December 13, 2014

The Shepherd's Corner

The first century Christians who lived in the Roman provinces faced a very difficult situation.  You see, the Emperors appointed themselves as Dominus et Deus, Lord and God.  And, they wanted the people to worship them as Lord and God.  Those who refused would be thrown into the paws and teeth of the beasts.  Many Christians refused, resulting in countless number of lives.

The first century Christians who lived in the Roman provinces faced a very difficult situation.  You see, the Emperors appointed themselves as Dominus et Deus, Lord and God.  And, they wanted the people to worship them as Lord and God.  Those who refused would be thrown into the paws and teeth of the beasts.  Many Christians refused, resulting in countless number of lives.

The Roman emperors exerted physical might to squash Christians from the face of the earth.  But, their efforts failed miserably.  The number of Christians grew exponentially in spite of the fact that their only weapon was faith and love.  We know the rest of history: Emperors rise and fall but the Church of Jesus Christ remains!

History bears witness to the fact that physical might is temporary but spiritual might is everlasting.  Jesus Our Lord has called us to follow in His steps—to reduce self and to deny self.  This is the path of spiritual might.  He knows victory does not belong to those with physical might but to those with spiritual might.

Christmas is just around the corner.  I am sure some of us have begun thinking about whom to give gifts to and what gifts to give.  That’s fine.  But, do not neglect to spend time with the One, whose birth we are celebrating.  It would make no sense for us to come to someone’s birthday party and get so busy with the gifts and the food that we even neglect to spend time with her or to even wish her a happy birthday.

Remember, without gifts there will still be Christmas, but without Christ, there will be no Christmas.  There would only be, “mas”—a rendering with no meaning whatsoever!

Pastor Paul

The Roman emperors exerted physical might to squash Christians from the face of the earth.  But, their efforts failed miserably.  The number of Christians grew exponentially in spite of the fact that their only weapon was faith and love.  We know the rest of history: Emperors rise and fall but the Church of Jesus Christ remains!

History bears witness to the fact that physical might is temporary but spiritual might is everlasting.  Jesus Our Lord has called us to follow in His steps—to reduce self and to deny self.  This is the path of spiritual might.  He knows victory does not belong to those with physical might but to those with spiritual might.

Christmas is just around the corner.  I am sure some of us have begun thinking about whom to give gifts to and what gifts to give.  That’s fine.  But, do not neglect to spend time with the One, whose birth we are celebrating.  It would make no sense for us to come to someone’s birthday party and get so busy with the gifts and the food that we even neglect to spend time with her or to even wish her a happy birthday.

Remember, without gifts there will still be Christmas, but without Christ, there will be no Christmas.  There would only be, “mas”—a rendering with no meaning whatsoever!

Pastor Paul

More Shepherd's Corner Articles

The Shepherd's Corner - April 14, 2024
Those of you who already attended our church in the late 70’s and early 80’s might still remember Oom Po Djin, later knowns as Gene Ho, or Pastor Gene Ho.  On Monday Our Lord Jesus came and took him home.  The last few years had been hard for him as he was beset by physical […]...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - October 22, 2017
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER Psalm 4...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - October 6, 2019
The blank matters      We all could come up with good words to fill in the blank and we could all find justification for the word that we chose.       Want to know my word?       I honestly believe there are many wo...
Read More