He was transfigured before them

Mark 9:2
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

The supernatural experience of the Transfiguration may be the high point for anyone who experienced it. A commentator said that God will never allow us to stay there - that is equally true. Such wonderful experience may be a good faith and confidence booster, but it does not directly benefit anyone else. God will give good things to His children, but He also wants His children to feed His sheep. So God may empower us from time to time, but we are to live mostly through the natural world, with all its flaws, and bring the Good News to others.

Fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ

Colossians 1:24
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 

Rejoicing in suffering is something unnatural for the normal or average person. The sound of someone rejoicing in their suffering brings confusion first, then perhaps a distaste. However, Paul has walked enough with God to know that suffering is not the important focus. Instead his goal was to empty himself and surrender to Messiah. Only then could he and can we live the way that God intended for us. It is in that state of surrender, then God will to mould us and use us for His Kingdom, which can mean to help others.

Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

1 Corinthians 9:16
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

Paul described his supernatural call by God to bring the Gospel to the world, first the Jews, then the gentiles. The call is an overwhelming force that Paul recognized and submits to it, in order for God to work powerfully through him. God chooses people according to His will, not based on people's merit or history. God will align circumstances to work out the calling and the mission. For the people, they still need to yield and surrender to God's will, so that God can make use of them.

whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven

Mark 10:21
1 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

This passage about the rich young ruler is not about wealth. It is also not about holiness and sanctification, as the young man has lived an almost perfect moral life. Jesus saw that there was something holding the man back. He offered him a choice to make, there was still a chance he might change. However, the man admitted defeat and did not turn toward Jesus for help. Jesus wanted the man to come to Him, depend on Him and surrender to Him, He was not looking for perfection in the man. It mentioned that Jesus looked at the man and loved Him, He did not turn the young man away.

Lord, I will follow You wherever You go

Luke 9:57
Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

This particular man wanted to follow Jesus. However he had some personal matters to attend to, and it was to bury his father. In most circumstances, burying his father would take priority. In addition, given the obvious emotional state of the man after his recent lost, it would be understandable for the man to hold off his other duties and attend the mourning. This particular situation is deliberately recorded to emphasize there is nothing more important than Jesus Himself. When He calls us to follow, we must similarly leave all thing behind.

Remember that your brother has something against you

Matthew 5:23
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you.

God is quite serious with this command in Scriptures. The scene is of a person, presumably a committed believer, who comes to offer gifts to God at the altar. However, God's command is that this act of worship does not count much if there is still unforgiveness. The command is to simply stop before reaching the altar, when we remember that someone has something against us. Instead go and be reconcile with that person first, then return to the altar of God.

Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Matthew 5:41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Our Lord Yshua demands few things from His disciples which seems very difficult to accomplish for us, based on our human nature. One such requirement is to be abundantly graceful and generous just like Himself. We can try very hard, but there may still be some resentment in our natural selves when we are too generous. It is only through God who can accomplish these things in us. Like all else, we simply need to surrender to Yshua and let Him work in us.

First be reconciled to your brother

Matthew 5:23-24
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Before we can be of good use to God, we must be in the right state in our spirit. No matter how earnest our intention is for God, and no matter how useful our work will be towards others, God is also interested in our own person. So to work for God, is to go in His name, He requires us to be clean. In one particular aspect of this involves the forgiveness of others. So we cannot truly represent God if we have unforgiveness towards someone no matter how small that is.

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem

Luke 18:31
Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.

Our Lord Yshua has a clear idea of His ultimate goal right from the beginning - that is to go up to Jerusalem and all that follows. When we made Him our Lord, He becomes our only goal. Where he goes, we follow. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his Master" (Matthew 10:24). The things our Master went through may also happen to us as we follow Him. So let us remain single minded in our goal - who is Yshua our Master.

