Luke 19:45-46
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, "AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER," but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN."
Nowadays, thanks to the fact that I'm handling the walkman category of the phones, I've started depending on the phone to play all my christian songs and podcast sermons the moment I leave the house. This allows me to worship or listen to the word of God being shared and boy is it really invigorating to start the day this way, especially when the weather is cool and on days when the Holy Spirit reveals a deeper revelation of the word of God and God's perspectives of things.
It's an amazing feeling of revelation when you think about the word of God and it literally becomes alive and pops into a 3D format at you.
Just a day ago, I was brought into prayer after a brief worship session as I walked to work and suddenly this incident popped up into my mind:
Some time ago, Clark was playing "chor tie ti" (a somewhat chinese version of bridge) in the annex with some of the other ex rangers and I voiced my displeasure of him partaking in what I considered to be gambling - even if it didn't involve money. Somehow, in my perspective, I regard it as gambling because it is an activity which the secular partakes. There and then it was and still is disturbing for me to see my Rangers living compromised lives as they partake in their entertainment activities which the world practices for its own version of entertainment. Not that I'm innocent for not doing something similar because I too was chided, when I was 16, by my father for playing mahjong even though too gave the similar excuse of "I'm not playing with money." Don't get me wrong, I really love playing mahjong as a game, so I didn't just obey when my father chided me, rather I stood my ground and argued with my aggressive teenage attitude - and boy was I a fiery, stubborn teenager then.
Somehow, I chose to swallow the logic of my father when he retorted through my argument of "the game is developed behind the spirit of gambling and you are partaking in it when you play the game". I'm not sure when I finally bought the logic but through obliging obedience, somehow today I'm not comfortable with Christians adopting secular stuff for our own lifestyle usage as we inevitably disguise or ignore the essence and spirit behind the secular activity. Thus, I stand firm in discomfort against any of my rangers who partake in adopting secular gambling games or programmes in their excuse of clean entertainment.
Anyhow, after that thought of the event in the annex came back to me in remembrance, before I could think in puzzlement why, the word of God in the passage above of Luke 19:45-46 came to mind. It dawned upon myself that the Annex which we used as the church is not to be used as an den where gambling activities and spirit of thieves and robbers reside. But before I could affirm with a "oh, I see", the next passage popped up and hit me hard in deep revelation.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Immediately, the holy spirit spoke to me that the issue of Clark and gang playing "Chor Tie Ti" wasn't just about the physical church being neglected as a place of worship but it also involved a deeper issue of our bodies, "temple of the Holy Spirit", being defiled when we partake in secular activities. Often we perceive the first level of this verse meaning by stating that we should not mutilate our physical bodies or even pollute through vocal obscenities, immoral sexual lifestyle or disgusting habits.
The deeper meaning of Jesus displaying his righteous anger as he chased the vendors and money changers from the physical synagogue is also realised in our physical bodies because our bodies and all it's physical, mental, social and emotional elements have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Therefore it is no longer us that live and we are not free to do as we want to defile our being.
Lord, today may the Holy Spirit check, convict and stop us for all the stuff, things, activities & entertaiment of the world that we consume wantonly. Forgive us for the times we defile this body which you have paid for with your precious blood and work on the cross, for we know that we need to make this body a house of prayer and not a den of sin.
May you and I live lives that bring to God the greatest glory, even if the world thinks we're being boring or silly for the strictness of our lifestyle.
Blessings,
M.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!" (1 Corinthians 6:15)
02 November 2007
I'm the House of Prayer
Luke 19:45-46
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, "AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER," but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN."
Nowadays, thanks to the fact that I'm handling the walkman category of the phones, I've started depending on the phone to play all my christian songs and podcast sermons the moment I leave the house. This allows me to worship or listen to the word of God being shared and boy is it really invigorating to start the day this way, especially when the weather is cool and on days when the Holy Spirit reveals a deeper revelation of the word of God and God's perspectives of things.
It's an amazing feeling of revelation when you think about the word of God and it literally becomes alive and pops into a 3D format at you.
Just a day ago, I was brought into prayer after a brief worship session as I walked to work and suddenly this incident popped up into my mind:
Some time ago, Clark was playing "chor tie ti" (a somewhat chinese version of bridge) in the annex with some of the other ex rangers and I voiced my displeasure of him partaking in what I considered to be gambling - even if it didn't involve money. Somehow, in my perspective, I regard it as gambling because it is an activity which the secular partakes. There and then it was and still is disturbing for me to see my Rangers living compromised lives as they partake in their entertainment activities which the world practices for its own version of entertainment. Not that I'm innocent for not doing something similar because I too was chided, when I was 16, by my father for playing mahjong even though too gave the similar excuse of "I'm not playing with money." Don't get me wrong, I really love playing mahjong as a game, so I didn't just obey when my father chided me, rather I stood my ground and argued with my aggressive teenage attitude - and boy was I a fiery, stubborn teenager then.
Somehow, I chose to swallow the logic of my father when he retorted through my argument of "the game is developed behind the spirit of gambling and you are partaking in it when you play the game". I'm not sure when I finally bought the logic but through obliging obedience, somehow today I'm not comfortable with Christians adopting secular stuff for our own lifestyle usage as we inevitably disguise or ignore the essence and spirit behind the secular activity. Thus, I stand firm in discomfort against any of my rangers who partake in adopting secular gambling games or programmes in their excuse of clean entertainment.
