Be a Contributor to Bless, Influence and Transform Lives

Nowadays, people spent so much money, time and effort to prepare for their weddings and even pre-weddings' photography sessions. But, the sad reality is the rate of divorce is also in the increase. I have had the experience whereby there were walk-in enquiries for divorce in the morning, lunch time and just before I left my office at 6pm ++ ALL in the SAME DAY! What could be the reason(s)? In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Apostle Paul said, "... I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." 1 Kings 11:3-7 further said King Solomon's wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord , and did not fully follow the Lord , as did his father David. The family's pattern that God has established is one where Christ must

As Christians, we have access to the King of kings and the Lord of lords through the Name of our beloved Jesus Christ as stated in John 14:13,"..whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." With such power and privileges accorded to us, we are to not just to pray for ourselves but for others. King Solomon set a very good examples and his intercession prayers are beautifully recorded in 1 Kings 8. An example is in verses 38-40, "whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows the plague of his own heart, and spreads out his hands toward this temple: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men), that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fat

Yesterday, we know that the LAST command of our beloved Jesus to us  was to make disciples and hence that should be our FIRST concern. In fact, Apostle Paul had this to say in 1 Corinthians 9:16, "yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!" He further went on to say in verses 26 and 27 that "Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one  who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." I think it is a very good piece of advice from Apostle Paul. As we labour in the Lord, let us not forget to discipline ourselves. The word "discipline" connotes an effort on our part not to let our guard down and not to be carefree but be careful to continue our usual spiritual habits of reading His Word, praying and spending time with God, else we ourselves may not be qualified. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

I have 1 question for you, that is, "how well do we know God?". We may answer that we know God well as we read the Bible from cover to cover. However, a more poignant question to ask is "how well does God know us?" In 1 Corinthians 8:2, it says, "..if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him." This verse provides the answer - we need to love God, then we will be known by God! Obviously, the next question to ask is how do we love God? I suggest 3 Essentials - love Him by reading His word, pray and spend time with Him personally and corporately in church. 2ndly, love Him by loving others by just smiling to others, rendering help and forgiving them 70x7times if any wrong done. 3rdly, love Him by merely obeying His will to go and share Christ and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching th

I am sure we have heard of the challenge some young men receive to prove themselves men, they need to smoke or they need to drink. But in 1 Kings 2:2-4, King David's challenge  to his son to prove himself a man, he needed to keep the charge of the Lord his God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that he may prosper in all that he does and wherever he turn; that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning King David, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’  How important then to ensure we are in good company -  in a company of men and women who give us the right challenge in life, lest we fall in the temptation and depart from the truth. Do pray the Lord's Prayer daily. (Matthew 6:9-13) https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

At times, we do ask as to how could a good God allow such crimes, violences, injustices and wickedness occur again and again as if no judgment is executed against them. However, in II Samuel 24:1, we have a glimpse of what God actually did against all the wickedness in Israel at that time. It says, "... the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” This act of numbering the people was actually a sin that caused God to punish Israel whereby 70,000 men died (verses 10, 14 & 17). Hope this will cause us to have fear of God - to know that our God is a holy God and He cannot tolerate wickedness. We do not need to sigh when the wicked seems to prosper for we know our God is just. The wicked shall perish;  the enemies of the Lord , like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.(Psalm 37:20) https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

I could recall how I was not so prepared for one particular subject and hence, I prayed very hard just a day before the examination. And the Words that came to me was from 2 Samuel 22:29-31, that says “For You are my lamp, O Lord ; The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As  for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord  is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." Wow! These few verses did wonders for me. The level of confidence that I had soar like an eagle and guess what? I did very well for that particular paper. How true that we must have faith in His Word, especially Words that He specifically gives us. Hence, spend time with God to listen to Him, in particular when you need special direction and guidance from Him. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Apostle Paul courageously said in 1 Corinthians 4:16-17, "..I urge you, imitate me. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church." It means that Apostle Paul walked his talk. He threw the challenge that people should imitate him and even sent Timothy to remind the people of his ways in Christ. How this Daily Nuggets of Truth came to existence was all because I was encouraging my children to write journal on what they have learnt after reading their Bible. I needed to show example that I did it myself as well. Hence, let us walk our talk as it will be the most powerful testimony to point people to Jesus. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

