Be a Contributor to Bless, Influence and Transform Lives

Day 297: Psalm 112, Proverbs 14:25-27, Mark 3, Jeremiah 23-24 Have Fear In God We usually embrace people who fear God. We want leaders who fear God. In today's reading of Proverbs 14:26-27, we can see that one who fears God has strong confidence and his children will have a place of refuge. Further, one who fears the Lord  is like a fountain of life and will turn one away from the snares of death. Fountain of life is like a well of living water where source of water comes from. Hence, one who fears God has spiritual life springs from him whereby he refreshes the life of others just as Jesus said,  “...the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14). Let us pray that all of us, especially our leaders are God-fearing  people. Amen! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 296: Psalm 111, Proverbs 14:22-24, Mark 2, Jeremiah 21-22 Be God's Faithful Messenger It was not a pleasant news when Jeremiah was asked by God to prophesy that the Israelites who remained in the city would die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence; but he who went out and defected to the Chaldeans would live..(Jeremiah 21:9). It is normal for one to reject bad news. Nobody likes bad news. Nevertheless,  we need to be God's faithful messenger to teach or preach EXACTLY what God wants and not according to what the itching ears of the audience (2 Timothy 4:3). How important for us to read through the Bible with its good and bad news and not portions of Scriptures only. It is never too late. Start today by reading 2 chapters of Old Testament, 1 chapter of New Testament, 1 chapter of Psalm (to praise and worship God daily) and 3 verses of Proverbs (to gain wisdom from God). https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 295: Psalm 110, Proverbs 14:19-21, Mark 1, Jeremiah 19-20 Show Agape Love Mark 1:9-11 recorded the incident where Jesus just came out from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water...a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” If we analyse the chronology of the events, Jesus had not started any ministry yet at that point of time. Nevertheless, God the Father was pleased with Him. As parents, we need to learn that we must be pleased with our children even before they ever do or achieve anything. We must show agape love to our children. We do not just love them because they fulfill certain sets of conditions. Parents need to take heed as we may inadvertently portraying such conditional love to our children, thus setting a heavy burden on them. Remember Jesus' Words in Matthew 11:30,  "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 294: Psalm 109, Proverbs 14:16-18, Matthew 28, Jeremiah 17-18 Be the Clay God Intended The potter and the clay's story is commonly told as if God, being the Potter has the absolute power to do as He pleases and we, being the clay are as if fated to the intention of the Potter. If we read carefully, the potter is actually forming the shape of the pots depending whether the clay would take the shape initially planned for it. Only if the clay would NOT take the shape the potter wanted, the potter would change his mind and form it into some other shape. In fact, the Lord further explained in verses 5-11 that if the nation turned from its evil, He would change His mind to shatter the nation. The contrary is the same i.e. if He promised to make a strong nation but its people start disobeying HIm and doing evil, God would change His mind. Let us pray, "O, Lord, we know it is not easy for You to work with stiff clay. Help us to trust and obey You more so that You can perfectly

Day 293: Psalm 108, Proverbs 14:13-15, Matthew 27, Jeremiah 15-16 Jesus Is Alive Resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our Christian faith, without which we are without hope. In today's reading in Matthew, verses 62-66, we can see that the chief priests and Pharisees took great pain and effort to ensure the tomb was made secure until the third day, a heavy stone was duly sealed and guards were commanded to make the tomb as secured as possible. Despite all those effort, history shows us the indisputable fact of an empty tomb. Jesus DID ARISE and He appeared to more than 500 people before He ascended and He promised He would return the same way as He ascended (Acts 1:9-11). Harvard Law Professor Dr. Simon Greenleaf said,"According to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history.” “The cross is the victory, the resurrection is the triumph…The

Day 292: Psalm 107, Proverbs 14:10-12, Matthew 26, Jeremiah 13-14 God's Will is Always The Right Way Many a times, we thought that people who have lots of money and are famous and popular have made it in life and they are successful. However, we do hear such people, for instance famous movie actors or actresses or singers who had committed suicide. What has gone wrong? In Psalm 107:2-11, it states that when the redeemed of the Lord (which means Christians) cry out to the Lord, God will deliver them out of their distresses and would lead them forth by the RIGHT WAY to a place where their longing souls would be satisfied and their hungry souls be filled with goodness. Hence, success is not just about money and fame. That is man's way. Proverbs 14:12 very aptly puts it as, "There is a way that  seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Henceforth, how crucial that we pray for God's will be done just like Jesus Himself prayed in the Garden of Gethes

