How are things? Our EM Retreat is coming up this weekend. Take the time to prayer for yourself as well as the guest speaker and everyone attending. I also checked the weather report. It will be cool in the day and COLD at night (high 30′s to low 40′s) so make sure to bring some extra layers. Here’s today’s devotion:

Tues, Sept 7th – Ezekiel 25-27

One of the greatest tragedies that we witness in life is to see those who have so much potential fall flat. We see this with star athletes, up and coming musicians and scholars. Many years ago there was a young man who graduated from Harvard and went to become a math professor at UC Berkeley. He was known to solve some of the most difficult math problems that had baffled professors there for 20 years. Unfortunately, he decided to resign and ultimately went into seclusion and starting mailing bombs to various universities. Labeled the Unabomber, he would eventually be turn into police by a tip from his very own brother. Now what would have happened if he choose to stay in the mathematics field. He could have been one of the greatest math professor in the last 100 years but he could not socially adapt to the world around him.

We see the pains of failed expectations in our chapters today with the judgments that would fall on the nations. One nation that was singled out was the city of Tyre. It was a beautiful place situated right on the Meditteranean Sea. It would be the ideal place for commerce, trade, and the expansion of various ideologies. Unfortunately, Tyre would never take advantage of its position as it would fall into idolatry and unrighteousness.

One of the saddest things that can happen in someone’s life is when they would waste away what has been given to them by the Lord. There are so many who have grown up in the church with numerous gifts and many godly mentors that have simply wasted those great blessings. We must remember what the Lord has blessed us with and ask ourselves what can we do with these gifts to do the Lord’s work and increase His kingdom.

Have a great week in the Lord everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

Hope you guys are ready for the long weekend. A reminder that we’ll be having our Joint Morning Prayer Meeting and EM Prayer Meeting at 6 and 7am. We have decided to focus our EM prayer meetings on EM needs and for missions. For those of you who had an opportunity to go on missions in the past, especially to Cambodia, this is a great opportunity to pray for the people and the country. Here’s today’s devotion:

Friday, Sept 3rd – Ezekiel 16-17

We see the nature of God’s nurture and care for His people. He would raise Israel when it was unwanted and raise it to be a young bride. But not any young bridge but the crown jewel of the world. How would Israel repay this love? By running into the arms of other lovers and forsaking the Lord. The Lord would use this analogy in order to show God’s people the extent of their unfaithfulness and the reason for judgment.

Likewise, we must remember that we were unwanted by this world and God Himself. He would love us even when we weren’t deserving of love and cloth us with His righteousness. So what can we do in response to this great love? Our Heavenly Father calls us to follow Him and love Him by obeying what He has commanded us to do.

Have an awesome weekend in the Lord and I hope you guys can join us for prayer tomorrow. God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How’s it going? Hope you guys are having a blessed week. We’ll be continuing our study in Acts tonight at 7pm. Hope you guys can make it. Here’s today’s devotion:

Thurs, Sept 2nd – Ezekiel 13-15

There are many who believe that hell is just a ficticious place, a place that has been created by the imagination of man in order to strike fear. How do we know that hell is real and how are we to response to it? The Lord guarantees the validity of everything in Scripture b/c it is His spoken word. Anything that would prove false in the Bible would only give discredit the Lord, which He will not allow to occur.

In our chapters, it lays out the judgment that will fall on Israel. Chapter 14 takes a unique approach by refuting those who believe that they can save themselves by various means. The prophet warns them that all of these efforts are futile. So what are we to learn from this? They are many in the world today that believe that they can save themselves via good works, morality, religion, and so on. The Word clearly states that no one can escape God’s wrath unless they are covered in the shadow of the cross. More than anything else, we need to let others know about the Good News, that they can be rescued from their sins by faith in Christ. Just as judgment was not spared on Israel so too it will not on the rest of this world on that dreadful day.

Take care guys and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

If you have NOT heard yet, our EM retreat is coming up in next weekend (Sept 10-12) and this Sunday is the last day that you can sign up. Here’s today’s devotion:

Wed, Sept 1st – Ezekiel 9-12

You never really know how important something is to you until you lose it. It is easy for us to take for granted those around us until they’re gone. I believe this is one of the greatest reasons why we take our relationship with the Lord for granted. We take the basic fundamental truth that He will never leave us nor forsake us and treat that wonderful truth as license to sin and stray from the Lord.