People go to temple to worship God. But, in Christianity, we are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in us as revealed in 1 Corinthians 3:16. What a glorious revelation! We, who are just mere men and women, are the temple, the place of abode whereby the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Almighty God dwells? Ravi Zacharias, a Christian apologist, said this, “We are his temple. We do not turn in a certain directlon to pray. We are not bound by having to go into a building so that we can commune with God. There are no unique postures and times and limitations that restrict our access to God. My relationship with God is intimate and personal. The Christian does not go to the temple to worship. The Christian takes the temple with him or her. Jesus lifts us beyond the building and pays the human body the highest compliment by making it His dwelling place, the place where He meets with us. Even today He would overturn the tables of those who make it a marketplace for th

I am sure most of us, if not all have lamented before about our country's political and economical situations. The way we speak at times sounded as if we have given up hope. But, who are we to give up when God has not given up hope? In II Samuel 17:14, we read of how Absalom and all the men of Israel took the advice of Hushai the Archite as opposed to the advice of Ahithophel BECAUSE the Lord had purposed to defeat the good advice of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom. With these glimpses of what the Lord could do even in the lives and decisions of a country leader, we can be rest assured that God is in countrol of our country's political, financial, economical and social situations. Let us keep PRAYING and INTERCEDING for our beloved country! Read 1 Timothy 2:1-3. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In I Corinthians 1:24, 30, it is stated that to those who are called, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. We are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Thanks be to God who called us! Called us to be His children (John 1:12), called us to abide in Him (John 15:5) and when we are in Him, we are made wise, made righteous and we are redeemed and are sanctified! What a glorious gift that we receive! Shall I trade anything in exchange of these? I shall not, how about you? Let us then, hold firmly to the faith and lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2) https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In II Samuel 12:13, when the prophet Nathan confronted King David of the terrible sins he had committed, David responded,  “I have sinned against the Lord .” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Note that it is ONLY AFTER David had confessed and repented of his sins against the Lord, that Nathan said the Lord had put away his sins. Our God is a forgiving God, but He wants us to return to Him and repent of our sins against Him. Many times, people just refuse to take responsibilities over their wrongdoings but find excuses. At times, lawyers too argue that the accused is a victim of circumstances that cause him to commit the crime in the hope that he will get a lighter sentence. The fact of the matter is God gives us freewill. No one, not even God can force us to do anything no matter what circumstances we are in. Let us take heed of I John 1:8-9, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we con

The Psalmist in Psalm 119:49-50 said this, "Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life." God's Word gives hope, gives comfort and gives life! Therefore, the Psalmist further said in verses 51-52, that , "I do not turn aside from Your law. I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord , And have comforted myself. " Even in Proverbs 28:7, it is stated that "Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son" and in verse 9, "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination." Let us take delight, study and meditate  the law of the Lord day and night so that whatever we do, we shall prosper (Psalm 1:2-3) https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

As said, King David grew stronger and stronger (2 Samuel 3:1), so much so now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.Wow! What would be our response when king of another nation came all the way to build a palace for us!? Undeniably, we would be very flattered. BUT, II Samuel 5:11-12 recorded "Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel." King David took it as a sign from God that he was made a king BY GOD for the sake of His people. Since he was a shepherd boy before, King David knew God wanted him to be the shepherd king for His people. What a perception, what an attitude! May we realise too that we, Christians are called to be princes and princesses of the King of kings and Lord of lords for the sake of His people, that we may render help, care and concern for His people with the power of His Holy S

We have seen on various occasions, how King David inquired of the Lord. In II Samuel 2:1, it is stated, "It happened after this that David inquired of the Lord , saying, “Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?” And we knew that King David grew stronger and stronger. In contrary, in II Samuel 3:25, Joab did not inquire of the Lord but just merely based on his own understanding, he suspected Abner and said this, "Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.” And we knew he committed a blunder of killing Abner. Far be it from us that we simply assume things or suspect other people. How important that we must be still and hear the still, soft, small but sure voice of God and obey and do nothing but ONLY His will! Hence, let us find time to HEAR GOD, like Samuel who said, "Speak, for Thy servant is listening." (1 Samuel 3:10) https://twitter.com//EstherOngHC

