in my journal that Apostle Paul is skilled in human relationship. Just as in all of his letters, he said something good before he said something to rebuke or correct. May we learn how to do that.

I call that Apostle Paul's "Three-step leadership":

1. Build Rapport (Relationship is very important as a starting point)

2. Persuade the Mind (Then reason with the person)

3. Move the Emotion (The goal is help the person to be self-motivated)

This reminds me of an adage I use frequently in my pastoral ministry and interactions with people:

You cannot exhort an unencouraged person.

Meaning, until the person is encouraged by your words and intention, it would be hard to correct him. Let's be an encourager first and foremost!

Why you must keep journalling ......

Well done, those of you who have been journalling faithfully. Our definition of 'faithful' is when you journal at least 4 times a week. Just a heads-up to encourage you faithful readers of this blog.

If you have finished using up a Growth Journal since January 2009, you will receive a brand new journal. Make sure you inform your Cell Leader, but don't ask him yet until he bring this up to the group! This is your privilege information. This should happen in the next two or three weeks.

If you have been journalling faithfully (according to the definition above), you will receive something from Senior Pastor! (Secret .... won't tell you what it is) :) This will happen by early August.

If you keep this on until end of the year, you will receive a BIG incentive at the end of the year. Again, secret ..... :) Won't tell you what that is.

Of course, we keep journalling not because of the reward. Let me remind everyone again, from my very first post in this blog:

The heart of journalling is to encourage YOU to go to the Word of God daily to feed YOURSELF on His Wisdom and Truth. It is to allow the Word of God to study us and to transform us more and more into His Likeness!

But a little incentive and reward helps of course. After all, we are only HUMAN! :)

Disclaimer: Sorry, this is only for DUMC members. Membership has its privilege.

Apostle Paul's 3rd Missionary Journey & the Fourth to Rome

The third journey (Acts 18:23-21:17) took about 6 years (A.D. 53-58).

The fourth journey to Rome (Acts 27-28) was due his appeal to Festus to see Caesar (AD 60/61).

(Acts 25:12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: "You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!")

Interestingly, if he had not appealed, he would have been set free. (Acts 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.")

In our human interpretation, we heave a sigh of frustration as we follow the story that Apostle Paul could have been set free there and then. But God has a different purpose than ours. He (Paul) needs to go to Rome!

Third Missionary Journey

Fourth Journey to Rome

Another interesting point to note it that Paul always had travelling companions with him.

First journey: Barnabas, John, Mark

Second journey: Silas, Timothy, Priscilla and Aquila, Luke

Third Journey: Timothy, Luke, and other disciples

Fourth journey to Rome: Luke, Roman guards and others

It shows the necessity of us not walking alone in our journey of faith. In other words, we need each other for encouragement.

Do you have any idea the distance Apostle Paul travelled? Here's an approximation:

First journey 1,400 miles (2,250 km)

Second journey 2,800 miles (4,500 km)

Third journey 2,700 miles (4,340 km)

Fourth journey to Rome 2,250 (3,620 km)

Approximately with a total of 9,150 miles (14,700 km)

Our North-South Expressway (NSE) is about 1000 km in distance. So Apostle Paul would have traverse from Johor Baru to Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah, back and forth about fifteen times! By then, the Roman Empire had such good road system that it facilitated the evangelism of the Gospel throughout the Empire. As the saying goes "All roads lead to Rome" played an important part in the spreading of the Gospel. There was also a common language of Greek that can be used throughout the travels. God knew this and He timed it such!

By the way, this does not include his other journeys:

OTHER TRAVELS - YEAR OF TRAVEL UNKNOWN:

Macedonia to Illyricum: 1 Timothy 1:3

Troas and Miletus: 2 Timothy 4:13, 20

Crete: Titus 1:5

Mission to Spain: circa AD 63-66: Romans 15:28

Nicopolis: Titus 3:12

MARTYRDOM:

Back to Rome and martyrdom: 2 Timothy 1; death June 29, AD 67

As we come to the end of Acts, we see God's hands in the evangelism of the known world then. This is our rich Christian heritage, that from the lives of faithful men and women, we are where we are today: Our names are written in the Book of Life!

Hebrews 12:1-3

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses, which includes those walking in the times of Acts. They are watching us. Let's run with the same perseverance!

My apology for the silence

Sorry about the long silence. Will be back on very soon with my thoughts on journalling. Not that I was not reading my bible and journalling, which thankfully I have been consistent so far. Was on a week-long break after the 13th Malaysia Cell Church Conference. Being the conference chairman, I ran on "adrenalin mode" leading up to, and during the conference, and usually a day after that, my body will start to wind down and often reacting to the lack of that adrenaline rush. They call it post-conference "depression" :)

Had a great conference with many delegates blessed! As many as 200 non-DUMC delegates have signed up for the 14th MCCC, taking advantage of the Early Bird Conference Special Fees of RM 150, or RM 130 for 5 or more people (Normal fee RM 220). I think two things are notable here:

1. They had such a spiritual experience last week that they are spiritually and mentally prepared for what God has to offer next year. I know of pastors and leaders who have signed up for their members en bloc and they do not want their them to miss out.

2. Everyone loves a good discount!

This personal note to Pr Daniel from Pr Ken Harris of the Clayton Church of Christ Fellowship (CCOCF) in Melbourne sums up the delegates' experience:

I praise God that DUMC under your leadership makes the time to invest in equipping and strengthening God’s leaders for service.

We stayed at a 5 star hotel, but attended a 6 star Conference. We were blessed two fold, first by the conference and secondly by your people.

Pass on my sincere thanks to all your people.

He came with his wife Jeanette. Incidentally, CCOCF was the church I attended when I was a student in Monash University from 1979 - 1985. That's a long time ago. Here's a photo of me and Stella having a great lunch fellowship with them at Marmalade in Bangsar Village (one of our favourite restaurants. You must try their Havana Salad!)

Pr Ken Harris and Jeanette

I was personally very refreshed by Pr Chris Hodges (Church of the Highlands) and I had some time to chat with him. One of the ways I seized these moments is to offer to take the speaker out for a meal, or be their driver from KLIA. These moments have always been great because you get to hear what's behind the scene in their lives and church, and from their hearts as well. It was so interesting and refreshing to interact with his son Jonathan. He is such a polite boy. I though he was only polite to me with his "Yes, sir" or "Yes, Ma'am" to my wife, he did exactly the same to his dad. Quite refreshing to see their father-son interactions.