Illustration: The Man On A Cruise

This is something meaningful I learned from bible study lessons:

The Man On A Cruise

There was once a man who has used up all his money to buy a ticket to board a ship to sail to another country.

During the long journey, he would walk past the dining hall and look at the other passengers feasting and enjoying their food. He wished he could join them, but he had no more money to buy food.

He would then go back to his own cabin to eat the biscuits he had brought along, carefully eating it little by little everyday, hoping that it would last for the journey.

Then one day, the captain of the ship came up to him and asked him why he did not join the other passengers at the dining hall but instead ate biscuits at a corner.

"I have used up all the money I have to purchase the ticket, and now I have no more money for food." the man said.

The captain then said, "Don't you know that the ticket price included food as well?"


The Lesson of the Story:

Christians believe that once they have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, they are assured of a place in heaven. However, many thought that that was the only thing they can have.

Some Christians even have a wrong belief that we can have all the good things after we reach heaven, but while we are still in this earth we are meant to suffer.

There are many Christians who live life like the man in the story. Many due to ignorance did not know that there are many other benefits besides heaven that we Christians can enjoy while we are in this earth, so we accept sickness and poverty as part of God's will and hope that one day it will all become better once we reach heaven.

However, the Bible says that we are meant to reign as kings and priests while on earth. We are meant to be overcomers!

We don't have to wait until we die and go to heaven to enjoy all of God's blessings. We can all enjoy heaven NOW!

The Bible is full of promises of God's blessings for us Christians, if only we would take time to find out. Our God is so wealthy and so kind, and He loves us so much. He has already given us the best He has - His Only Son, so would He not also give us all good things?

When we think of it, it makes sense... all God's promises are for us today, not for us only when we reach heaven. When we are in heaven, we won't need prosperity because we will be literally walking on gold! We won't need health and healing, and we won't need divine protection because there won't be any bad people or accidents in heaven anyway!

Psalm 103:3-5
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who:

1. forgives all your sins
2. heals all your diseases
3. redeems your life from the pit
4. crowns you with love and compassion
5. satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

Go Back, or Go In?

This is the brief outline of what I shared at a Morning Devotion session at a Boot Camp for 4th Kuala Lumpur Boys' Brigade.

Introduction: Israel the people of God

This is a true story that has happened many years ago, around the time when the pyramids in Egypt were built. There was a nation called Israel. Israel was an ordinary nation, but it was special because its people worshipped God. That was why God help them in many ways.

There was an incident where God has helped the people of Israel to overcome their enemy. At one time, they were being pursued by the armies of Egypt, which were the most powerful force at that time. The people of Israel were afraid because they were no match for the powerful Egyptian army with their iron chariots and they had no where to run, so they prayed and asked God for help. God helped them to overcome their enemies by sending a mighty wave to totally wipe out the entire Egyptian army with their king. That incident happened at a place called Red Sea.

The Promise of a Fruitful Land

God promised the people of Israel that He will give them a good and fertile land called Canaan. That land will be so well watered and fruitful that all the people will be very properous and successful. The land will also have houses that have already been built, and wells that have already been dug.

However, there will be inhabitants living there. The inhabitants there were very wicked, so God wants the people of Israel to remove the inhabitants so that the land will be given to them. God promised that He will help them.

The 12 Spies

So, they moved on from Red Sea to Canaan. When they reached the border of Canaan, they decided to stop for a rest before going in. They sent out 12 spies to go into Canaan to scout the area, with a mission to learn more about Canaan, to find out how best to conquer it.

The 12 spies went as instructed, and then returned with a report to the people what they have learnt.

The Bad Report

The spies reported that the land was indeed very fertile, and brought out evidence of it. They brought out a single cluster of grapes they have bought from the land... it was so huge that it required two person to carry it!

Then, 10 of the spies went on to say, "...not only were the fruits of the land huge, but the inhabitants of the land were also huge. There were giants in the land! And not only that, the cities were fortified with huge and high walls!"

The 10 spies spread fear to the people, and suggested that they should forget about the whole thing and go back.

However, the other 2 spies spoke out: "Don't be afraid of them! Remember how God has helped at Red Sea? Let us go in and fight bravely, God will help us!"

Life Application

When we are faced with difficulties and challenges, majority of the people will just give up and choose rather the easy way out. They will say, like the 10 spies, "Let's go back."

But there will always be a few who will face challenges with boldness and will not give up easily. They will say, like the 2 spies, "Let's go in, God will help us!"

Example 1: Many who find studying difficult, will just give up and go instead to do easier things, like playing computer games or watching TV. They would rather spend their 5 years of school enjoying life and lazing around, but in the end spend 50 years in difficulty because they did not have a good education.

Example 2: There are many others like you who would rather spend their Saturday afternoons at home sleeping or sitting comfortably at home, but you chose to do the more difficult thing of joining Boys' Brigade to be trained in discipline.

Who would you choose to be? Will you choose to be like the 10 spies who says, "Let's give up, and go back..." or like the 2 spies who said, "Let's go in, God will help us."?

Back to the Story: Did they Go In, or Did they Go Back?

As the story goes... the people of Israel decided to listen to the 10 spies and went back, because they were afraid. But God did fulfill his promise to the people of Israel to give them the land of Canaan, but only at a much later time.

God was angry at the people because they refused to believe that God was able to help them. So as a punishment, God sent them to wander in the desert for a very long time - 40 years! When the time was up, God sent them again to claim the land, but this time it was a different generation. The entire generation has died, and now it was their children who will go in to the land.

Again they came to the border of Canaan and sent out spies to scout the land. This time, they sent out only 2 spies.

When the spies came back, they reported that they managed to speak to a lady. The lady said that 40 years ago, when they knew that the people of Israel were about to invade their land, they became very afraid because they heard how God was with them and how God miraculously defeated the entire Egyptian army at Red Sea.

Amazing to know, what they were afraid about, all along were actually afraid of them.

Conclusion: How They Conquered Canaan

This is how God helped them to conquer Canaan:

Before they went in, God gave them specific instructions on how to attack the fortified cities of Canaan with the high walls, and they carried out the plan as instructed.

The people of Israel marched to the city with their weapons, and naturally the inhabitants of Canaan, the giants, got ready with their weapons, arrows, and prepared to fight. The Israelite army, however, did not attack the city directly. They just marched around the city walls, with their mouths kept shut, and then went back to their camp.

The giants there were puzzled, and fear gripped their hearts. They knew they were up to something, and certainly God was behind this.

The Israelite army repeated the same thing the next day. No fighthing, just marching silently around the city wall, and then went back. Third day, same thing... so the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Then came the seventh day. This time they came out as usual, but instead of circling the city walls once, this time they marched around it seven times. By this time, the army inside the city were trembling with fear and their hearts melted.

At the end of the seventh round, they together gave a loud shout, and God helped them by causing the whole city walls to crumble. As the walls crumbled, the people of Israel rushed in to battle and killed their enemies.

Israel won a great victory that day.