Love

Dear Family,

My last message on the fruit of the Spirit was summed up with three main points. That it is necessary and essential for us believers, to grow in the fruit of Spirit because
1) We are known by our fruits,
2) It is evidence that we are really born again and lastly
3) The fruit of the Spirit is permanent.

And God wants us to be fruitful, and to produce a "bumper" harvest! (references given: John 15:5 and Matthew 13:23)

Today I want to share more, on the same verse again.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
(Galatians 5:22-23)

I will continue my sharing of Galatians 5:22-23, from a perspective on the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.

What is Love?

I am devoting alot more time on love, than the rest of the aspects, simply because love is so important.

The hebrew translation for the word love here, is "agape", which means unconditional, sacrificial love, which reflects the love God has for us, that subjected Him to the cross. It is the highest and most noble form of love, a genuine desire for the well-being of others without strings attached, and putting others before self. Agape love is a love that gives and no taking is involved. God Himself is agape manifested, by the lying down of His life for us, in John 15:12-13.

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:12-13)

The image of God is love. God Himself, is love. The very essence of God, is love. We can see that, very explictly, in 1 John 4:7-8 and 1 John 4:16.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who
loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know
God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is
love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1
John 4:16)

It is love when God the Father, draw out the plans for our redemption. It is love when God was compelled to come down to us, in the 1st place. It is love in action, made Jesus endured the sufferings, pains and rejections associated from the cross. It is love, that Jesus rose on the 3rd day, so that He can be the way, the truth, and the life, pointing the way to the Father's hug.

To best sum up this love that God demonstrates for us, we look to the cross, where Jesus died.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. (Romans 5:18)

Hence, our only appropriate response to His love, is to love Him back in kind, and love His people in kind. If you have received the love of God, you can't help it but answer back God with our love, and love anothers in response.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

On a more serious note, the same verse in 1 John 4:7-8 says "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" that if you do not have love for one another, then God says "I don't know you."

You might then ask, having agape level of love...is not humanly possible. Well, you are exactly right! Having agape love is humanly impossible....BUT is absolutely Holy Spirit possible. Consider Romans 5:5, which says His love was poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, God pours our His love for us. And it is the same Holy Spirit that was given unto us as well! Meaning, we are "empowered" in the same might of the Holy Spirit, to love others with agape love.

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5)

And not only that having agape love, is possible, it is a commandment from God to love others, just as He loved us!

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
(John 15:12)

If all the commandments in the Bible can be summarized into a single word, that would be the word "love". Apostle Paul sums up "love" is everything, both in Galatians 5:14, as well as in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as
yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Having love is the single, most important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It is by no concidence that "love" is placed 1st in Galatians 5:22-23. In fact, "love" is a pre-requesite and a foundation for the remaining 8 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Meaning, all the other remaining aspects are spring forth, from love.

I read a statement somewhere that says, "Joy is love exulting. Peace is love resting. Patience is love enduring. Kindness is love with bowed head. Goodness is love in action. Faithfulness is love confiding. Gentleness is love in refinement. Self-Control is love obeying."

Love is supreme. Love also, should be the driving force, behind everything that we do or say. And the bible has a point blank description for those who speak without love, and likens them to be nothing more than a noisy nuisance (a gong or a cymbal).

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1)

Perhaps the best definitions of love, and a very practical form of it, is found in 1 Corinthians 13, also written by Apostle Paul. As you can expect, the word love in 1 Corinthians 13 means agape love in the hebrew translations.

Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked,
does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are
gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will
cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. (1 Corin13)

Lastly, showing love, involves mainly through actions and deeds, not by pure words alone.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in
truth. (1 John 3:18)

But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes
his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John3:17)

I cannot over emphasis for all of us, to ask God to help us receive love, for the people that will be placed under our care. And to demonstrate that love, through deeds and actions.

Loving other is tough and hard work but when you think and believe that all else fails, just remember...

...Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13)



Serving in love together,

Caleb Wong

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A New Beginning – An Encounter with the HOLY SPIRIT

A New Beginning – An Encounter with the HOLY SPIRIT

It started in a rocking chair when a 20 year old was coughing and trying to catch a breath as his asthmatic attack caught up with him again. Panting and wheezing away. Life was terrible and he felt that anytime his life may have ended.

In the midst of the coughing and struggle for a breath, something inside of him was crying out if there is a God, please help me. Many times that was the outcry and it was never answer as there was no such thing as miracles. Strangely as the young chap composed himself he begin to regulate his breathing better and as he close his eyes to focus on controlling each passing breath, 4 letters FCBC appeared in front of him. It was as if the letters were floating over him and he couldn’t make sense of it. All of a sudden the panting stopped and something seem to be changing inside of him.

FCBC these four letters were to be the changing point of a life that till then he was searching for. Accustomed to experiencing the supernatural, he knew that was something unnatural about this four letter encounter he had the previous night. He ended up asking around many people what these four letters would mean. It was then that he talked to his close female good friend Vanessa, who told him that it was the named of a church in Marine Parade. He told her that he must visit this place because he felt that he saw something spiritual that he needed to find an answer in.