The Jews would learn an invaluable lesson thru the judgment that would fall down upon them. One of the saddest scenes would occur in Ezekiel 10 when the glory of the Lord would depart from the temple. The temple was given to the Israelites by God Himself as a place where God’s people could meet the Lord and worship Him. It was easy for the Jews to simple assume that God would always be in the temple and so when His presence left, you could imagine the reaction that it would cause. This reminds us that there will be that future judgment upon those who fail to place their trust in the Lord. Also this reminds us that we should NEVER take our relationship with the Lord for granted but continually devote our lives to Him.

Finally we see that even in the midst of judgment, God shows a glimpse of His mercy. The Lord would promise the day when He would take their hearts of stone and turn them into hearts of flesh. This is the work of regeneration that would happen by the Holy Spirit transforming hearts.

Have a great week everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How’s it going? Our Core team has been hard at work discussing the final details of our EM Retreat and here’s the breakdown.

Adults $50
College $40
Children 7-11 $35
Children 2-6 $25

No partial day cost will be allowed unless a person comes for the day.

The deadline to sign up this SUNDAY.

Tues, August 31st – Ezekiel 5-8

Sometime we feel as though that we are unfairly punished for the things that we’ve done wrong. Whether it be an extensive fine, a substandard grade or loss of job, we believe there are those times where we receive the short end of the stick. However as we read thru our chapters today in Ezekiel, we see the judgment that had fallen on God’s people and how it was fully deserved.

The prophet Ezekiel was sent to God’s people in order to render similar judgment on the Jews for their unfaithfulness. Many of the Jews would grumble against the Lord, feeling like their punishment was too much to bear. But as the prophets duly noted, the Israelites were receiving what they deserved. They were not only follow false gods but they were bringing these idols in God’s temple.

Imagine if your spouse brought in a picture of their former spouse and hung it inside your house. How would you feel about it? You’d probably want to burn it or throw it off a cliff, but that what God’s people were doing. Likewise, we need to ask ourselves what are the idols that we are placing before the Lord. We idolize our friends, possessions, families, etc. and at the same time we expect the Lord to bless us. Let us learn from the sinful ways of the Jews and seek to be genuine worshippers that love the Lord in all that we do.

Blessings,
P. Ben

How’s it going? There’s a lot going on this weekend and I hope that you can come out for some of the events.

1. KM Mission Report Service @ 745p tonight
2. EM Oikos Meeting w/ Cambodia report @ 5pm tomorrow at church
3. College BBQ @ 3pm Sunday at Johan & Grace’s place

Friday, August 27th – Jeremiah 51-52

One of the greatest points of credibility in the Christian faith is the fulfillment of prophecy. No other religion has the amount of prophecy written and fulfilled. Some of the prophecies of Scripture can be seen as ordinary but others as nothing more than a supernatural act. Jer
51:26 notes, “No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone, nor any stone for a foundation, for you will be desolate forever, declares the Lord”. If you were to interpret this correctly, the message states that the city will be so throughly annihilated that even the ruins cannot be used for future buildings.

There was one ancient ruler who sought to restore Babylon as his capital, Alexander the Great, and he was struck dead. When we see the words of Scripture fulfilled with archaeological and historical accuracy, it adds reason for the faith that we already have in our Lord.

Finally we see judgment on God’s people fall as their capital city Jerusalem was destroyed. These were desperate times as the Babylonian had laid seize to the city and the people began to starve after many months of isolation. Finally they were so weakened that their enemies were able to enter, destroy nearly the entire city and capture all of their officials.

This shows us what happens when man seeks to sustain himself on his own accord. The only way that God’s kingdom would sustain itself is as the eternal king comes to reign perfectly in righteousness. Jesus was not the king that Israel wanted but the One that they and all nations need.

Have an awesome weekend and I hope to see you guys sometime this weekend. God bless!

