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 In accordance with that vision, Harvard’s “Rules and Precepts,” adopted in 1646, stated (original spelling and Scriptural references retained): “1. Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisedome, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seeke it of him (Prov. 2:3). 2. Every one shall so exercise himselfe in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency....

Yesterday was an auspicious day whereby the Malaysia Bible Seminary's 5th Principal was installed. As I sat through the whole proceedings, what dawned on me is the urgent need to equip God's people, especially young people in strong Biblical theology and foundation. He said there were  about 1000 alumni over the past 30+ years! But, in Numbers 1:1-3, the Lord spoke to Moses to take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually,from 20 years old and above—all who are  able  to go to war in Israel. God started YOUNG. He enlisted the men from 20 years and above. How about us today? Where are our young men? They are in universities studying secular subjects. It just burdens me that if God was preparing young men before taking on the Promised Land, are we following suit to do likewise to at least let our young people go through theological studies BEFORE they go for

In Luke 7, the Centurion recognised that Jesus had the authority to give order and such order must be carried out immediately as he himself had such authority over his own servants. Similarly, we, as Christians, do possess such great authority from Jesus from the time He was raised from dead. Do we know it or recognise it? Mike Bickle who is the director of the International House of Prayer Missions wrote on this authority of God and he interpreted that God said “I am God and I have all authority; but in My sovereign wisdom, and in My kindness, and in My desire for relationship with My people, I did DELEGATE real authority to people" Therefore, let us not forget that we have this authority and do use this authority and speak victory in the Name of Jesus in all circumstances. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

2 great men of God came to a REALISATION of how terribly sinful they were and RECOGNISE that God is holy yet able to purge them from their sins and iniquities. It was at that crucial  point of encounter with God that both men willingly gave up all and followed God. They were the prophet Isaiah and our beloved Apostle Peter. Do we have this moment of encounter with God? If not, read both accounts in Luke 5:4-11 and  Isaiah 6:5-8. Be silent and enter His presence and listen to His still, small yet firm voice saying, "...I the Lord,who sanctify you, am holy." (Leviticus 21:8) https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Yesterday, I shared on the need for us to prepare ourselves to ensure that we are not like the chaff to be burned with unquenchable fire. One way is to recognise that we have Jesus not only as our Saviour but our Lord of our lives. In just 1 chapter of  Leviticus 19, the phrase "I am the Lord" or "I am the Lord your God" appeared 16 times. It is as if God is reminding us twice a day for 7 days with an extra 2 more reminders! If we do not realise and recognise that our God is our Master and Lord Whom we are accountable to DAILY,  we tend to do or speak or behave as if we have no one to account to or do what seems right in our own eyes (Proverbs 21:2) or will not cease from own stubborn doings (Judges 2:19). Beware and take to heart that Jesus is our Lord!  He is our Adonai! https://twitter.com//EstherOngHC

It is my husband's family tradition to eat "tau lou" on the 1st day of Chinese New Year. Since my in laws were here in Kuala Lumpur this year to celebrate the festive season, I gathered my children to prepare the "tau lou". The 1st step is to thoroughly clean the peanuts and the mung beans. What we got to do is to choose the spoilt, rotten and black ones and threw them away. As we did that, it dawned on me that this is what God would do as said in Luke 3:17 that His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. How important then that we must prepare ourselves now to make sure that we are not the spoilt, rotten or the useless ones to be thrown away! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Everyone has a desire and it goes without saying that one will be delighted when the desires are fulfilled. In Psalm 37, it reveals that in order for us to have our desires, we need to delight ourselves in the Lord. How? The Psalm says 5 Dos and 2 Don'ts ie.TGFCR - Trust in the Lord, do Good, be Faithful, Commit your ways to Him, Rest in the Lord while waiting upon Him and 2 don'ts are do not fret nor be angry. In fact, we can see this in the life of Jesus even when He was a little boy, He told His earthly mother that He needed to be busy about His Father's business - He delights Himself in the work of His Heavenly Father. Read KJV Luke 2:48-49. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Psalm 36:7-9, we read of how priceless is God's unfailing love and people took refuge in the shadow of His wings and feasted on the abundance of His house. In the King James version, it is stated that the people were abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's house. If that is how in the Old Testament, people enjoyed going to God's House and were so satisfied and so abundantly blessed, why is it that believers nowadays have excuses of not going to church. They may say that they are able to worship by themselves at home, listen to sermon with their iPod or even join the worship over life-stream. Let us obey God's Word by not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as we see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Psalm 36:7-9, we read of how priceless is God's unfailing love and people took refuge in the shadow of His wings and feasted on the abundance of His house. In the King James version, it is stated that the people were abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's house. If that is how in the Old Testament, people enjoyed going to God's House and were so satisfied and so abundantly blessed, why is it that believers nowadays have excuses of not going to church. They may say that they are able to worship by themselves at home, listen to sermon with their iPod or even join the worship over life-stream. Let us obey God's Word by not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as we see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Psalm 36:7-9, we read of how priceless is God's unfailing love and people took refuge in the shadow of His wings and feasted on the abundance of His house. In the King James version, it is stated that the people were abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's house. If that is how in the Old Testament, people enjoyed going to God's House and were so satisfied and so abundantly blessed, why is it that believers nowadays have excuses of not going to church. They may say that they are able to worship by themselves at home, listen to sermon with their iPod or even join the worship over life-stream. Let us obey God's Word by not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as we see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Psalm 36:7-9, we read of how priceless is God's unfailing love and people took refuge in the shadow of His wings and feasted on the abundance of His house. In the King James version, it is stated that the people were abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God's house. If that is how in the Old Testament, people enjoyed going to God's House and were so satisfied and so abundantly blessed, why is it that believers nowadays have excuses of not going to church. They may say that they are able to worship by themselves at home, listen to sermon with their iPod or even join the worship over life-stream. Let us obey God's Word by not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as we see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

