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bible study devotion

Devotion: false prophets

Devotion

Setting

In Matthew 7:12- 14, Jesus gave us the golden rule: do to others what you want others to do to us and be kind to others if you want others to be kind to us. Jesus explained that He is the only way to God and the gate to salvation. After this, He warned us against false prophets.

Matthew 7:15-20

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can’t produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

Reflection

Jesus warned us to watch out for false prophets who peddle false doctrines to lead people astray. They masquerade as sheep in wolf’s clothing to deceive people with heretic teachings. They misused the gospel for personal enrichment and financial gains. False prophets were plentiful in the first-century world and even today.

We can detect false teachers by inspecting their fruits. A good tree produces good fruit. A bad tree produces bad fruit. Examine every teacher for the fruit of the spirits. Genuine teachers will have the fruit of the Spirit.

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

Application

This passage is very relevant to us today because there are so many false teachers today masquerading as sheep among wolves. 

Do not believe everything you hear or read. Countercheck everything you hear or read with the scriptures. Learn the Bible and be biblically literate. This is the best safeguard against heresy. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we pray for the revelation of truth. We pray for the nourishment and strengthening of our souls. We pray for maturity in faith, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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devotion

Do not judge: devotion

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

photo of an open bible
open bible

Setting

Matthew 7 is a continuation of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount where Jesus taught on judging others, spiritual discernment, relationship, and wisdom.

Matthew 7:1-5

1 Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite! First,  remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Reflection

We cannot judge other people because we are sinners under God’s judgment, Romans 3:22. If we judge we are like pots calling kettles black. We cannot judge others righteously because we are not righteous. Judging others will only bring judgment to ourselves because God will judge us.

Jesus asked two rhetorical questions. These are questions to emphasize a point and do not require any answers.

Why are we so fast to see a speck of sawdust in other people’s eye but could not see the log of wood in our own eyes?   How are we going to remove the speck of sawdust in other people’s eye when our vision is blocked by a log in our own eyes? 

Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”

Application

There are practical instructions to obey and apply.

Do not be a hypocrite. Remove the log in your own eye first before attempting to remove the speck of sawdust in other people’s eyes. Examine yourself first. Are you perfect? Are you qualified to judge? 

Confess, repent, and ask God to forgive your sins. Claim the promise of 1 John 1:9.

Do not take the law into your own hands. Let God be the judge, instead of judging others. Forgive others as God has forgiven you. Do not take vengeance on others. Let God deal with it.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us not to be judgmental and self-righteous. Thank You for reminding us that we are sinners under Your judgment. Thank You for redemption, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, salvation and eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

Gospel of Mark: devotion

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us hungry hearts and thirsty souls to seek after You. Thank You for the privilege to study Your word. Thank You Holy Spirit for teaching, convicting, correcting, transforming, and training us in righteousness, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Setting

The 4 gospels presented 4 perspectives into the life of Jesus Christ. Matthew presented Jesus as King of the Jews for a Jewish audience, emphasizing what Jesus said. Mark presented Jesus as a Suffering Servant for a Roman audience, emphasizing what Jesus did. Luke presented Jesus as the Perfect Man for a Greek audience, emphasizing what Jesus felt. John presented Jesus as the Son of God for all people, emphasizing who Jesus was. 

The Gospel of Mark is a fast-moving narrative.  Mark used three words, ‘and’, ‘now’, and ‘immediately’ as he moved from one scene to the next. Mark could be referring to himself in Mark 14: 51. Mark was not an eye-witness. Mark relied heavily on the teachings of Peter, his spiritual god-father and mentor, 1 Peter 5:13. Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, Acts 12:12 and Colossians 4:10. He traveled with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but abandoned them at Perga, Acts 13:13. Eventually Paul reconciled with Mark, 2 Timothy 4:11. 

Mark 1:1-8

The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you: Malachi 3:1, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’” Isaiah 40:3. John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

Commentary

The Greek word for good news is ‘’evangelion’’ which means Gospel. The Gospel of Mark begins with the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Gospel of Mark did not begin with a genealogy of Christ. Mark presented Christ as the Suffering Servant. In the first-century world, a servant’s genealogy was not important.at all. Malachi prophesied John the Baptist’s arrival as a forerunner of Jesus 400 years before Christ. Isaiah prophesied John the Baptist’s arrival as a forerunner of Jesus, 740 years before Christ.

John was a hairy man who wore a camel hair jacket and a leather belt. He looked like Elijah. John the Baptist was a Nazarite, from birth Luke 1:15. He ate locusts and wild honey. Locusts are carob pods from the carob tree, also called the locust bean or St. John’s bread. He ate wild honey from the dates palm. John the Baptist said, he was not worthy even to be Jesus’ slave. He baptize with a water baptism of repentance but Jesus will baptize with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Malachi 3:1. “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.

Isaiah 40:3, ‘’A voice of one calling in the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’’ 

Luke 1:15, For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Application

Jesus Christ’s appearance in Jordan broke the 400 years of prophetic silence between the book of Malachi and the gospel of Mark. God finally spoke in the voice of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, Hebrews 1:1-2. 

