The Bible provides a lot of practical advice on money, including warnings about the things that bring financial poverty and spiritual curses. Our attitudes about money will always reveal the true nature of our hearts; whether we love God and love people more than riches. Here is a quick list...
The world chases after “bigger, better, faster, stronger” in the name of progress. We are told we can achieve anything as long as we try hard enough. Sadly, we can bring this same performance-based mentality into our relationship with God. We believe we can achieve spiritual “enlightenment” through our own...
Compassion is an amazing quality from God that enables us to foster deeper understanding and relationships, even with antagonistic people. By allowing the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God’s loving compassion, we are able to move beyond anti-social behaviours to empathise with other people’s inner hurts and insecurities....
In the age of social media, every one of us feels entitled to our own opinion. In contrast, God’s Word tells us to submit to and obey our church and ministry leaders. Otherwise, we cause those whom God has appointed to watch over us to groan with sorrow. This would...
Both the poor and the rich face many temptations but the super wealthy face their own unique set of challenges, particularly when they unintentionally allow their wealth to define their identity and steer their lives. Jesus proclaimed that it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom...
Marriages suffer when husbands and wives don’t see each other as playing by the same team rules. The challenge is that everyone received their training in different families of origin. How can we find the best game strategy for us to win together as husband and wife, rather than dispute...
Perfectionists often have a hard time understanding God’s love, grace, and forgiveness towards us, because we feel like we haven’t done enough or been good enough. A deeply imprinted inner script convinces us that, “Anything less than excellent is not good enough.” Sadly, perfectionism obstructs our relationship with a God...
God owns and watches over everything on earth, including the world’s money. He is the One who gives us the ability to gather resources to earn money. Our Heavenly Father also knows that we have a tendency to mismanage our resources and be seduced by the more destructive aspects of money....
The Confucian belief of filial piety (孝, xiào) teaches entire societies to respect one’s parents, elders, and ancestors. Such traditions run through virtually all Chinese families. Confucianism has been embraced for its ability to foster harmonious households and societies through the implicit influence over individuals. Disavowing any of its man-made practices...
A major stumbling block for believers who suffer injustices is the belief that we have the right to retaliate and set things straight. We are told that “what goes around, comes around.” The world glorifies “heroes” who teach the “bad guys” a lesson. Never mind if we blindly leave a trail...
All food produced from God’s earth is good. The Bible points out that wine “gladdens the heart of man”. Unfortunately, mankind has a tendency to misuse God’s good gifts. Today, alcoholic binge drinking is socially tolerated and even glorified with stories of outlandish behaviour and missing memories. Many of us are unaware of the...
All human beings are created by God, who is the Father of all life. God’s Word shows that He tenderly forms each baby inside his or her mother’s womb and gives it a name. God calls every child a gift and blessing from Him. Hence, it can be heartbreaking when we...
Anyone who sets a benchmark for how we live our lives becomes our idol – and that includes our parents. Whether we accept or avoid their desires and patterns, our focus is invariably fixed on people, rather than on our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers and mothers become our idols when they...
A purpose-driven life is a very appealing idea, given that we all wish to feel fulfilled and satisfied. It can be dangerous at any time, however, to reduce our spiritual goals to any single statement. Let us pause and ask ourselves, “What did Jesus die on the cross to give...
In anger, frustration, pain, and annoyance, we may shoot offensive and damning statements at people. Cursing, no matter how seemingly justified, goes against the Holy Spirit. He only brings patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control. A tongue that has been poisoned with “restless evil” will curse others. The Bible teaches us not to...
We can acquire vast amounts of knowledge but still make the wrong choices in life. It takes wisdom to decipher what is constructive, timely and appropriate for the long run. For believers, wisdom is not just the well-advised application of factual knowledge. Our wisdom comes from the ultimate Source of all...
God’s people were under heavy political oppression when Jesus was on earth. Many Jews expected Him to take over their government. In fact, they wanted to “take Him by force to make Him king”. Yet Jesus withdrew from such advances and secluded Himself in a mountain. What’s more, He submitted...
Venting and articulating our inner frustrations and hurts helps release our emotional pains. Our bodies need a way to let our negative emotions out and not suppress them. There are, however, godly and ungodly ways to “let off steam“. It may surprise us to know that the healthy way to...
The Bible is supremely rich in its spiritual revelation and yet extremely economical in its number of words. It may seem like a large collection of books for an individual to study, yet it has just the right number of words and messages to cater for thousands of people groups...
Mobile phones have become everyday essentials in our digitally connected world. They can also become obsessions that we invest much of our hearts and time into. How do we know if we have not been unknowingly worshipping at the altar of the Internet and become phone addicts? A tool or...