As parent, we long to ask our children to keep our instructions. We want the best for them. In order for the children to willingly and cheerfully keep and remember our instructions, they must BELIEVE that all our instructions are for their good. Hence, it will bring us, parents joy and delight when our children believe. The opposite is true as well. If they do not believe us, it will bring us indignation. This is exactly how Jesus felt when He said in Mark 16:16 that "he who does not believe will be condemned". Therefore, we must understand how important for us to share Christ to tell prebelievers that God's instructions are for their good and they must believe Jesus meant to give them nothing but the best. Read Proverbs 6:20-23.

The rules and regulations in the Old Testament were very strict. For instance, in Leviticus 7:25, it is written that for whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord , the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people. Does this cause us to fear God?  In Psalms 34:9-10, we are exhorted to fear the Lord and there is no want to those who fear Him and  those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.  How do we fear God? We need to know that ultimately He is the One who WILL judge us and hence, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling but the beauty of it all, is that Jesus Himself will always be with us to help and love us. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends (John 15:13). With love like that, what is left to fear but God? https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Leviticus 9:15, 18 we read of how Aaron brought the people’s offering, and took the goat, which was the sin offering for the people, and killed it and offered it for sin.....and he also killed the bull and the ram as sacrifices of peace offerings, which were for the people. And Aaron’s sons presented to him the blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar. If this is how God required to be done to atone for the sins of the Israelites, we now know that we had our dear Lord Jesus Christ who was willing to be like the goat, willing to be killed so that the requirement for sin offering could be fulfilled forever. When at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” in Mark 15:34, Jesus took upon Himself all the sins for each and evey one of us and hence, God the Father had to forsake Him at that particular moment. But, when the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to

God spoke to Moses in Leviticus 6:12-13 that the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and ...a fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. Similarly, we are called to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God by not conforming to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. During this Chinese New Year, let our lives be such that it is a living sacrifice on the altar, be the fire that is always burning and radiating heat that will not only give warmth to the people around us but as a light to those who are still living in darkness. Read Romans 12:1-2. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Even king Artaxerxes and his counsellors FREELY offered silver and gold to the God of Israel and even freely allowed them to use the money from the King’s treasury to buy whatever they needed. Not only that, the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or any worker in the house of God were exempted from tax! What a privilege to serve God then! Ezra was seen to possess wisdom from God and hence was put to be in charge of appointing judges and to teach others. These came about because of the good testimonies shone forth from both Nehemiah and Ezra at that time where both were committed to the work of God (Nehemiah committed to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem’s temple) and the Word of God (Ezra). Let our lights so shine forth during this Chinese New Year that others may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.Read Ezra 7:15-25. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In just 2 last chapters of Exodus, the phrase "as the Lord had commanded" appeared 18 times. It intringues me to know that these 2 chapters include amongst others the details of how the robe and garments should be made, sewn and worn to minister to the Lord; it is about the tent and all its furnishings, its claps, boards, bars, pillars, sockets in the tabernacle for God; it is about how to anoint the altar and all its utensils to make the altar most holy as the Lord had commanded. If this is how God wants His tabernacle to be prepared in the Old Testament, are we concerned now of how we should worship IN ORDER TO PLEASE GOD AND IN ORDER THAT WE DO AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED? Or are we now coming to church with an attitude of just worshipping the Lord as we pleased without the concern of what God really pleases Him? May our worship later on consists of words from our mouth and the meditation of our heart that are pleasing in Your sight, LORD, our Rock and our Redeemer. Read Psa

