Law. Faith. Justice. Community. Culture.
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. – Acts 9:31
Saul’s turn to Christ also led to a turn of the tide of persecution against the early Church. Yet, this was at his personal cost. He was now the one being persecuted, hunted down like a prey.
Continue reading “Acts 9:23-31 Devotional: Persecution and Peace”
5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” – Acts 9:5
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” – Acts 9:15-16
Acts 9 continues the narrative of the persecution of Christians, starting from the stoning of Stephen, which Saul of Tarsus participated in. We have seen how persecution led to dispersion of Christians and the gospel to Samaria. The next part of the narrative shows us how persecution gave rise to the apostle to the Gentiles. The chief prosecutor surrendered to Christ and became the great apostle of the Gospel.
Continue reading “Acts 9:1-22 Devotional – The Persecutor Surrendered”
Significance: the Singapore High Court (Coram: Tan Siong Thye J) upheld a two-year restraint of trade, non-competition, clause and ordered an injunction against an ex-employee. The Court also held there was a valid agreement for a severance package which was not predicated on the employee’s compliance with the non-competition undertaking.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. – Acts 8:26
What if one day, you feel a strong sense that you must go to a faraway deserted place? Would you go? What for God?, you would ask. There’s nothing there, you would say.
Continue reading “Acts Devotional 8:26-40 – God the Orchestrator”
Ermgassen & Co Ltd v Sixcap Financials Pte Ltd [2018] SGHCR 8
Significance: Singapore High Court lays down law and guidance on applications to recognise or enforce foreign judgments under the Choice of Court Agreements Act.
International Financial Services (S) Pte Ltd v Old Mutual International Isle of Man Ltd Singapore Branch [2018] SGHC 127
Significance: the Singapore High Court held at [27] that there is no implied general duty of confidentiality between a lender and borrower.
Significance: this is the first case where the Singapore High Court elaborated on the meaning of “executive” in the Employment Act for determining whether an employee was entitled to Part IV provisions of the Employment Act, including being paid for overtime work and for working on rest days and public holidays.
The Court held that the claimant, who was a construction site supervisor in charge of a team of other construction workers was not an executive.
As a Singapore employment lawyer, I welcome this clarification.
20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. – Acts 8:20-21
Have we taken a wrong attitude to the gifts of God and to God, the giver of good gifts?
Continue reading “Acts Meditation 8:20-21 – Seeking God with the wrong heart”
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,
15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. – Acts 8:14-16
Is receiving the Holy Spirit always a matter of being prayed for by a leader? Is it always marked by an outward manifestation of the Spirit?
Continue reading “Acts meditation 8:14-16 – Receiving the Holy Spirit”
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. – Acts 8:4
How should we respond to persecution? In this part of the narrative, Stephen had just been stoned to death for preaching about Jesus. That triggered a widespread persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. Continue reading “Acts Meditation 8:4 – Scattered to Witness”