Day 290: Psalm 105, Proverbs 14:4-6, Matthew 24, Jeremiah 9-10 Understand and Know Him I am sure most of us, if not all of us would like to bring joy and delight to people, especially to our loved ones. In today's reading of Jeremiah 9:23-24, it says, Thus says the Lord : “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord , exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord . Our Lord explicitly declared that He will be delighted if we understand and know Him until we embrace the fact that He is full of lovingkindness, He executes judgement and He deploys righteousness in all His dealings. The key is that He wants us to understand and know Him. Reading the Bible and spending time speaking and listening to Him in solitude are the sure ways of knowing Him. L

Day 291: Psalm 106, Proverbs 14:7-9, Matthew 25, Jeremiah 11-12 Pray Like Never Before Yesterday, we saw how God is delighted when we understand and know Him. As said, when we read His Word, we will get to know the Author more and more. In Jeremiah 11:9-11, we read of how God would bring calamity and even would not listened to their cry when the men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem had turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear God's Words. Further, in Chapter 12:17, God said that He would utterly pluck up and destroy the nation if they would not obey. This is a glimpse of how God deployed righteousness and His way of execution of judgment. Do not think that our God is ONLY a loving God. He is righteous, He is just, He is holy and He is perfect. So, do not show our fist in the air, demanding an answer why is there sufferings around us. Let us clasp our hands, fall on our knees, humble our hearts, turn from our wicked ways, seek His face and call

Day 289: Psalm 104, Proverbs 14: 1-3, Matthew 23, Jeremiah 7-8 Respond to God When we send a message, we feel uneasy and uncertain when we do not receive an acknowledgement that the message is received. A simple "noted" or "received" will give us the peace of mind that our message has gone across and has been duly received by the intended recipient. In Jeremiah 7:13-15, God spoke but no one heard. He called but no one answered. No one gave Him an acknowledgement. Just as we hope and long for an acknowledgement, let us be still and listen to God speaking to us. Once we hear His voice, respond to Him. You will be amazed of His timely  words of advice and words of encouragement and comfort! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 288: Psalm 103, Proverbs 13:22-24, Matthew 22, Jeremiah 5-6 Give Thanks Always Haze, haze is everywhere. We will surely worry about our health. The Malaysia Insider just reported that haze may comtinue till early next year. Malaysian Ringgit is still unstable. Everything is still unpredictable. With this environment, do we still thank God? Surely, we must and we can surely get good thanksgiving points from today's reading of Psalm in verses 2-5, "Bless the Lord , O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So  that  your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." Amen. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 287: Psalm 102, Proverbs 13: 19-21, Matthew 21, Jeremiah 3-4 Believing, You Will Receive In Matthew 21:21-22, Jesus answered.. “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt,.. if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” A church in the foothills of the Great Smokies was given the condition by local council to double the size of its carpark,before they could move in to the new sanctuary. The Pastor called for members with "mountain moving faith" for prayer meeting. The next day, a contractor from Acme Construction approached the Pastor informing that his company was building a shopping mall and was in need of sand and would pay the church to get the same from the mountain behind the church. Part of the mountain was "moved" and it was a perfect spot for the carpark (retold by Pastor Dwayne Savaya, God Work Ministry). Today, as we atte

Day 286: Psalm 101, Proverbs 13:16-18, Matthew 20, Jeremiah 1-2 God Knows Us Way Before Our Birth Abortion has been legalised in most parts of the world. In fact, different countries give different definition as to when it is legal to perform abortion. One medical dictonary defines abortion as  expulsion from the uterus of an embryo or fetus before viability i.e. 20 weeks' gestation or 18 weeks after fertilization or fetal weight less than 500 g. I always wonder what is the basis for them to determine as to when it is legal to have abortion. As for me, God has made it clear and has this to say, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5). There are testimonies of survivors of abortion, for instance, Melissa Ohden who is the founder of Abortion Survivors Network. According to her, just one provider in US performed 327,653 abortions in 2013 to 2014. (source: CNN news by Melanie Hunter

Day 285: Psalm 100, Proverbs 13:13-15, Matthew 19, Isaiah 65-66 2nd Coming of Jesus Is Clear Finally, we come to the last chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah has been known as a miniature Bible, containing 66 chapters which is akin to 66 books in the Bible. Hence, the last chapter denotes the 2nd coming of Jesus. In verses 15-16, "For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword, the Lord will judge all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many." The 2nd coming of Jesus as a Judge to judge all flesh is clear. When Jesus first came on earth, He came as a Lamb of God, as a holy Sacrifice to pay the penalty for and on our behalf of each and every human being by dying on the Cross.  What we should do now is to persuade people to take heed of this warning that Jesus IS COMING BACK TO JUDGE each and every one of us! Have we paid our penalty? Jesus has paid f