Anyhow, after that thought of the event in the annex came back to me in remembrance, before I could think in puzzlement why, the word of God in the passage above of Luke 19:45-46 came to mind. It dawned upon myself that the Annex which we used as the church is not to be used as an den where gambling activities and spirit of thieves and robbers reside. But before I could affirm with a "oh, I see", the next passage popped up and hit me hard in deep revelation.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Immediately, the holy spirit spoke to me that the issue of Clark and gang playing "Chor Tie Ti" wasn't just about the physical church being neglected as a place of worship but it also involved a deeper issue of our bodies, "temple of the Holy Spirit", being defiled when we partake in secular activities. Often we perceive the first level of this verse meaning by stating that we should not mutilate our physical bodies or even pollute through vocal obscenities, immoral sexual lifestyle or disgusting habits.
The deeper meaning of Jesus displaying his righteous anger as he chased the vendors and money changers from the physical synagogue is also realised in our physical bodies because our bodies and all it's physical, mental, social and emotional elements have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Therefore it is no longer us that live and we are not free to do as we want to defile our being.
Lord, today may the Holy Spirit check, convict and stop us for all the stuff, things, activities & entertaiment of the world that we consume wantonly. Forgive us for the times we defile this body which you have paid for with your precious blood and work on the cross, for we know that we need to make this body a house of prayer and not a den of sin.
May you and I live lives that bring to God the greatest glory, even if the world thinks we're being boring or silly for the strictness of our lifestyle.
Blessings,
M.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!" (1 Corinthians 6:15)
Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, "AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER," but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN."
Nowadays, thanks to the fact that I'm handling the walkman category of the phones, I've started depending on the phone to play all my christian songs and podcast sermons the moment I leave the house. This allows me to worship or listen to the word of God being shared and boy is it really invigorating to start the day this way, especially when the weather is cool and on days when the Holy Spirit reveals a deeper revelation of the word of God and God's perspectives of things.
It's an amazing feeling of revelation when you think about the word of God and it literally becomes alive and pops into a 3D format at you.
Just a day ago, I was brought into prayer after a brief worship session as I walked to work and suddenly this incident popped up into my mind:
Some time ago, Clark was playing "chor tie ti" (a somewhat chinese version of bridge) in the annex with some of the other ex rangers and I voiced my displeasure of him partaking in what I considered to be gambling - even if it didn't involve money. Somehow, in my perspective, I regard it as gambling because it is an activity which the secular partakes. There and then it was and still is disturbing for me to see my Rangers living compromised lives as they partake in their entertainment activities which the world practices for its own version of entertainment. Not that I'm innocent for not doing something similar because I too was chided, when I was 16, by my father for playing mahjong even though too gave the similar excuse of "I'm not playing with money." Don't get me wrong, I really love playing mahjong as a game, so I didn't just obey when my father chided me, rather I stood my ground and argued with my aggressive teenage attitude - and boy was I a fiery, stubborn teenager then.
Somehow, I chose to swallow the logic of my father when he retorted through my argument of "the game is developed behind the spirit of gambling and you are partaking in it when you play the game". I'm not sure when I finally bought the logic but through obliging obedience, somehow today I'm not comfortable with Christians adopting secular stuff for our own lifestyle usage as we inevitably disguise or ignore the essence and spirit behind the secular activity. Thus, I stand firm in discomfort against any of my rangers who partake in adopting secular gambling games or programmes in their excuse of clean entertainment.
Anyhow, after that thought of the event in the annex came back to me in remembrance, before I could think in puzzlement why, the word of God in the passage above of Luke 19:45-46 came to mind. It dawned upon myself that the Annex which we used as the church is not to be used as an den where gambling activities and spirit of thieves and robbers reside. But before I could affirm with a "oh, I see", the next passage popped up and hit me hard in deep revelation.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Immediately, the holy spirit spoke to me that the issue of Clark and gang playing "Chor Tie Ti" wasn't just about the physical church being neglected as a place of worship but it also involved a deeper issue of our bodies, "temple of the Holy Spirit", being defiled when we partake in secular activities. Often we perceive the first level of this verse meaning by stating that we should not mutilate our physical bodies or even pollute through vocal obscenities, immoral sexual lifestyle or disgusting habits.
The deeper meaning of Jesus displaying his righteous anger as he chased the vendors and money changers from the physical synagogue is also realised in our physical bodies because our bodies and all it's physical, mental, social and emotional elements have been purchased by the blood of Christ. Therefore it is no longer us that live and we are not free to do as we want to defile our being.
Lord, today may the Holy Spirit check, convict and stop us for all the stuff, things, activities & entertaiment of the world that we consume wantonly. Forgive us for the times we defile this body which you have paid for with your precious blood and work on the cross, for we know that we need to make this body a house of prayer and not a den of sin.
May you and I live lives that bring to God the greatest glory, even if the world thinks we're being boring or silly for the strictness of our lifestyle.
Blessings,
M.
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!" (1 Corinthians 6:15)