In Romans 10:13-15, it is stated that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Hence, we know we need to go and preach the Gospel, else people out there will not have a chance to hear, to believe and subsequently call on our dear Lord Jesus' Name to be saved! Time is running short - we are definitely living in the End Times. Yesterday, we considered the need to rest. Just as in 1 Kings 19:9-15, the prophet Elijah was asked twice to eat and rest, he was asked, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" twice as well after he had rested. He was then asked to "Go out, return on your way...and anoint .." Basically, after we have rested, we are to do the works of the One who sent us while it is still Day. Night is coming when no man can work (J

When the Amalekites invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire and took captive of the women and children, David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. Now David was greatly distressed, ...But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. How did David do that? I Samuel 30:8 stated that he inquired of the Lord. In another occasion in 1 King 19:5-8, when Elijah was tired and afraid, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” He was asked by the angel twice to just rest, lie down, sleep, arise and eat. Therefore, as we serve God and minister to people, it is good to take time off once a while to attend a retreat so that we can rest physically and spiritually - to just be silent to inquire of the Lord and to be in His Presence. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

The psalmsist in Psalm  118:14-16 wrote, "The Lord  is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; The right hand of the Lord does valiantly." Paul wrote in Romans 8:37, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." How could these 2 men experienced God's strength, God's joy and God's victory? The answer is in Romans 8:18 that says "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to  be  compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Similar with what I shared yesterday that King David looked forward to God's reward, here, Apostle Paul already had the vision that the glory that shall be revealed IN him are far greater when compared with the sufferings of this present time. Learn from these and fix our eyes on Jesus,

Saul in 1 Samuel 26:21, 24 was only thankful to David when he knew David who could have killed him, spared his life and he said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” David responded by saying, "And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord , and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.” What did we discover here? David looked forward for rewards from His Almighty God! He said he valued Saul as he longed that his life be valued much more in the eyes of the Lord! This should be our attitude as well! We bless, we give, we help NOT to look for any reward from people BUT from our King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who Provides. We lack nothing as our Lord is the Shepherd of our lives! Read Psalm 23. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

We just hear people say that he or she is a good person. Very seldom that we hear so and so is a God-fearing man or woman. In Proverbs 27:12, it is said that "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished." This means one is prudent when one takes precaution when one foresees the consequences of being evil and not just simply pass on and fear no man nor God. We need to come to a realisation that if we sin, we are presenting our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin (Romans 6:12-13). It is only when we present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness  that we are being alive from dead. Once we understand this, we will very naturally be a God-fearing man and woman as we do NOT want to allow sin to reign in us AT ALL under whatsoever circumstances. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In Proverbs 27:9, it read as "Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice." Truly, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul, especially when they give their true, sincere and heartfelt advice to us. But, who is our BEST FRIEND who always standby us no matter what, in good times and in bad times? Who is the one who is ALWAYS there as we grow to give us the best, sincere and heartfelt advice, to cheer us on when we are sad, to encourage us when we are down and who never leave us when others have deserted us? Yes, it is our MOTHERS! Life does not come with a Manual, it comes with a Mother. Washington Irving said "A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and

Ignorance of the law is no defence. As lawyers, we are unable to mitigate for the guilty and plead for lower sentences just because he or she does NOT know the law. The law establishes the rights and wrongs that bind all the citizens of that particular nation. Just like in Romans 4:15, it says that the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there  is no transgression. If there is no law, we will not know where the boundaries are. With law, we know whether we have committed a wrong or not. Therefore, if God were to judge us according to law, we will all be pronounced guilty. But, thanks be to God, where we know that we belong to Him and acceptable to Him not by obeying the Law of Moses but God accepts us simply because of our faith in Christ (Philippians 3:9). This is made possible all because of JESUS - Romans 4:25 says "God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and He raised Him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God." Today is the day of Salvation - believ

We hear people say, "Practice makes perfect". Hence, it is commendable to repeatedly practise some good habits so that these good, especially Godly habits will become part of our nature. This is what King David did even when he was just a shepherd boy. In 1 Samuel 17:34-37, David said to Saul that he USED TO  keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, he went out after it and struck it...and the Lord delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear. Whereas in I Samuel 17:38,39, when David fastened  his armor, a bronze helmet on his head,  a coat of mail and a sword to his armor, he could not really  walk, for he had NOT TESTED them. How we need to keep on testing the tools we have. Today, we too have our armour! Have we constantly tested our breastplate of righteousness, wear our shoes of peace, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salva

