March 2025: Shortcut to Glory?
Published on 03/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Do you take shortcuts to achieve God's purpose?
If we think it's clever of us to take shortcuts in divine missions, today's lesson will help us reconsider.
The job of John the Baptizer was to prepare the way before Jesus' arrival. Now that John had declared that Jesus' the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world and the Son of God, it's time for Jesus to begin his ministry.
Luke indicated that Jesus was about thirty years old when he was baptized and began his ministry. Unlike Matthew, it appears that Luke traced Jesus' ancestral line …...Read more
February 2025: The Logical Allegiance
Published on 02/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"
This is the message that John the Baptizer proclaimed as he baptized the repentant in the Jordan River. While many civilians flocked to him in contriteness, the religious leaders scoffed at him. Yet, instead of turning the other way in indifference, they faced him with hostility, and this animosity foreshadows the animosity they would later show toward the King of the Jews. Indeed, John was the forerunner of Christ in multiple ways--in birth, in ministry, in the face of opposition and in innocent suffering for the sake of righteousness.
Inquiry into …...Read more
January 2025: Fruit of Repentance
Published on 01/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
God is gracious.
This is what the name "John" means, and it is quite an apt name for John the Baptizer. He is the answer to the prayer of Zacharias and became a blessing to Israel by the grace of God.
Just as the prophets of old foretold Jesus and his ministry, the ministry of John was also prophesied:
"Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord!
Make his paths straight!" (Mark 1:2-3, WEB)
The first prophecy from …...Read more
December 2024: The Man Who Fulfilled All Prophecies
Published on 12/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Who Fits the Glass Slipper?
"The maiden whose feet can fit into these glass slippers is the one!" This is the message that rang out throughout the kingdom in the all too-familiar fairy tale of Cinderella. We know her story: In her haste, Cinderella lost one glass slipper as she fled away from the palace before the magic ended. Determined to find her, the prince proclaimed that whomever whose feet can fit the glass slipper is the girl he's looking for, for her feet is the smallest and no one but she can fit her slipper. The glass slipper is …...Read more
November 2024: Light for Revelation
Published on 11/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What was the world like when our Lord Jesus and his forerunner were born?
Jesus and John were born into the world while Judea was under the rule of the Romans. Judea was what the Romans called the land of Judah when it became one of its many provinces. The powerful Roman empire had replaced the Greek empire as the world's most dominant empire. The then-emperor was Caesar Augustus, who reigned from 44 BC to 14 AD. Though they conquered the Greeks, the Romans kept Greek as their empire's official language.
In those days, the land of Israel was divided …...Read more
October 2024: Birth of the Divine King
Published on 10/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Do you know that God interacts with people through covenants? Not a single person--past, present or future--is outside a covenant with the Creator.
A covenant is an agreement that governs the relationship between the parties involved. God has established various covenants with different people, so it's important to know which covenant governs your relationship with God. Even atheists are in a covenant, whether or not they are aware. Such a covenant stipulates that the penalty of sin is death. Everyone is born into this covenant, with no exception. However, once mature enough to make moral choices, each person can choose …...Read more
September 2024: The Kingdom, the King and His Forerunner
Published on 09/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What's God's plan for the world?
In the Tanakh, Yahweh described His plans for humanity, and those plans revolve around one figure (the Messiah) and one place (the Kingdom of God). He plans for all the righteous remnant to inherit the Kingdom of God, and only the Messiah can bring that about as His anointed King.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, the identity of Messiah is shrouded in secrecy, though this does not mean that Yahweh didn't give any clues. On the contrary, through His prophets, Yahweh pronounced hundreds of prophecies regarding His Messiah to help His people recognize him when …...Read more
August 2024: The Beginning Before Time
Published on 08/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Intro to the Gospels
"Gospel" means "good news." The particular good news that the Gospels speak of is the good news of Yahweh's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. This good news is the best gospel ever because anyone who accepts it will receive eternal life with Yahweh and His Son in the Kingdom of God. "Jesus" means "Yahweh's salvation." As his name suggests, Jesus is the Agent whom Yahweh anointed or appointed to bring salvation to us. "Christ" means "anointed one," and its Hebrew is "Messiah." It is not Jesus' last name.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke …...Read more
July 2024: Is Your Saving Faith at Work?
Published on 07/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What must we have to please God? It is faith, as we learned in Hebrews 11.
This faith is what both pleases God and what saves us. This faith is an active faith that does not rest. It actively seeks after God. It actively does what honors Him. It actively obeys. So while we're not justified by good works, good works are evidence of saving faith. To conclude his epistle, the writer of Hebrews shows some of the ways we should live out that saving faith.
Hebrews 13 - Chapter Thirteen of the Epistle to the Hebrew Christians
"Let brotherly …...Read more
June 2024: Being Disciplined? Be Thankful
Published on 06/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
In this world, we're bound to have trials. This is the truth that our Lord pointed out. Our trials come in various shapes and sizes due to different reasons, and one of those reason is our own sins.
Many Christians are surprised that we continue to experience trials in the form of discipline when Jesus' sacrifice already made atonement for our sins. How should we respond or feel when God disciplines us for our sins? Does it mean He no longer loves us but is instead wrathful toward us? Let us consider these issues as we resume our study of …...Read more
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