Holy Saturday Reflection: Why Is There Suffering?
Credit: Bethesda Frankel Estate Church, 2022.
A reflection theme for Holy Saturday–the day “in-between” the eventful days of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday: If God is indeed real, why is there death and suffering on Earth still? Consider pondering over Mr Max Jeganathan’s message as he spoke at a Good Friday Service on this universal issue of suffering. Whether one is a follower of Christ or otherwise, his message is deeply relevant to us all.
Obedience to the Lord
Deuteronomy 6:4-5, ESV – “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
The great commandment as elucidated by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:37 was based on the great shema of the Israelites to love and obey their one and only God: a love relationship which is exclusive and involves the whole being.
Loving God Completely
Photo: Ben White. Design: Jonathan Yao.
“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is one of the most notable biblical passages named as the shema (Hebrew for “hear” as found in v. 4) and viewed as the “classic” confession of faith for the Hebrews. Verses 4 and 5 are seen as positive restatement of the first command in the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:6-21). (Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary or EWC)
God and I: Working From Home
Artwork by Ee Yuing. Photo by Anna Auza on Unsplash.
Since early April, most of us in Singapore, and almost everywhere else have been working from home (WFH). Even when the Circuit Breaker in Singapore ends on 1 June, working from home will be a new normal for many. Today’s #SaturdayGoodRead reflects on this as Jon Cho’s “Working from home: Where is God in all of this?” explores how God “has made Himself known” through his own experience with WFH. He begins with
As long as I can remember, being able to work from home feels like winning the lottery. For that reason, I thought it would be a walk in the park after the nation-wide directive was given.
The dread of heading back to office on a Monday after a nice weekend with the family was now eliminated – I’d get to be with them all the time. All. The. Time.
A dream come true, right?
As part of BCP (business continuity planning), I started working from home for a couple of weeks before the Circuit Breaker started. All I can say is that the reality of winning the lottery was nothing like what I imagined.
For the rest of Jon Cho’s article on Thir.st’s blog, read here.
Faith or Fear? Trusting God in the COVID-19 Age
Faith or Fear? Trusting God in the COVID-19 Age by Dr Lewis Winkler
Since the Covid-19 virus impacted Asia long before the rest of the world, we’ve been living under various restrictions here in Singapore for over a month now. It’s given me some time to reflect on life, death, and seeking a greater faith in God.
The fact is, apart from the second coming of Jesus Christ, we will all die someday. The only question is, how and when? As Christians, we really shouldn’t fear death, although most of do if we’re honest. And I confess, I am by nature a fearful person. Although I became a Christian very early in life, some of my earliest childhood memories included the (irrational) fear that I would get sick and die young of some terrible disease. I suppose it didn’t help watching movies like, “The Andromeda Strain,” and “The Omega Man,” but I always found it difficult to release these fears and trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God.
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