March 2026: The Right Righteousness
Published on 03/01/2026 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
"A city on a hill" and "turn the other cheek" are among the popular quotes from Lord Jesus' sermon on the mount. But how much of his teaching do you understand to apply correctly to your life?
Though the sermon on the mount is a well-known and beloved teaching of our Lord Jesus, it is often misinterpreted. Many people incorrectly believe that Jesus was "changing" the ordinances of the Torah that Yahweh gave to Israel through Moses, that somehow Jesus disagreed with his Father and was "re-writing" the laws and giving Israel a new set of laws. Nothing can be …...Read more
February 2026: The Paradox of Christian Living
Published on 02/01/2026 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What do the sun, a lighthouse, a police officer, and a Christian have in common?
They all shine as beacons of light, providing warmth, guidance, warning, and exposing darkness. The sun brings warmth and delight, a lighthouse aids and guides, and a police officer maintains order by warning and disciplining offenders. Like these lights, a Christian should shine forth as the light of the world, and we will now study exactly how.
Matthew was a Gospel writer who zoomed in on several of Jesus' discourses and teaching sessions. The most well-known lesson that Jesus taught is what we dub "the …...Read more
January 2026: Pair Up with Jesus
Published on 01/01/2026 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
"Two are better than one." This fact stated in Ecclesiastes 4 holds true in many situations: having someone with you can lend you support, offer encouragement, provide protection, and grant power as in the case of our ministry.
Even though our Lord Jesus is the divine Son of God who can achieve anything in a blink of an eye with no human assistance, he, like his Father, enjoys working through and with his human agents. If you ask me, working with humans can often lead to a lot of headaches, since we're finite and flawed, not to mention sinful. Yet, …...Read more
December 2025: The Truth: How Do You Respond to It?
Published on 12/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
How do you respond to the truth?
The truth is often ignored, hated or mocked. We see this sad fact from the life of Christ.
The Tanakh (Old Testament) is filled with Messianic prophecies. The prophetic books, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, prophesied the origin, birth, life, ministry and sacrificial death of one extraordinary ruler, and that ruler turned out to be Jesus. But when he first came to Earth two thousand years ago, most people, even his own disciples, were blind to his divine identity or calling. Many even jeered at him and belittled his disciples. In the end, …...Read more
November 2025: Washing for the Year of Favor
Published on 11/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Water. This is the common thread that runs through John 3-4. But it's not any water--it's the Holy Spirit. Let's talk about the "water" that every person requires in order to be a Christian.
In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can enter God's Kingdom unless they are born of the Spirit and water. At the opening of his book, the apostle John informed his readers that the right to become the children of God is given by Jesus to anyone who believes in his name. The right to become God's children does not come by any other …...Read more
October 2025: Harvesting for Our King
Published on 10/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
On one "ordinary" day in the life of our Lord, he conversed with a Samaritan woman who's despised by the Jews and shattered by men. There at the water well, he brought her hope and healing, and made a most remarkable revelation of himself that he seldom made...
The Revelation of the King
"The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah comes,' (he who is called Christ). 'When he has come, he will declare to us all things.'" (John 4:25, WEB)
As the conversation between Christ and the Samaritan woman continued, the woman declared that they (she and her …...Read more
September 2025: The Water That Makes You Thirst No More
Published on 09/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Are there coincidences?
When God is involved, there's only God-incidents.
The apostle John was the only Gospel writer who wrote about Jesus' early ministry in Judea, whereas the other writers began Jesus' ministry account in Galilee after John the Baptizer was taken into prison. We saw from our previous lesson that for a time, John and Jesus baptized the repentant Jews at the same time, though likely some distance apart to give each group some space. In John 4, we're told that Jesus himself wasn't baptizing anyone but his disciples were.
Jesus' increasing popularity with the people became an issue …...Read more
August 2025: Do You Bask in the Light or Wallow in Darkness?
Published on 08/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What kind of people appeal to you?
I think it's safe to guess that you're attracted to those who are loving, caring, understanding, smart and funny. Am I not too far from the mark?
You know what? Our Lord Jesus is all this in perfection, and so much more! (Funny? Is Christ funny? He sure has a sense of humor when he had Peter fish up a coin to pay their taxes out of a fish's mouth! [Matthew 17:27].)
The only reasonable response to Jesus' perfectly goodness should be to love him. Yet the world hates him! Before his sacrifice, …...Read more
July 2025: Looking Up to the One Who Was Lifted Up for You
Published on 07/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
How do we enter God's Kingdom?
By the rebirth of the Spirit, as we studied last month. In this spiritual rebirth, God pours out His Holy Spirit upon you to wash you of your sins. Like the wind, the Holy Spirit is invisible but its effects are visible. When we review the past two thousand years since Lord Jesus graced the Earth, we see accounts of millions of people whose lives have gone through remarkable transformation. People who Once steeped in sin are living lives that benefit others and glorify their Creator. Thousands upon thousands have even willingly submitted to …...Read more
June 2025: The Sprinkling Spiritual Rebirth
Published on 06/01/2025 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
What does it take for a righteous person to make enemies?
Though his ministry had just begun, Jesus started making enemies, as we saw that the Jews in Jerusalem questioned his authority, just as they had questioned John's authority. How could the purely sinless Son of God make any enemy, let alone so quickly and so easily? The reason lies in the fact that he is purely sinless, as ironic as it may sound.
We may think that it's easy to make enemies when we have done wrong to others or don't behave in a proper way. While this may …...Read more
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