When R.A.Torrey wrote on George Mueller, he said Mr Mueller would open the  Bible before him, and placed  his finger upon that promise that covered his case he was praying about and he would plead that promise, and so he received what he asked. Mr Mueller, one of the greatest man of prayer, in the last 60 years of his life (he lived to be 92 or 93) obtained USD7,200,000.00 by prayer alone! In Mark 11:24 , Jesus Himself said, "...whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." This is a promise given by our dear Lord Jesus Himself. Pray in this manner after you have ascertained your prayer requests are in line with God's will. Our God is faithful, He will keep His promises! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Jeremiah 36:8, 26, we read of how Baruch son of Neriah was obedient and wrote everything Jeremiah dictated. But, the King who heard God's Word did not obey but instead commanded Jerahmeel, Seraiah and Shelemiah to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. The Lord however hid them! Thank God for Baruch's obedience despite the danger confronting him. If Baruch did not write, we may not have the book of Jeremiah today. God is our Protector, Jehovah-Sabaoth. We just need to remain faithful and obedient and do exactly what He wants us to do even though the circumstances may be perilous or threatening! May God grant us the grace to do so. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Mark 8:33, St. Peter was rebuked when he tried to justify that Jesus would not die on the Cross. The rebuke was so severe that Jesus compared it as if satan was speaking through St. Peter. What we can learn from here is that when we set our minds on things of men and not of God, we may be used by the evil ones. Even in Old Testament, God had time and again reminded the Israelites to bring a freewill offering to the Lord , with hearts willingly bringing material for all kinds of work which the Lord COMMANDED to be done. They were expected to do according to all that the Lord has commanded. Henceforth, seek to please the Lord and do what He exactly wants us to do and not what we think or assume. Read Exodus 35:29-36:1. https://twitter.com//EstherOngHC

Injustices are around us. We are frustrated and at times, feel incapable and lost as to what we could do. I look to God and read His Word and see that King David responded to the wickedness and oppression in his times by PRAYERS. In Psalms 28:4-5, his prayers include asking God to give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them according to the work of their hands; render to them what they deserve. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord , nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up. We shall do likewise now. Pray along this line whenever we see injustices, oppression and wickedness and surely at the end of it all, our heart shall greatly rejoice because God has heard the voice of our supplications! Read Pralm 28:6-7. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

I am sure we have heard of this: FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real! I think it is a very good definiton of "fear". It is only our own perception which perhaps has no basis at all. Even God knows that we are creatures subject to fear. We are fearful of our future, fearful to attempt new things for God, fearful to take a step of faith and so on so forth. God knows and hence, He has in store for us verses asking us NOT TO FEAR for 365 times in the Bible. It is to remind us DAILY not to be fearful and not to be afraid for our Lord is our light and salvation. He is the strength of our life! (Psalm 27:1) Our beloved dear Lord Jesus also said "Do not be afraid, only believe" in Mark 5:36. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

It is by the grace of God that we have been chosen to understand and to know the mystery of the kingdom of God as there are outside the kingdom of God who seeing but may not perceive and hearing but not understand (Mark 4:11-12). How then we must guard these knowledge that has been graciously granted to us. There are 4 questions we have to ask ourselves with the seeds that were sown to us. 1st, do we let satan to have a foothold in our lives by allowing worldly perceptions, worldly principles or worldly music to infiltrate our minds? (Mark 4v15). 2ndly, do we allow no roots to grow by not going deep into the Word of God (v17). 3rdly, do we allow the worldly desires causing us not to bear fruit at all for the Kingdom's sake (v19). Or should we immediately go and bear fruits irrespective of whether we have the ability or not. God honours our availabiliy. I thank God the minute I became a believer which was 28 years ago, I have served God up until now, bearing fruits for Him and I gue