Malachi and Isaiah prophesied the coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Jesus Christ hundreds of years before the event. The statistical chance for this fulfillment is 1 in 10 to the power of 17. Jesus Christ fulfilled 381 Old Testament prophecies. This proves beyond any doubt that the Bible is the Word of God, 2 Timothy 3:16.

2000 years ago, Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and died a cruel death on a Roman cross for our sins. John the Baptist was the messenger and way-maker; Jesus Christ was the Message, and the Way.

Hebrews 1:1-2, God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

2 Timothy 3:16, Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the Good News of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Thank You for breaking the 400 years of prophetic silence. Thank You that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. Thank You for salvation, redemption, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, and eternal life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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bible study devotion

Birth of Christ: devotion

Dr. Andrew C S Koh

a photo of a name card
name card

Introduction

The Gospel of Matthew opened with a genealogy of 42 generations, from Abraham to David (14), from David to the Babylonian exile (14), and from the Babylonian exile to Jesus Christ (14). This proved that Jesus was from the lineage of Abraham and David. 

The genealogy included 5 women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary, who gave birth to Jesus. Joseph was named the husband of Mary. Joseph was Jesus Christ’s legal father but not His biological father because Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Passage

Matthew 1:18-21

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly. 20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

Reflection

Mary was engaged to Joseph. She and a virgin who miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joesph was a righteous man. When He found out that Mary was pregnant, he wanted to send her away quietly, so as not to shame her. God sent the angel Gabriel to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife because she was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Gabriel pronounced that Mary shall give birth to a son and His name shall be called Jesus. The Greek word for Jesus is Joshua, which means, God saves. Jesus saves us from our sins. Immanuel means God with us. Joseph took Mary as his wife and did not consummate the marriage until after Jesus was born.  Jesus’ virgin birth fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, prophesied 700 years before Christ. 

Immanuel.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name

Isaiah 7:14

Application

The genealogy of Jesus proved beyond any doubt that He was a descendant of Abraham and David. Anyone who claimed to be Christ (Messiah) must prove that He is a descendant of Abraham and David. God preserved the genealogy of Jesus to prove that He is Christ. Isaiah prophesied the virgin birth of Jesus Christ 700 years before He was even born! The accuracy of Bible prophecy was simply minded boggling! No one can give a prediction 700 years before it happens and fulfill it 700 years later. Only God can do this. Jesus fulfilled 581 Old Testament prophesies! The mathematical probability for this to happen by random chance is 1 in 10 to the power of 17! 

Jesus Christ is Immanuel, which means God with us. If you are a Christian, God lives in you as the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for preserving the genealogical record of Jesus Christ to prove that He is Christ (Messiah). Thank You for that we have a written record of the life story of Jesus Christ through the eyewitness account of the apostle Matthew. Help us to encounter Christ through the pages of Your infallible, inspired, and inerrant words. Thank You for sending Jesus Christ into the world 2000 years ago to save us from our sins. Thank You that You are Immanuel, God with us, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

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Book: the Gospel according to Matthew

by Dr. Andrew C S Koh

book trailer

Christ-centred, Biblical-based, Life-changing commentary, bible study, and devotion

What people are saying

“The format follows the same as the author’s other study guides, however, due to the size of the book of Matthew, there is much more content in this guide. The book of Matthew can be overwhelming with the genealogy and crucifixion of Christ. What I liked about Koh’s book was that he made the genealogy easier to understand by breaking up the descendants. And he highlighted the parables making the teachings of the Son of Man easy to read and understand. It’s not that the author changed the words but the information presented here results in an easy to follow interpretation (and God-centered) of the Word. Recommend this as well as other guides by Koh”

— T. Townsend, Amazon, 5 out of 5 stars

“A great book to read and study the Gospel writings of Matthew the Apostle. Matthew being a previous tax collector and giving it all up for Christ is very inspiring. He being an eyewitness to the marvelous miracles of Christ helps one to further renew themselves to a better understanding of the faith. A great and inspiring book for all ages. I recommend this book to other readers”

— J. Sharmani, 5 out of 5 stars

What people are saying

“This is a simple and non-complicated daily devotion, commentary, and bible study guide written in a systematic devotional layout within a gospel story-related manner and presentation. It aims to draw the attention of the readers to pray and to follow the pathway of Jesus as laid out in the Gospel according to Matthew from Galilee to Jerusalem”

— Archbishop Ng Moon Hing, Anglican Archbishop of Southeast Asia

“A great book to help laymen study the Gospel of Matthew better. This Gospel was written by a previous tax collector who gave up everything to be a follower of Christ. His journey in the faith and his eyewitness to the facts are very inspiring. A very informative book on the Gospel which is faith-building. I received this book free and leave an honest review. I recommend this book to other readers”

— Sharmani Jeyaram, Goodreads, 4 out of 5 stars