Day 284: Psalm 99, Proverbs 13:10-12, Matthew 18, Isaiah 63-64 Humility Has Rewards Humility is recognising and acknowledging our total dependence upon the Lord and seeking His will for every decision (source:www.iblp.org). The Hebrew word is "kana" which means  to be brought into subjection as seen in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." On the contrary, God punishes the prouds as in Daniel 4:30-37 where while King Nebuchadnezzar boasted, "Is not this great Babylon, built..by the might of my power..?", God struck him with a mental breakdown and took away his kingdom. In today's reading of Matthew 18:2-5, Jesus said, "..whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name

Day 283: Psalm 98, Proverbs 13:7-9,Matthew 17, Isaiah 61-62 Hallelujah! What A Promise! Yesterday, we have seen how we can be redeemed by the Lord. In today's reading in Isaiah 62:11-12, we read of how the Lord proclaimed to the end of the world that His reward was already with Him and His people would be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord, Sought Out and A City Not Forsaken. Yes, we, Christians are called the Holy People not because of anything we have done but by His grace we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are also called Sought Out as God called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began (2 Timothy 1:9). Last but not least, we are Cities Not Forsaken as God said in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Hallelujah! What A Prom

Day 282: Psalm 97, Proverbs 13:4-6, Matthew 16, Isaiah 59-60 Don't Let Sins Stand In The Way By and large, people are doing good works to appease their gods with the hope to have life after death or to receive some kinds of rewards. In today's reading of Isaiah 59:1-2, it says, "Behold, the Lord ’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear". Hence,it is clear that we are separated from God because of our sins. No amount of good works will remove our sins. Someone who pleaded guilty will still need to be punished even though he or she does many good works. Freedom will only be achieved once the penalty of that sins is paid for. This is exactly what Jesus did - He who had no sins, died on the cross to pay for our sins to reconcile us to God. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,

Day 280: Psalm 95, Proverbs 12: 25-28, Matthew 14, Isaiah 55-56 Confess Jesus Is The Son of God Matthew 14 alone records at least 3 miracles that show Jesus is God. Out of 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes, He fed 5000 people. He walked on water and He made all sick people perfectly well when they just touched the hem of His garment. Dictionary defines miracle as an extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. There are at least 37 miracles done by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament and no one had refuted the same for the past 2000 years. These undisputable miracles reveal that Jesus is God! Why wait then? Today's reading in Isaiah 55:6 says seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Just confess that Jesus is the Son of God for the promise in 1 John 4:15 is "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." https://twit

Day 279: Psalm 94, Proverbs 12:22-24, Matthew 13, Isaiah 53-54 Be A Contributor, Be A CuBIIIT No one who plants a fruit tree does not want the fruit. Similarly, in the oft-quoted parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-9, when the sower sows a seed, he or she expects the seed to grow, bear fruit and produce a 100, 60 or 30 fold of products (verse 23). In the parable of the mustard seed in verses 31-32, Jesus further taught that though mustard seeds are the least of all the seeds but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree that provides shades and for the birds to come and nest in its branches. How about our life? Ponder for a while - how many people have sown at least some seeds in our life? Our parents, teachers, friends and colleagues? Most of all, God Who caused all these to be possible by granting us safety, peace and health. Is our life now bearing fruit? Are we contributors in some ways or another? Be a Contributor to Bless, Inspire, Influence, Impact a

