“we are safe!”

Oct 31

by k.t. sim

read> Jeremiah 7:1-11 Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie . . . and then come here and stand before me in my temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? (Jeremiah 7:9-10).

more> What do John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, and Hebrews 7:23-28 teach us about the Jesus who saves?

next> What has given you a false sense of security? What will you do to turn to God and experience true safety?

According to a 2010 Pew Forum on Religion report, 53 percent of Christians in the US did not know that Martin Luther was the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. So they wouldn’t know that on October 31, 1517, in the little German town of Wittenberg, Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door—inviting scholars to debate the use of indulgences; a practice Luther believed gave believers a false assurance of their salvation. Luther spelled out what true salvation is in his first four Theses: “1. When Jesus said ‘repent’ He meant that believers should live a whole life repenting. 2. Only God can give salvation—not a priest. 3. Inwards penitence must be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle. 4. Sin will always remain until we enter heaven.”
The people of Judah had a false sense of security. They believed their temple guaranteed their safety (Jeremiah 7:4). Rejecting God’s laws, they lived deceitfully (Jeremiah 7:8-11). The prophet Jeremiah warned them of their foolishness and falsehood, stating “It’s a lie!” (Jeremiah 7:8). He also made it clear that the temple of the Lord cannot save (Jeremiah 7:4,8)—only the Lord of the temple saves (Jeremiah 7:5).
The people needed to “quit [their] evil ways” (Jeremiah 7:3), reform, and repent (Jeremiah 7:5-10). They couldn’t “steal, murder, commit adultery, lie . . . and then come . . . and stand before [God] in [His] temple and chant, ‘We are safe!’—only to go right back to all those evils again”! (Jeremiah 7:9-10). Their “inwards penitence [needed to] be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle” (Luther’s Thesis #3). Only then would God be merciful (Jeremiah 7:5). Only then would they be safe and secure (Jeremiah 7:7).
As believers, we must be able to “prove by the way [we] live that [we] have repented of [our] sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8).

Play wib peelings!

Random thought of the night:
Remember how when we were younger, our piano teachers would teach us to play a song and then we play and they ask us to play with feeling? And then we were just like ???!?!??? What does that mean??!?!?! But after that we learn that playing with feelings means to sway your body and sometimes just your head side to side, back and forth, while you play your piece... and the music sounded exactly the same as when u didn't move.. or maybe worse because its overwhelmingly multitasking. Hehehehe. Funny times..

Peeling good. Eben without bicks.

Picciesss!!!

oh man.. looking at old photos makes me so emo
i don't like goodbyes and changes.
:(

You give and take away..
my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.

have you ever felt like a failure? have you ever made a mistake and told yourself not to do it again, but find that now it seems impossible to not make the same mistake ever again? have you ever felt no one understands and they just think you just can't be bothered? have you ever felt disappointed for letting your loved ones down time and again and again.. but find yourself repeating that .. again.. and again?

my future looks bleak.. full of uncertainties..

basically........ i handed in my assignment late AGAIN. im starting to wonder when was the last time i handed my assignments in early for a whole semester. and currently, i feel like im in a dangerous position.. like i might fail this unit. HAVE I NOT BEEN WORKING HARD? this is so confusing.

after holding back tears for like 30minutes and trying to come to terms with the fact that im not as awesome as i thought i was, life went back to normal... studying, chicken burgering, ice creaming, studying, laughing, "backward rollercoastering", travelling home, cooking, eating, making operas out of any songs with jojo
plus a drive to study and do my assignments.. after MEGAMIND :D