You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am

John 13:13-16
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 

Yshua is both our Lord, Teacher and Master. He does not force and control us to do His will, but let us have  our own free will. On the other hand, He is also there in our times of trouble, even if we don't welcome His presence. The role of the Teacher and Lord is together, such that we who are His disciples are required to obey Him naturally and consistently, not out of anything else but because He loved us first.

Now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be His servant

Isaiah 49:5
Now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be His servant

We are created by God, even though it is done through physical biological process. Then we are also chosen for His purpose. This realisation that our created purpose is to glorify God leads to tremendous joy in the new discovery for those who really understand it. This will lead to a decrease in interests in worldly things and more focussed toward God. To deliberately go the opposite way is to bring many struggles for ourselves.

be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

Matthew 5:48
be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Yshua asked us to be like Him in perfection. How can that be when He and us know that we are never really perfect as humans in this world. Yet it must be possible because He calls us to be perfect. This perfection is not the kind of human perfection that we can achieve. On the contrary it is God's perfection that is revealed in us. The way this is evident is through our love we have for others, just as Yshua has loved us - this is the means that the world may see God through us.

You are those who have continued with Me in My trials

Luke 22:28
You are those who have continued with Me in My trials

Our Lord Yshua is with us during our temptations. Are we with Him in His temptations? The next question may be How are we in His temptations? As we walk with God, the temptations that He faced would also come to us. As we are faced with the same temptations, are we walking even more closely with Him, so that we can draw upon Him and walk with Him through the temptations?

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Yshua is our High Priest who understands us because He was and is one of us. The temptations Yshua faced in the desert is different to that faced by unbelievers. The Enemy tempts us at our different levels and uses his craftiness. It will not be simple temptations to make us do things that are wrong, instead it is trying to shift our goals and focus away and before we know it, we could have fallen for the trap. As we get closer to God, the temptations changes to move us away from God.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Temptation itself is not sin and many of us need to be reminded of that. To be human means that we will be tempted. The temptation itself is different for different people, in fact it fits the nature of that person. The level of temptation is according to the level of control or inner nature of that person. It may confuse people, but it actually raises the awareness of what is good and bad. God allows us to be tempted to the degree we can bear and He walks with us through it.

temptation, overtaken, faithful, escape, bear

Pray to your Father who is in the secret place

Matthew 6:6
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

God values our prayer when we prayer to Him, that means there is no reason we need to show others when we pray to God. Just like when we are talking with someone, we don't need to talk in front of other people that we are not directly talking to. To do so would be pretense. And God also values simple childlike prayer as Yshua has thought us, instead of repetitious religious sounding phrases. Finally prayer may include asking things, but those are supposed to be things which are consistent with the will of God, not just things that we want for our personal benefits only.

we have renounced the hidden things of shame

2 Corinthians 4:2
we have renounced the hidden things of shame

There are things in our lives which we may keep hidden from others, though they cannot be hidden from God. Hidden dishonesty or craftiness need to be renounced. They may come back again, even new ones are developed after we belong to Christ, so we must be watchful for these. God has called us to a high standard and we are to walk with Him in the standard He has set for us, so we keep improving.

the simplicity that is in Christ

2 Corinthians 11:3
the simplicity that is in Christ

We cannot think and reason our way out of spiritual difficulty. Spiritual matters don't always make sense to us. Instead of thinking, the answer is in obeying God. When we obey Him and do according to His will, then matters will work themselves out. At the end we may or may not see the reason behind it. But to spend our efforts thinking on the why of spiritual matters may be wasting our efforts.

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do

John 17:4
I have finished the work which You have given Me to do

Jesus has surrendered His will to His Father. We are called to do the same thing to God. Surrendering our wills involve a willful surrender on our own. It is not sometime that God will force onto us. When we come to that time when we happily surrender our wills, then we can be fully made use of by God. It is then that we become united with Jesus.

Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask"

Matthew 20:22
Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask"


Sometimes we may not understand God's response or the lack of it. We may be praying and things do not seem to come our way. Or that we may find things not changing and we are struggling with the same life. On these occassions, it is all the more important to hang on in there and trust in God. Never lose sight or faith in Him.