Day 278: Psalm 93, Proverbs 12:19-21, Matthew 12, Isaiah 51-52 Let Evangelism Be Our Lifestyle The events that occur in the world right now do point to the fact that Jesus' Second coming is going to be very soon. Even yesterday's message from God to us is to work while it is still day. Today, God confirms and encourages us that those who bring good news, proclaim peace and bring glad tidings of the Good News are beautiful (Isaiah 52:7). Yes, Jesus' return is soon but God does not want anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Let us then take heed to bring the Good News to as many people as possible. Let evangelism be our lifestyle! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 277: Psalm 92, Proverbs 12:16-18, Matthew 11, Isaiah 49-50 Work While It Is Day Psalm 92:4 & 5a says, "For You, Lord , have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord , how great are Your works!" Here, we can see that God's desire is to make us glad and triumph through and in His work. Why then, are we not doing His work? It is not a new issue. Way back in 1901, Andrew Murray wrote a little book entitled 'Working For God' with the objective of reminding all Christian workers of the greatness and the glory of the work in which God gives a share. It is nothing less than that work of bringing men back to their God, at which God finds His highest glory and blessedness. Are we working for God while it is day? The night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4). https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 276: Psalm 91, Proverbs 12: 13-15, Matthew 10, Isaiah 47-48 Our Net Worth is Measureless The trend now is to know your net worth. There is a way to calculate the value and even a special calculator to that effect. Seminars are even organised to teach about the importance of knowing your net worth. It is comforting to know that our Heavenly Father does not use a calculator to determine how much we are worth. He says in Matthew 10:29-31 that we are worth more than many sparrows. We are of immeasurable value! Even the very hairs of our head are all numbered. This shows how much we are loved and cared by God. Abraham Lincoln said this, “It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him." Hallelujah! Praise be to the Lord! https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 275: Psalm 90, Proverbs 12:10-12, Matthew 9, Isaiah 45-46 Have Faith In Action When we read Matthew 9, we saw how Jesus responded to those who had faith. First, He saw the faith of those who brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed and Jesus not only healed the paralytic but forgave his sins. Secondly, He asked the blind men whether they believed Jesus would heal them. When the blind men replied in an emphatic affirmation, Jesus healed all of them. From these 2 accounts, we learnt that we need to come to Jesus by faith and faith results in action. They BROUGHT the paralytic to Jesus. The blind men WENT to Him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Without action, faith is dead (James 2:17). Let us have faith in Jesus by showing it in action. https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 274: Psalm 89, Proverbs 12:7-9, Matthew 8, Isaiah 43-44 Be A Reliable Witness For God Even if law is on our side but if we do not have evidence, no lawyer can say with certainty that the matter is a good case to win. If we do not have evidence, be it in a form of documentary proof or by way of someone standing as a witness, it is very unlikely that any lawyer will win the case. Evidence/witness is crucial in any court case. Similarly, God expects us to be His witnesses. He said in 2 occasions in Isaiah 43:10 & 44:8 that "You are My witnesses". Are we reliable witnesses for God or in legal term, hostile witnesses for Him? Let us take heed to live our lives that not only reflect our faithful witness for Jesus but to emit the aroma of Christ to God wherever we go (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 273: Psalm 88, Proverbs 12:4-6, Matthew 7, Isaiah 41-42 God Is Holding Our Hands I remember my parents held my hands while walking when I was a child. I have to hold my parents' hands now that their legs are weaker. I like to hold my husband or my children's hands when I walk a longer distance. We feel much more secured when we are holding someone's hand while walking. Do we know that God is holding our hands too? In Isaiah 41:10 & 13, our dear Lord Himself said, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." What a promise! What a security that we have! We have the Lord of lords and the King of kings holding our hands all the time! Let us not forget and give thanks to God ALWAYS (Ephesians 5:20) and in EVERYTHING, give thanks (1 Thes

Day 272: Psalm 87, Proverbs 12 1-3, Matthew 6, Isaiah 39-40 Jesus, Our Servant-God Yesterday, we ponder on the importance of knowing God. To know someone includes knowing his characters and how he responses to people and situations. In today's passage in Isaiah 40, we know that God will not faint nor be tired. He has vast understanding and gives power to the weak. He not only strengthens us but causes us to run, fly and soar on high like an eagle as long as we wait upon Him. Don't we want such a Friend? He is available for us 24x7 for He neither sleeps nor slumbers. Why wait? Get to know this Servant-God Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men (Philippians‬ ‭2:5-7‬). https://twitter.com/EstherOngHC

Day 271: Psalm 86, Proverbs 11:28-31, Matthew 5, Isaiah 37-38 Know Him More To Trust Him More It is good to know of someone who knows us well enough to vouch for our characters. When one can say, "I know Esther very well and I absolutely know for sure she will do it", it shows the level of faith and trust of the person in me. Similarly, we need to know God that well to have the deep level of faith and trust in Him. In Isaiah 37:16-20, we see how King Hezekiah knew God so well that when he prayed, he knew God would heal him. His relationship with God was so close that he intimately and openly spoke his heart out to God and spoke of all the good he had done for God's sake. God not only healed him but gave him a sign that had a lasting effect of the missing 40 minutes as God had caused the sun to move 10° backwards. (This 40 minutes exactly accounted for the 1 missing day when the sun stood still in the sky for 23 hours and 20 minutes for Joshua in Joshua 10:12-14.) Thi