Queen's Road Cell

Joyce and I shared about our attending the wake of a son of a Christian couple I had known from my JC days. This young man had been having problems at work and had just broken up with his long-standing girlfriend. We saw the broken hearts of the parents and remembered also our own bereavement when Doreen died. Suicide is always the hardest way to die in how it affects the family of the deceased. I know we have spoken on this issue before, but we again affirmed that suicide is not an unforgivable sin - but one in which the sinner has no chance to repent. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is truly unforgivable, is when the sinner has no desire to repent.So the believing Christian who is truly saved should be saved even if he/she sins and takes his/her own life. Not every one of us will have the opportunity to confess our sins if we die suddenly, after all. We also did a brief recap of "why bad things happen to good people". Our response then is: 1. There are no good...

We asked ourselves what makes a comparison "false", as opposed to "true". A "false comparison" is so if certain things are not meant to be compared in the first place, and this includes aspects of our relationship with the Lord. It is also "false" when the attitude behind wanting to know more about another person is incorrect. It is certainly not wrong to be concerned about another Christian or to compare ourselves to one another. In fact, when we "stir up one another to love and good works" (Heb 10:24-25), and interact with one another as "iron sharpens iron" (Pr 27:17), comparisons are necessary for our spiritual growth. A certain competetiveness is not unchristian (c.f. Paul's use of this to encourage the Corinthians to give in 2 Cor 9:1-5). What would be wrong is when comparisons are done because of insecurity, self-gratification of curiosity and a desire to be superior to others. Busybodies and gossips seek and ...

I shared how Joyce and I were visiting another cell on Good Friday as part of an 'inspection tour' and how they were doing spiritual gifts in Book 4.2. Listening to their sharing helped me realize how fortunate I felt to be able to serve in church in areas where I am gifted. We shared that our service in church need not always be in areas where we feel capable or gifted. We also serve where there are areas of need when no one else is available for a critical task. When He does this He always provides the resources and the grace to see us through. And sometimes the experiences we have in areas where we feel unsuited make us better equipped for service in areas where we feel more comfortable. We asked the question: if the Holy Spirit leads us into all the truth(Jn 16:13), how is it that Christians with the Spirit can disagree on practical and doctrinal matters? One possible reason is that our experiences and mindset obscure the voice of the Spirit, but it is probably more corre...