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 - February 5, 2023
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER On Chinese New Year Santy gave ang pao to all our grandchildren.  Upon receiving the money, our four-year-old grandson told me that he would like to buy toys.  Expecting him to reply, “My money” because after all he had just received an ang pao, I asked him, “...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - March 24, 2024
In his book, Maps of Meaning, Jordan Peterson writes, “Something we cannot see protects us from something we do not understand.”  I cannot agree more.  God knows that we are not as ready as we think we are in knowing something.  He knows that knowing before our time might prove to...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - April 30, 2017
[:en]THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER On Tuesday evening our brother Joe Lee suffered a stroke....
Read More