Do you how God longs and desires JUST TO BE WITH US? In Mark 3:14-15 Jesus appointed twelve, THAT they might BE WITH HIM.... Further, in Exodus 25:8, God told Moses to let the Israelites make Him a sanctuary, that HE MAY DWELL AMONG THEM. Can you imagine that? The Lord of lords and the King of kings wanting, desiring and longing to dwell amongst men! And guess what? Do not imagine that heaven is high above the sky or some unknown places. Our new heaven and new earth is coming down out of heaven from God whereby the tabernacle of God IS WITH MEN and HE DWELL WITH THEM. It is God who change His address to be WITH US! What a glorious hope! Are we prepared? Go to church today to at least just get a glimpse of such magnificent GATHERING that will take place. Read Revelation 21:1-3. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

We know that our God is ever-loving and ever-forgiving. In Mark 2:5, we observe that when Jesus SAW their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven. This shows that God responds to our initiatives. In the commonly known passage of Jeremiah 18, we may think that God being the Potter, could make whatever shape He likes and we the clay has no say in it! But, if we read verse 4 properly, it is not so. It is because the clay was spoiled or marred in the potter’s hand that the potter has to rework it into another vessel. In CEV version,it is said that the potter would change his mind and form into some other shape. How we must take heed that we must take initiatives to respond to God, lest God change His best plans for us! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Before our dear Lord Jesus came in the 1st instant, God sent John the Baptist as His messenger to prepare the Way before Him. John the Baptist was the voice of one crying to prepare the way for our Lord and to make His paths straight.  He preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Mark 1:2-4) Similarly, before the 2nd Coming of our Lord Jesus, we should be intentional in our preparation to meet Him. Do not live our lives as if it is never ending on earth nor as if we are accountable to no one! Take heed, like John the Baptist, to preach the Gospel of peace and repentance to offer hope and salvation to our loved ones and to those around us! Besides that, constantly check ourselves, get ourselves prepared, stop to analyse our motives that we do not lose track of the aim or fight like a boxer beating the air so that we ourselves will not be disqualified for the crown that will last forever. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

We know the importance of God's Word. Let us recall the familiar Bible verses such as Psalms 1 that says he who delights in His Word and meditates on the same shall be like a tree planted by the waters whereby fruits will be brought forth and leaves shall not wither. In Joshua 1:8,  it further says that by observing the Word, we will be prosperous and enjoy good success. Now, in Proverbs 4:20-22, it says that by keeping God's Word in the midst of our heart; the Word will be life to us and health to all our flesh. Well, with all these benefits, one wonders why we still do not prioritise God's Word above all else? https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

We often say that God can do anything. Or is it so? Definitely, God canNOT lie, He cannot sin nor go against His Own Words. In fact, there are quite many things God will NOT do until and unless we have done our parts. In Exodus 17:6, it is recorded that God stood  before Moses on the rock in Horeb but water would only gushed out AFTER Moses struck the rock. I am sure that God CAN cause the rock to produce water  for the Israelites to drink BUT He WILL not so until Moses did his part to strike the rock. Similarly, God Himself could cause victory to the Israelites against the Amaleks in Exodus 17:11-12 . BUT, He needed Moses to hold up his hand. We further could see the teamwork and help rendered by Aaron and Hur to support Moses' hand that saw to the complete victory over the Amaleks. Henceforth, spend some quiet moments NOW to seek God and ask in what areas that you need to do your part or you need to render that assistance required whereby God is still waiting before He gives you

In Matthew 26:35, Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” You may call this self-confidence, self-esteem, self-motivation, positive mindset etc. But, we know what happened to St. Peter. He eventually denied Jesus for 3x. We should heed Jesus' advice in Matthew 26:38,"Stay here and keep watch with me.” And in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” God will not tempt us but He will test us. (Exodus 16:4). Let us then,be watchful and pray and fix our eyes on Jesus and rely on Him alone, not on past faith or successes! Read Hebrews 12:2-3. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Matthew 25:3-4, we read of how the foolish virgins took their lamps but did NOT take any oil with them whereas the wise ones, took oil in jars along with their lamps. When oil is mentioned in the Bible, it typically signifies the Holy Spirit. The lesson to learn here is to ensure we have the Holy Spirit in us and we are in His Presence. This is confirmed in Matthew 25:12, where the foolish virgins further wanted the door to be opened but they received such reply: "Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Romans 8:9-11 says, "...if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.." We need to be like the wise virgins to take the oil in jars along with our lamps. Once we have believed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we have received the Holy Spirit. We just need to keep watch that we do not have any unconfessed