DISCIPLE

Throughout the Old Testament, God delivers the people of Israel from many different situations. He acts miraculously in bringing them out of foreign nations. He even provides water and bread for them in the wilderness.

However, the nation of Israel grew disobedient, and distant from God and His law. They ended up turning away from God, and part of the reason was because they failed to remember.

They failed to remember the great acts of deliverance God did for them. They failed to remember the miracles that He performed in their midst. They failed to remember that He’s good and present and loving towards them. 

God sent prophets to the people of Israel. The prophets’ role was to call the people back to their covenant with God, warning them of judgment and offering a path to repentance and restoration. Despite the prophets’ own failings, God used them as messengers, continually reaching out with compassion even as the people mocked them

But thankfully, there were also people throughout Scripture who developed a spiritual habit of remembering God’s work from the past. When times became difficult, or when things seemed dark, they took the time to remember how God had previously acted toward them. 

The writer of Psalm 9 was one of them:

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
² I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

The Psalmist begins this song by doing two things…

First, the writer gives thanks to God, and expresses gratefulness for God.

Second, the writer recounts God’s wonderful deeds. Recounting these deeds from the past helped the Israelites remember His faithfulness and goodness toward them even in difficult times. 

And the same is true for us.

We are commanded many times in God’s Word to remember what God has done, because remembering what God has done fuels our hope for what He will do. 

• So, I will choose to remember what God has done for me. Remember the seasons of my life where I was afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed and knew God’s goodness and love.
• Giving Thanks to Him how grateful I am for His Love, Mercy, Grace and Goodness in my life. Begin not only to let those memories of God’s love shape my hope for the future, but the courage and strength through the Holy Spirit, to be this “Treasure in Jars of Clay” as in 2 Cor 4:7: But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We also “journeyed” with Paul in his missionary journey in the New Testament. Paul the persecutor became the persecuted. 

Paul’s intense passion stemmed from a transformative encounter with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, coupled with his deep love for God, conviction and his realisation of God’s grace in saving him, fueled his fervent desire to spread the gospel and save others, especially his fellow Jews.

In Ps Simon Lim’s Sunday sermon “Compelling U. Compelling me”, he said, “Paul was so caught up in the current of Jesus’ Love.”

Paul’s Devotion, Ministry and Mission should compel me to be a Minister of Reconciliation, having a fervent desire to share the Gospel to others. 

In between some sessions of D3, The Holy Spirit also stirred in my spirit a new perspective on a few pointers  Extracted from Page 254 of our Discipleship Notes, the “CALL TO OBEDIENT COMMUNITY”:

• They have ears but do not hear. they have the ability to hear but choose not to understand or listen to the truth or spiritual messages. Am I listening when Jesus speaks or just hearing?
• To engage with his teachings and voice through scripture, prayer, and the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit, with a commitment to obey and follow His will.
• They have eyes but do not see; so if I have the eyes to see, do I see as Jesus sees?

Looking at others with compassion, unconditional love, and understanding, recognising their value as children of God and seeing beyond their outward appearance or failures.

To action through empathy, serving others selflessly, and desiring to bring them closer to God, just as Jesus saw the struggles of people and was moved with compassion for them. 

Or am I still immersed in the ME first?

Someone once shared about putting the WE before ME.  The differences are,

If you look at it, W is a inversion of M along a horizontal axis.

The use of “we” by apostles like Paul in his letters emphasises shared beliefs, experiences, and a common mission among believers (e.g., Romans 5:1-2).

MET to Batam

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kwang Meng and  my fellow D3 comrades in struggle, for giving me the opportunity to embark on Mission Exposure Trip to Batam in November 2025, serving the Childcare and Seniors in EduCare and Grace Methodist Church.

The collaborated effort contributed and love displayed, truly displayed comradeship (defined by Oxford as the company and friendship of others with common aims),

“Warms the cockles of my heart and lifted my spirit”.

As we take the long break and come back together in 2026, Let us REMEMBER who we are. May WE continue to grow Spiritually and Bond stronger, remembering that we are

“All One in Christ”, Galatians 3:28 and a “Body of Christ with Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone”  Eph 2:19-22,

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.

Eph 2:19-22     19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.                                                                                                                           

Thank you!