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet

John 13:4
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

Lord Yshua teaches us by example of how to serve and it includes the most common and trivial tasks. The example above is about washing people's feet. When we are ready and willing, God has already placed us in His perfect location, and can start using us for His glory. There is no perfect time and perfect place. God has appointed the correct time and place where we are and we should be ready to respond.

When you were under the fig tree, I saw you

John 1:48
When you were under the fig tree, I saw you.

God knows where each one of us is. In order to be useful for God, we are to worship Him in our personal life. Without learning to worship Him in our normal life, when challenges come, it will be hard to worship God and go through those challenges. Our private relationship with God will strengthen us and prepare

bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

2 Corinthians 10:5
bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ

Paul is teaching us to be disciplined in Christ. This is done by ensuring that our actions must be preceded by knowing that it is aligned with God's will. Many times are actions are either carnal or self-serving rather than serving God and others. Whether it is trying to overcome sin or trying to do God's work, it has to be brought before God to ensure that it is part of God's will. This can be done through prayer and confirmation, after renewing our minds.

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God

2 Corinthians 10:5
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

The context of this is Paul addressing the Corinthians in how to fight the carnal nature. The believer still have this carnal nature which makes us walk in the flesh. However to overcome this, the instrument cannot be carnal, but must be through God. These carnal things exalts itself against the knowledge of God, leading to disobedience. We still have the ability to make choices whether we pick the moral choice or the opposite, which we know is against the knowledge of God.

Become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life

John 4:14
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

Yshua Mashiach is the Source of living water that we must keep focused on. When we are being used productively by Him, His water will flow through us. If the water does not flow from us, then we are blocking it and we are the problem. The imagery is that we will be sprouting like a fountain. The overflowing water is meant to touch others that we come to contact with.

He who believes in Me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

John 7:38
He who believes in Me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

The analogy that can be used here is that of a river being the believer. Sometimes there can be obstacles in the path of the river. With God's caring for us, He will either take us around the obstacle or enable us to overcome it. As long as we keep looking up to God, the obstacle should not stop us at all. In this way, we can be used to be living water for others where God Himself is the source of the river.

They were Yours, You gave them to Me

John 17:6
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

The realisation that we are not our own is the beginning of a new life in God. We have been bought with the price of Yshua's blood. However not everyone who are saved has the realisation that we completely belong to Him, and our actions reflect this. For those who realise that we no longer belong to ourselves, then the begin to pour themselves out for others. This is the beginning of living the new life that Messiah has intended for us. Only then can we be effective witness and workers for Yshua's Kingdom.

Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord

2 Samuel 23:16
So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord.


This Scripture is when King David expressed his desire to drink water from enemy held territory and his servants, out of their own initiative, went through great risk to get the water for him. Far from being ungrateful and unthankful, David's action was motivated by His consideration of God.

When we do receive blessings, especially those which we really like, do we then keep it to ourselves for only our enjoyment? David showed how he poured the blessing back to the Lord. His love for God is greater than anything else. It is only through pouring our blessings for others to benefit that they can see God through us. Another danger is that keeping the blessing to ourselves can turn into lust.

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

John 7:38
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

This verse is more than a description of the blessings that will come to the believer. It focuses on the blessing the believer will become for others because out of him, water will flow to provide for other people's needs. This is when God makes us to become like Himself, just like He has poured and emptied Himself for the people and continuously get refreshed again. So we too are being molded in that fashion to enable us to sacrifice ourselves for others' sake.

Be holy, for I am holy

1 Peter 1:16
.. because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

God's ultimate desire is to have us be together in oneness with Him. So He had to save us first, so that we can be righteous again and then to make us holy. Being holy is not the condition of joining the heaven club, rather it is a transformation which must take place in every believer. While on earth, there are many interests that will take our attention away and influence us away from holiness. So the first step is to accept that we are supposed to be holy and then to learn not to tolerate anything that influence us into unholiness.