Blessings,
P. Ben

How’s it going? We have a jam packed weekend. This Sat, we will be having our Oikos meeting at 5pm at church where our Cambodia team will be sharing their report. Then on Sunday after fellowship, we will be having a special College BBQ at Deacon Johan’s place. Hope you guys can make it. Here’s today’s devotion:

Thurs, Aug 26th – Jeremiah 49-50

There are certain people that you just don’t want to mess with. Someone like Alexander the Great who would rule with force and overtake nations at will. But as fierce and ominous as Alexander was, there is no one that compares to our God who has the ultimate power and is able to destroy by His very own word.

In our chapters today, we read of the prophetical judgments that were to fall on the nations of Ammon and Babylon. These words are not to be taken lightly b/c it is the Lord that professes them. Especially when you examine the words, it strikes fear. “The Lord has opened his arsenal and brought out the weapons of his wrath, for the Sovereign Lord Almighty has work to do, in the land of the Babylonians”. If there is anyone that we should fear, it is the Lord.

So how does this apply to us? We are redeemed in Christ and covered by His righteousness. First, for those of us who are truly believers, we should never take the Lord’s mercy for granted. We have been forgiven and should deal with sin seriously. Secondly, for those that are not believers or know those who are not, there is an urgency in letting them know that an eternal judgment is to come.

Hope to see you guys at bible study tonight. God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

This Saturday, we will be having a special Oikos meeting as our Cambodia STSM team will be sharing our report with all of you. This will be an awesome opportunity to hear testimonies, see some of the work that was done there and ask questions. Hope you guys can join us. Here’s today’s devotion:

Wed, August 25th – Jeremiah 46-48

In modern history, there is probably no nation than is greater or more powerful than the nation that we’re living in right now. Even with events such as December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, our nation has stood strong and enduring through fierce opposition. The US is a nation where most people could never imagine being brought to its knees. However as we look throughout the course of history, we see many nations, kingdoms and empires that have either vanished or been left as a weak nation that no longer reflects its former glory.

Egypt was considered the first great nation in human history. This was the nation that gave us some of the basic elements and techniques of human society that we used today such as in farming and mathematics. It was a nation that prided itself on its intelligence and wisdom. Back in biblical times, Egypt was a formidable force that could not be defeated. It was inconceivable that this nation would ever fail.

So when the prophet Jeremiah would foretell of its demise, I’m sure that there were many that would laugh at the very thought. But here we see once again the powerful sovereign hand of the Lord. When the Lord determines that a nation will be punished, there is nothing that anyone can do about it.

This reminds us that the Lord is able to accomplish all things. That’s why when the Lord speaks in His Word, not only are we to listen but to also trust what He has to say to us.

Take care everyone and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben

How’s it going? This Sunday is the last day to sign up for the next EM membership class. This is one of the best ways to know what New Life is all about and what we believe in. Hope you guys are able to join us this time around. Here’s today’s devotion:

Tues, August 24th – Jeremiah 42-45

What determines our level of devotion to the Lord? Is it simply a matter of priorities? Does it hinge upon the stage of life that we’re currently in? All of the answers to these respective questions do play a role in the way that we approach our relationship with the Lord but sometimes we can determine this by the benefits and costs of making sacrifices for the Lord.

We see the extent of the sinfulness and rebellion of God’s people in our chapter today. As Jeremiah was calling them to repent of their idolatry, not only did they say that they wouldn’t repent but that their lives were better off as they followed false gods. Their justification for their sinfulness was that when they would followed the Lord that nothing but trouble ensued but when they would follow the gods of other nations, they began to prosper. Why was this? There are those times when God would allow these things to sovereignly happen in order to test our faith in Him.

Imagine that every time that we prayed, or went to church, or shared the gospel with someone, that we would receive an immediate tangible benefit like a car, money, or a significant other. It would be easy then to be a faithful believer b/c we would be getting the things that we wanted just by practicing spiritual disciplines. It becomes much more difficult to take steps of godliness when trouble comes.

There are many people who have fallen into the same trap that the Jews did in the OT. They believe that life gets more difficult when you seek Christ and so why do it. The Lord never promises a bed of roses but He does promises us “streets of gold”. He doesn’t give us a vast domain but a kingdom that will last eternally and it is vital that we seek that kingdom today no matter the cost.

Have a great week in the Lord and God bless!

SDG,
P. Ben