We may have our own standard when we gauge a person, be it to employ the person or to select a person for some kind of projects. What are our measuring standards? In I Samuel 16:7, 18, we have a glimpse of how God made the selection. The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the  Lord  does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Further criterias are such as one who is  skillful in whatever his hands find to do, a mighty man of valor, a man of war (a spirit of seeing that justice is done and not allowing God's Name to be defied - 1 Samuel 17:45) , prudent in speech and the Lord  is with him. May we continue to seek such attributes ourselves and be our best and do our utmost for His Highest! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

We are amazed by nature; just the mere sunset and sunrise are enough to capture and captivate our attention. Every morning, the scenary of a sunrise is new, likewise a sunset. No two snowflakes have the same shape. The Niagara Falls which have more than six million cubic feet (168,000 m3) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow and almost four million cubic feet (110,000 m3) on average are renowned not only for their beauty but as a valuable source of hydroelectric power. Therefore, we are without excuse - the whole creation surely points to a Creator. With the long weekend that was just over, have we taken time to go to the nature to glorify the Creator and be thankful to Him OR have we just gone to visit some shopping malls and watch some movies without the chance of enjoying the nature? Beware, do not be out of touch with nature - plan our holidays wisely. Read Romans 1:20-24 https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

In 1 Samuel 12:3,  when Samuel was very old, He made this declaration: "Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.” No one had anyhing bad to say about Samuel. This meant Samuel's life had been a great testimony for God! How about us? I thought it is a good practice to ask this question "Testify against me...if I have done any(thing wrong), I will make it right" on a regular basis. We need to be cautious of any misdoings on our part which we cannot even see ourselves. This is called our blindspot. Hence, it is good to have an accountability partner to embrace and encourage us, one who is close and love us enough to testify against us, just like Samuel had the people of Israel to testify against him. https://twitter.co

In 1 Samuel 10:8, Samuel gave a clear express instruction to Saul “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.” But, in 1 Samuel 13:8-9, we read of how Saul  waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. With this, Saul showed disobedience and impatience, 2 elements which are very crucial, especialy in leadership. God desires our obedience more than any sacrifice. He wants us to depend on Him and not be self-reliant no matter how uneasy or inconvenience or pressurising the situation is. We know the grave consequences that Saul had to face - he lost his kingship because he had not kept God's command (13:14). Let us take heed and be watchful, vigilant and wa

Usually, we just ask the pre-believers to confess their sins, believe in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and lastly to say the sinners' prayers in order to become a Christian. In Acts 26:20, Paul informed King Agrippa that he first testified to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, he preached that they should repented and turned to God and demonstrated their repentance by their deeds. It is wise for us to learn from Apostle Paul that after we have preached repentance, we ask the pre-believers to demonstrate their repentance by their actions or their deeds. We should continue to disciple the person by ensuring the person truly repents and not just feeling remorse over his or her sins. This is crucial as it will make a world of difference just like Judas only felt remorsed and hence he ended up taking his own life whereas King David truly repented and hence ended up as the apple of God's eye.  Even John the Baptist exorted the

From yesterday's sharing, we learnt that God has His own standard to maintain. Yes, He is gracious, slow to anger and merciful but to those who repent. This is because He cannot go against His very own nature - He is Holy, just as can be seen in 1 Samuel 6:20, "the people of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?". Knowing this, God has to find a solution as to how to allow us, sinners, to be in His Holy Presence. There is ONLY ONE WAY - "He himself bore our sins” in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬). How we must be eternally grateful to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! Not only that, let us be eager to share Christ as salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”(Acts‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬) and nothing impure will ever enter it (heaven) nor will anyone who doe

We continue to look at the life of Eli, the priest. In 1 Samuel 3:13-14, God further said He would judge his family forever because of the sin he KNEW about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. ...The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering. In the New Testament, in Hebrews 10:26, it is stated that "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left" This is serious where the guilt will never be atoned for and no sacrifice for sin is left. Both these verses in Old and New Testament stated the same reason: no repentance. Eli knew and yet did NOTHING about it. In Hebrews, the warning is for those who have knowledge yet DELIBERATELY keep ON sinning. Let us take heed and repent NOW for we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).