Cheapening the Blood of Jesus Christ

Hebrews 10:26-31
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

It's sad how today, so many people today call themselves Christians when they're actions obviously show otherwise. GRACE GRACE GRACE. That's what they tell themselves, as if Jesus' blood on the cross and the grace he showed is an excuse for them to live anyway they want. We have severely cheapened God's grace. And what does Hebrews tell us about that? If the people were so severely punished for rejecting Moses' law, how much worse do you think they will be punished for cheapening the blood of Jesus.

1 John 2:4
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

And the Bible has tons of other verses like this one. Isn't it obvious? We are Christians not because we call ourselves Christians. If we truly are Children of God, our lives will reflect the glory of God! Of course we won't be sinless, but we will show desire for His Holiness. Notice the last line "whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did". The Bible is full of other such verses that remind us that what we do reflect what we really believe? Do you REALLY believe Jesus died for you? Do you REALLY believe God expects holiness from you? If you REALLY believe it, you would live your life as if you believed it.

This is not to say we work our way to heaven. No, I've repeated time and time again, Jesus' precious blood is what redeemed us. And what amazing grace this is. But the knowledge of this sacrifice should change the way we live our lives completely! Stop playing with Sin and treating it like a small matter. The blood of Jesus is NOT TO BE CHEAPENED.

In his love,
Germs

Hope everyone has been doing ok at school. Recently, I've been trying to devote more time studying God's word. And I mean really studying. How many of you guys actually spend time reading the Bible. Not just random verses here and there, but purposefully reading it chapter by chapter?

I've been going for this new Bible study class. I'm really thankful to God that I got to know of the place because there's not many other places that I can go to to get in dept teachings on the Bible. The teacher's name is Cecilia Perh and she started this ministry to teach the word of God for free. On the website, she writes" My heart has always been to pass on whatever good things that I've learnt and so this ministry, 2Tim2-2.com, is a realization of that heart's desire to pass on to others what our gracious Lord has taught me through the many years of studying His precious Word inductively."

The class that I went for (and will be going for) for is on Colossians, but after the first lesson, I was so inspired by how she explained the scriptures to us that I decided to buy her MP3 series on the book of Hebrews. I counted the number of tracks and it amounts to 55 hours in total! I'm working on that bit by bit now.

On reading the Bible

There were certain things she mentioned that I thought was really important. Many of us are not used to reading the Bible as a whole. Instead, we simply take a few random verses, "meditate" on it and assume our job's done. We cannot expect to truly understand and interpret God's word accurately if we don't read His word in context.

As we read the different verses in the Bible, we need to understand how they fit in with the rest of the book, and even how it fits into the entire Bible. For example, if we are reading the New Testament, we need to know who the writers were, who they were addressing, what their purpose was, and what they were saying etc. As we read, we need to keep asking ourselves questions.

There are 3 basics to interpreting the Bible:

Observation teaches you to see precisely what the passage says. It is the basis for accurate interpretation and correct application. Observation answers the question: What does the passage say?

Interpretation answers the question: What does the passage mean?

Application answers the question: What does God want me to do now with this knowledge?

The problem with us is that we usually read a passage and try to apply it straight away without first understanding the real context and how God intended for it to be read. Of course the explanation above is just very brief and hopefully, we can all go for a Bible Study equipping class together to better learn how to accurately understand and interpret the Bible.

For now, let's dilligently read the scriptures, not just random verses but book by book.

In his love,
Germs

Hi,

Thanks everyone, for coming for CG this week. And thank you to the 3 guys who shared on their different passages. I especially want to commend JC for his work. I know that teaching is not something you're completely comfortable with but I thank you for putting effort into it. I think you did a good job.

A big welcome to Wee Theng. I'm really glad that you are joining the CG. Even from the 1st session, I can already see that you have a lot of insight to offer and I'm excited to see what you can bring to the CG. We're really happy to have you here. I'm sure everyone's just delighted to have a new leader :)

I don't know how school has been for you all, but I'm starting to feel the load of it all. I feel like my life has been split into 2 major sections, Music and God. Half the time is spent learning and teaching music. Then the other half is spent learning and teaching about God. It's quite funny when you put it that way.

I just realise we hardly share much about ourselves and I really think we should start doing so as a CG. My young adult recently started email chains where everyone just emails each other about how they've been doing and since then, we've grown a lot closer. I hope we can start something like that as well. Possibly by email. We'll see.

Sometimes (well, actually most of the time) I find leading a CG tiring and stressful. You have no idea the kind of burden I feel for the CG daily and how many times your different names pop up in my mind. Over the years, I've learnt to pour my worry, excitement, and sometimes even the pain that I feel because of the CG into God's hands.

I have learnt that while I am your leader, you are more importantly God's children and there's no way I could ever care for you more perfectly that God can. Seeing the growth in some of you, I'm glad to be one of the leaders that God has used to mould you. It's not my work but God's. I know I must stop trying to take things fully into my own hands, but let God do his work of transformation in you.

As mentioned during our last meeting, we are starting on the new series - the devotional book that you all bought. Remember to finish the 1st chapter before we meet again next sat. I look forward to seeing everyone again next week.

In his perfect love and my imperfect one,
Germs


Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

CG on 10 July

Hi everyone,

Look forward to seeing you all this saturday again. Let's meet at Admiralty MRT station at 2pm. Do bring your Bibles, files, BS material and pens. And please try to come on time. David... bathe quickly! Celeste, leave your house on time! :) Can't wait to meet everyone again.

In his love,
Germs

Nick Vujicic

Nick Vujicic

As humans, we complain far too easily. We fall into self-pity, grumble, and feel depressed over the smallest things. I know I'm definitely guilty of that.

Below is the inspiring story of Nick Vujicic, the son of a pastor born with no arms and legs. Watch how he struggled growing up, questioning why God made him like this. It's amazing how someone like him could grow up into the confident, joyful person that he is today. It really made me see how small my problems are compared to what some others face. His story has inspired millions around the world, and I believe it will inspire you as well :)



Check out his full story at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1196755/The-astonishing-story-man-born-arms-legs--world-famous-swimmer-surfer-footballer.html

Or search Youtube for more of his talks.