May 2024: Enter into the Hall of Faith
Published on 05/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
If a complete stranger walks up to you with a crying baby in her arms and asks you, "Please care for my baby for the week while I go away awhile. You give me good vibes. I believe I can trust you," what would you think of her? Pretty foolish or naive, wouldn't she be to you?
But if she's your close friend and says, "I know I can trust you, as you cared for my kids before," that would make her a sensible woman who knows the reasons for her solid trust in you, wouldn't it?
When it comes …...Read more
April 2024: Glory Through the Torn Body
Published on 04/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
The cost of sin is hefty.
When we tell lies, we ruin friendships. When we fornicate, we catch STDs that can make us infertile. When we steal, we're locked up, leaving our children without a parent.
Ultimately, sin kills us. Sin results in death, as God ordained death for any sin. Since every person is born a sinner, we are all destined to die, and that death would have been forever if it weren't for Christ's death on our behalf.
Before Christ came, God opened a path to temporary forgiveness to His people through animal sacrifices. Instead of dying for …...Read more
March 2024: Resurrection of the Righteous or the Wicked - Which Will You Join?
Published on 03/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
How is Jesus' ministry going to affect your eternal destiny?
In the wilderness, God fellowshipped with His people via the tabernacle. The tabernacle, which Israel constructed after exiting Egypt, was a large portable tent-like structure that Israel could carry wherever they went. Throughout their journey, God manifested Himself as a cloud over the tabernacle. At night, that cloud was a pillar of fire. Whether by day or night, God was always present with His people.
God making Himself accessible to His people for personal interaction and fellowship is mind boggling. Think about it. It was in the garden of Eden …...Read more
February 2024: From Shadow to Reality
Published on 02/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Do you realize that everything in the Old Testament pointed to our Lord Jesus Christ?
Too many Christians, I'm sad to say, shrug off the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), except the Psalms and Proverbs and some inspirational passages here and there. Without studying the Old Testament, we won't fully understand the severity of our sins, of our plight, nor would we fully appreciate what Christ has done for us.
Our sin separates us from God like an ocean that separates two continents; it bars us from having fellowship with our Creator. He is so holy that no person in …...Read more
January 2024: The Supremacy of Christ - How Will You Respond?
Published on 01/01/2024 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Angels are glorious heavenly servants of God. But Jesus is far superior. Moses is the greatest prophet of all times. Yet Jesus is much greater. The priests held the highest spiritual position in Israel. But Jesus is far higher.
In proving Christ's superiority over all institutions, the book of Hebrews is sending this loud message to us: heed the divine revelation through Jesus and esteem him above all the messengers of God, whether spiritual or physical. Jesus is the ultimate Revealer of Yahweh God to humanity. He represents God fully to man, both in his essence and action. He showed …...Read more
December 2023: Growth or Apostacy
Published on 12/01/2023 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
How do you rate your spiritual growth?
Spiritual growth is a must for Christians, and all Christians must not fall away from God's grace. In the section of his epistle we'll study today, the writer strung these two truths together: spiritual growth is a must because apostasy is a real danger that we must all guard against. When we fail to grow, we risk becoming slack in our spiritual walk and could eventually fall permanently away, and those who fall away won't meet a pretty fate. Let us do ourselves an eternal favor by heeding the inspired writer's exhortations and …...Read more
November 2023: Still Sucking on a Spiritual Baby Bottle?
Published on 11/01/2023 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
When Jacob was leaving home to seek refuge at his uncle Laban's house, he spent a night in the city of Luz. That night, he had a most extraordinary dream: a ladder that reached to the heavens, with angels ascending and descending on it, and Yahweh stood at the top. After awakening, he proclaimed that the place he stayed was the "house of God," thus naming that city "Bethel."
Nearly twenty centuries later, Jesus said to his disciples, "Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son …...Read more
October 2023: Be Bold to Enter into Rest
Published on 10/01/2023 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Do you sometimes feel that no matter how much you do, that you'd never get it done? Day after day, it appears that you live to work. There's no rest in sight.
The sweat, the toilsome work, the grind--all this is the curse of sin. But thanks be to Christ, he has lifted that curse so that we can enter into rest that God intends for us from the start, not just any rest, but God's own rest. Let's see how.
Hebrews 4 - Chapter Four of the Epistle to the Hebrew Christians
"Let us fear therefore, lest perhaps anyone …...Read more
September 2023: Is Your Goal the Goel?
Published on 09/01/2023 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Whom does Jesus redeem, and are you part of his redeemed people?
The writer of Hebrews specifically identified the "seed of Abraham" as the ones whom Jesus came to redeem. Leviticus 25 describes the goel, which means "kinsman redeemer" whose position Jesus serves. Therefore, to understand the functions of Christ and exactly whom he redeems, we must understand what Leviticus 25 teaches us.
A kinsman redeemer:
a) Had to be a fellow male Israelite, preferably the nearest male kinsman of the person needing redemption
b) Could redeem only an Israelite. He could redeem a piece of land for an Israelite, …...Read more
August 2023: Christ's Infinite Demotion for your Eternal Promotion
Published on 08/01/2023 by Dr-Shirley-Cheng.
Imagine you have a beloved pet dog and she's dying with no cure...unless you become a dog yourself to die in her place to rescue her.
Would you?
This is what Jesus did. In fact, he did even more than this. Being the divine Son of God, he is far superior than we are from our pet dogs since he's a divine Spirit and we and our pets are flesh-and-blood created beings. Moreover, when Jesus became one of us to die for us, he came to rescue God's enemies, not cuddly beloved friends! So if you think you'd be such …...Read more
Ultra-Ability Newsletter is a free monthly e-mail newsletter that expounds on a specific chapter or passage of the Bible in each issue to help you better
understand the Scriptures and live according to it for your good and God's glory. You may subscribe to it below and read archived issues here. You may unsubscribe from it anytime.