The nicely renovated and newly opened Touch Centre auditorium was a welcoming sight for this young chap who was wondering what he would be expecting to see. They met a common friend called Johnny who was a member of the church. As they took their seat in the just right of the centre aisle, five rows down the entrance. He began to tremble from within. Strangely this has never happened before and he was experiencing a tingling sensation from within his heart.

The next 45 minutes was an extremely weird and scary experience for him. Weird because many gals were dancing with tambourines and wearing long skirts looking more like some tribal people. The songs were scary as they sang of being wash by the blood of the lamb. He thought it was out of his mind, that this was a cult that was killing lambs and washing people by the blood of these poor sacrifices. He felt the need to run away, yet a voice in him was saying, stay a little while longer. So he decided to press on.

He didn’t remember what the pastor said in the whole sermon, but he heard the invitation. The Pastor whose name was Lawrence Khong was singling out a JC Student who struggling with many issues in life and that God had given him a sign to come to this place. That FCBC was where God had waited to meet him. He didn’t know what it was about but he knew he needed to come.

As Ps Khong made to invitation to give his life to Jesus, the young man begin to weep. It was probably the first time in his 20 year as a man that he had cried publicly. He tried to escape the embarrassment and wanted to run out immediately, but by now he was trembling uncontrollably and against his will he found himself walking down the aisle with tears streaking down his cheeks not knowing what was next. But that day, Danny Lee gave his heart to Jesus because God decided it was a life He would change.

That was the beginning of my conversion from a devout Buddhist to a Follower of Christ. There are a few points I would like to highlight in my testimony.

First, God has first chosen us. Very often we feel that we are the ones who was choosing God. The truth is God was the one who has called and chosen us. In Ephesians 1:11 it reads “In Him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will,”

Second, it is the Holy Spirit. You may not have experience the chain of events I’ve gone through but nevertheless, if you string the journey of your own salvation you will see that it was one beautifully orchestrated work of God. There are no coincidences in life, Coincidences are God’s way of staying anonymous. It is the Holy Spirit who is at work in us. Learn then to recognize His voice and follow His leading.

Lastly, OBEDIENCE to the Lord often doesn’t begin with complete understanding alone. It is first a trusting surrender and an abandonment of oneself because the object of our faith is worthy of our confidence and trust. Take some steps and let Him be the Rock of your faith and confidence.

Love,

Pastor Danny

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Welcome!

Dear Family and Friends of DE Tribe,

Welcome to the new DE Tribe Blog. I hope it finds you well. With this new layout, we are also introducing new content to enrich your blogging experience. As with tradition, we will continue to have our usual devotion/thanksgiving column. The new email address to send your devotion/thanksgiving to is detribe@yahoo.com.sg. Moreover, we are introducing 2 new segments. They are the Pastors’ Column, where Ps Danny and Evelyn will pen their thoughts and also the DE24 Column, where our resident writers will discuss topics that will spur our growth.

To kick start the new blog, we have Shi Xiong sharing with us the need to grow in the fruit of the Spirit. We also have Krystle giving us an update on the coming Harvest Event. Do check this space for more updates!

Love,
The DE Blog Team

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Fruit of the Spirit

Dear Family,

I would like to share a bible passage that spoke to me recently. It's actually a very popular set of memory verses, which I believe all of you would have read them before.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The Greek word for fruit is the word "karpos", meaning, the fruit is in a singular form, ie. not "fruits". This one fruit, is made up of 9 godly aspects. If any one of these aspects is missing, then we do not have the fruit of the Spirit. But it also means if we have the fruit of the Spirit, then all 9 aspects will also be present in our lives.

A farther understanding of the verses would lead to a highlighting of the presence of unity, in the fruit of the Spirit. Nine different godly aspects, but working together to make up a singular fruit. Contrast this difference by comparing the "Deeds of the Flesh" with the "Fruit of the Spirit", and you will see that anything by the flesh is plural, which means disunity and strife. Of course, it is expected that some of the 9 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit, in a person's life, might be more developed than the others, but what I want to stress here is that, all 9 aspects are present in each and every true believer, regardless the stage of that person's christian walk.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is...." - Notice that the word "is", which is in present tense, indicating the process of growing this fruit of the Spirit is a continuous process. The fruit needs to be cultivated continously, and through time and effort. Effort being the continous and conscious effort of one, to be fed the word of God daily, to learn to pray and walk in the Spirit, to come together in a christian community...etc

We cannot pass on a heart to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, if we do not understand what it means to grow in the fruit of the Spirit in the first place. This leads to my next question...why is there a need for us, to grow in the fruit of the Spirit? Personally, I learned three reasons as to why there is a need for us, who are believers, to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, and I will share them below.

Reason #1: We are known by our fruit. For the first part of the answer, we look to the very words of Jesus, towards the end of the Sermon of the Mount.

