My dear readers,

(Extract from RPG, January 1987, Edited by Dr SH Tow)

1. THE MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION (Philippians 2:8)

The mystery of redemption is seen on the cross: God dying for man, to save man from his loss. It took God's great heart of love to send us His Son, and it took the Son's submission to the Father to fulfill the Father's master plan. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. An unknown author describes well the mystery in the following verses:

The Creator On The Cross

The Maker of the universe,
As Man, for man was made a curse;
The claims of laws that He had made
Unto the uttermost He paid.

His holy fingers made the bough
That grew the thorns that crowned His brow.
The nails that pierced His hands were mined
In secret places He designed.

He made the forest whence had sprung
The tree on which His body hung:
He died upon a cross of wood,
Yet made the hill on which it stood.

The sky that darkened o'er His head
By Him above the earth was spread:
The sun that hid from Him its face
By His decree was poised in space.

The spear that spilled His precious blood
Was tempered in the fires of God.
The grave in which His form was laid
Was hewn in rocks His hands had made.

The throne on which He now appears
Was His from everlasting years;
But a new glory crowns His brow
And every knee to Him shall bow.

THOUGHT: On the cross Jesus paid the debt to set me free.

PRAYER: Lord, help me now to bear my cross for Thee.

2. THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME (Philippians 2:9-11)

A group of Bedouin women were listening for the first time to the preaching of the Gospel. One woman was afraid that she might forget the name which had fallen so sweetly on her ears. "Tell me the name again," she pleaded. Then she went on her wandering with the name Jesus on her lips, her one link with eternal truth. Reader, how well do you love that name?

TELL ME THE NAME

Tell me the name again, lest I forget it,
The name of Him Who died to set me free.
Tis Jesus, Saviour, ne' er wilt thou forget it
If thou wilt let His love lay hold on thee.
His name above all other names is glorious,
A place of refuge in the day of strife;
To trust Him fully is to be victorious
In every hour and circumstance of life.
'Tell me the name,' then when the day is dawning,
Ere through the busy world my way I take, 
'Tis Wonderful'—He'll gild the dullest morning
If thou wilt live thy life for Jesus' sake.
Tell me the name, when noontide finds me viewing,
With anxious eyes, the problems that oppress; 
'Tis 'Counsellor'—thy failing strength renewing:
He'll teach thee wisdom, banish thy distress.
Tell me the name, when life's short journey ending,
My senses fail, my mortal eyes grow dim;
'Tis 'Prince of Peace,' all human peace transcending,
He'll give thee rest, thou shalt abide with Him.
Tell them the name—its beauty, its perfection---
Who never heard our blessed Master's fame:
Tell of His life, His death, His resurrection;
Tell of His power to save—tell them the name!
                                                                                 J.D.McK

THOUGHT: Soon, at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow!

PRAYER: Lord, I bow now to Thee with all my heart and soul and mind.

3. THAT I MAY KNOW HIM (Philippians 3:4-8)

Samuel Johnson, the giant of English literature, whose books adorn library shelves throughout the world, said on his deathbed: "All knowledge vanishes except the knowledge of God and His Son, our Saviour. That knowledge only remains." On the final day of reckoning, when our earthly sojourn is over, the loftiness of man shall be bowed down and the haughtiness of man brought low. On that day the eternal issues alone remain: the knowledge of the Most High shall abide for ever. That is the vision glorious revealed to men of faith.

The Apostle Paul caught a view of it on the Damascus Road. Since then his life and outlook were never the same again. He had only one great consuming passion, "... that I may win Christ ... and be found in Him ... that I may know Him ..." He had suffered the loss of all things in return for the "excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Nothing in the world mattered since the day the Lord called him. He had found the Altogether Lovely One, the Pearl of Great Price. Now he lived daily only for Him, and was ready to die for Him at any time.

"The excellency of the knowledge" was not "head knowledge" or intellectual acquiescence. It was a "trusting and believing knowledge" which grips the heart and mind; knowledge that Christ died for me according to the scriptures; that He was buried and rose again from the dead according to the scriptures; that He is ascended on high from whence He will soon come again as Saviour of the redeemed and Judge of the world; that He has prepared a place for me and all who believe, an eternal Home, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for me.

The excellency of the knowledge tells me that in baptism, I am identified with my Lord: in death, in burial, in resurrection. But in this present life that knowledge enables me to live with Him and for Him, "in newness of life," and also to suffer for His sake. In Him I not only have the assurance of future resurrection but also the privilege of present suffering. What does it matter if tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword should be my portion? The excellency of His knowledge cancels out everything else! O that I may know Him more and more!

QUESTION: How well do you know the Lord? What are you doing to know Him better?

God bless all readers.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service,
Dr SH Tow, Founding Pastor