Agape Devotions

READ : Isaiah 26-27 REFLECT :  Peace is possible even in our stressful, troubled world. In  Isaiah 26:3 , the Bible promises that God “will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”  Isaiah 26:3  is part of a song of praise in which the biblical prophet Isaiah celebrates God’s trustworthiness to provide all that people need, including their ultimate need:  salvation . Isaiah sings about how Israel will be judged for their sins yet also restored by God, in His mercy. Isaiah predicts that God will save people from their sins. Although people may sometimes be faithless toward God, God will always be faithful to his people, Isaiah emphasises. God is willing to redeem and restore, and His perfect peace enters the souls of all who decide to trust Him.  So, Isaiah urges readers to trust in God. He writes that it is “because they trust” in God that God “will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast”. The ve...

READ : Isaiah 24-25   Verses chosen for meditation: Isaiah 24:5 5  The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. REFLECT Chapters 1-12 focused on events in Judah while chapters 13-23 speak of the nations around Judah. Isaiah 24-27 broadens the horizons even more, where it concerns the whole earth. Isaiah sees a devastation so great, that social status, wealth and even religious titles mean nothing (Isaiah 24:2). Even heavenly beings will be judged (Isaiah 24:21). The scenes are nightmarish on this judgement day in the end times. We live in a country where natural disasters don’t affect us adversely, but those who experienced earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados can relate. Standing in the middle of a desolated town that was your home makes one numb with despair. The magnitude of destruction in these visions are much worse, as if the earth would spin out of its orbit. Why this happ...

Read   ”In that day the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and mourning, for baldness and wearing sackcloth; and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”“ ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭22‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Reflect Isaiah 21-23 is a collection of prophecies concerning various nations. Isaiah 21 focuses on the fall of Babylon, while Isaiah 22 addresses the impending judgment upon Jerusalem. Whereas Isaiah 23 talks about prophecy on the city of Tyre and its demise. Isaiah 22 is a chapter with a message of judgment and rebuke for the people of Jerusalem. This chapter serves as a stern reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and relying on human strength. God does not favour those who are prideful and Godless. The people of Jerusalem are called to weep and mourn, to repent and to return to God (vs 12). However, instead of heeding the advice to repent and humble themselves, the people of Jerus...

Read   Read Isaiah 18-20 Verse chosen for meditation: Isaiah 20:5 ESV: Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast.   Reflect   In this competitive, dog - eat - dog world where top rank equates dominance, large following means popularity, greatness is defined by power, and money is the all-round king, what do we put our hope in?   To put it another way, what will our boast be? What would we very much like to boast about if we have the slightest chance?   And in the matter of what we put our hope in and make our boast in, what does Scripture remind us? How should it affect us?   Relate   According to today’s scripture reading, Cush and Egypt, both countries bounded by the Red Sea on the northern part of Africa, were powerhouses in their day. Israel would not hesitate to form an alliance with either of them to help fight her battles against the Assyrians.   As a result, these people were feared. They w...

  TITLE: A SEVERE MERCY TEXT TO REFLECT   ON:  7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation     and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants     and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, 11 though you make them grow on the day that you plant them,     and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away     in a day of grief and incurable pain.  ISAIAH 17: 7-11 REFLECT Perhaps humankind's greatest folly is self-rel...

Read: Isaiah 13:1-14:27 No Devotional (Sunday)

Read: Isaiah 11-12 Verses chosen for reflection:  Isaiah 11:3-4 "He shall not judge by what his eyes see,  or decide disputes by what his ears hear,  but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,  and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Reflect When studying the Gospel of Luke in the seminary, we were once asked the question: "Is God bias towards the poor?" At that time, I was trying hard to understand what the lecturer was asking. I mean, why was there even an assumption that God was "bias"? How can He be since we are told in the Scriptures that He is just and upright?  At some level, I do understand what the lecturer was getting at since the Gospel of Luke was written with an emphasis on how Jesus cared for the poor and outcasts. There was indeed, an underlying theme in the Gospel that Jesus looked out especially for the poor. However...