You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:16-20)

We, as born again, bible believing, God loving christians, will be known, by our fruit! We are recognised by our good fruit and bad fruits. A fruit produced, is meant to be eaten. If we have the fruit of the Spirit, it attracts people who do not have it, to yearn for it. This also relates to being the light of the world and salt of the earth, in Matthew 5:13-14.

Reason #2: It is evidence that we are really born again. The second part of the answer, for the need to grow in the fruit of the Spirit, is found in John 15:8.

By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8)

Recall Pastor Melyvn Mak's sermon on "Eternal Life", dated 25th Nov 2007. Having the fruit of the Spirit is an evidence to show that we are truly born again, and that the Holy Spirit is indeed living in you, and proof that we are disciples of Jesus. The outworkings of the Holy Spirit MUST BE a transformed life, depicted by a growth in all 9 aspects, made up of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Growing in the fruit of the Spirit, brings God glory, through the demonstrating of the character of Jesus to others, the very nature of God being manifested in our lives.

.....Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:23 partb)

Moveover, the law of Moses found nothing contradicting with regards to the fruit of the Spirit. The flesh may imitate and counterfeit some of the godly characteristics found in the fruit of the Spirit, but it will never be able to produce them. As I have shared earlier, if you are truly born again, you will have all nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit.

Reason #3: Fruit of the Spirit is permanent. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, we grow in the fruit of the Spirit. And having this fruit of the Spirit distinguishes us from another person, who might say the sinners' prayer, accepts and receives Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior, gets excited for the first few weeks...and then subsequently falls away.Jesus had a good parable to explain this.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21)

The person here, receives joy, but it does not last. The joy lasts only a short time and is temporary. He might also have love for others, peace on his heart, patience to bear things, but they are temporary as well. Once trouble and persecution comes and hit him, he falls away. Life itself is demanding, and has its full share of ups and downs. A born again believer will be tested and will need to show his or her character in Christ over time, which means not falling away when the rubber tire hits the road. The fruit of the Spirit will last year after year. You do want your love, your joy and your peace to be permanent, right?

To sum it up, the amount of the fruit we will bear is directly dependent on how much we are willing to abide in Jesus. And it is God's desire for His children to produce and bear a "bumper crop" in terms of the fruit.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:23)

God wants us to be fruitful! Lets grow together and enjoy the bumper harvest!

Serving in love together,

Caleb Wong

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August Harvest Event

FOR WHEN THINGS GET TOO HOT TO HANDLE

For those who are not in the know (how can you not?!), our tribe is hosting a harvest event complete with fun, games and the quintessential skit in the middle of August 2008.

When I was approached by Liang Ming to help out with the skit about a month back, I said yes without thinking of the possible repercussions. I soon realised that my job wasn’t that easy, I had to write the script, act in it, direct the piece and while I was at it, croon some sappy love song as part of the finale. All these coupled with my other commitments (and I have quite a few) made me feel really pressured. I went for every rehearsal feeling tense and it took me quite a long time every session to really let loose and enjoy. But so far, thanks be to God, rehearsals have been beyond smooth. I walk away from every rehearsal kicking myself for worrying over nothing.

Anyway ramblings aside, we’ve come a long way from reading awkwardly off our scripts to performing less awkwardly without them. And to prove that it’s been fun, I have snippets… (I hope the actors don’t see them)

During Rehearsals On Lovely Tuesday nights...

Dylan, who has to touch Pau with a rather ugly red oven mitten as proof of her being too hot to handle (get it?), is lambasted for not being suave enough.

Dylan: How to be handsome with this thing? (waves mitten in desperation)

Pau and Krystle rehearsing yet another bimbotic oh-my-god-it’s-my-crush-scene.
Pau: He’s so looking over (Dylan is in his own world)
Pau: He’s SO LOOKING OVER. (Dylan is in his own world)
Krystle: EH, at this part you and Dylan must have suspicious eye contact leh.
Pau: BUT HE’S NOT LOOKING AT ME HOW TO HAVE SUSPICIOUS EYE CONTACT!

Gavin and Eugene as TV channel 8 soap opera leads
Gavin: Bu yao guo lai! (Don't Come Over!)
Eugene: BA! Bu yao si! (Pa! Don't Jump!)
Gavin jumps off his makeshift rooftop(i.e. unglam classroom chair) and is sprawled on the floor.
Eugene (tears paper and throws it on/at Gavin scrap by scrap): Pa ni wei shen me yao li kai wo? (sobs sobs)

Kevin as stuttering semi-retard
Kevin: Ma-a—a (sounds like a cow being milked)
Candy laughs in his face.

Terry, as good for nothing dad, complete with curly wurly grey wig, dirty white shirt and berms and ah pek spectacles. ‘nuff said.

It’s been real good fun working with all these fantastic people and I just sense God telling me, through that rather unprepossessing red oven mitten that when things get too hot to handle, instead of picking your problems up with your bare hands, slip that glove on, turn to His strength and he will shield you from the heat. So from now on, I’m not going to cram my brain and stress myself out because I trust He’ll take us through it since He put us to it.

Love,
Krystle

"Too Hot To Handle" is a DE Tribe production that is part of the coming Harvest Event happening in August. More details to follow.

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