As the COVID-19 situation improves around the world and the borders of countries reopen, some of us may be making plans to travel overseas for a long-awaited holiday. In the midst of checking whether your passports are valid and flight tickets have been booked, have you packed for your holiday?
Here are some ACTS that you should remember to pack along for your holiday:
1. A desire to ASSEMBLE with the saints
As Christians, we should earnestly desire to assemble with other Christians on the Lord’s Day, and not be absent from the assembly (Hebrews 10:24-25). Although we may be on a holiday, we should make time to worship the Most Excellent God, Creator of the Universe (Psalm 8), together with other like-minded Christians. We can plan to travel to holiday destinations where we know sound, faithful congregations exist. We can ask the elders and preachers or other brethren if they know the addresses and worship timings of faithful congregations in that area. We will pack along a desire to assemble with the saints, even when we are on holiday.
2. A desire to have a CHRIST-LIKE attitude
Have you ever seen people who behave one way in front of a certain group of people, and a completely different way in front of another group? The Bible has a word to describe such people – hypocrites! I’m sure we have all seen people who will queue politely in Singapore, yet cut in front of others when they are on holiday. There are some who will be contented with one serving of food when they are in their home countries, but who will pile their plates with a mountain of food at the buffet line in a foreign land, food that will often go to waste. Let us have a spirit of “putting others ahead of self” and being considerate, kind and loving to others: the same spirit that Christ had even to the point of His death (Philippians 2:1-11). We will pack along a Christ-like attitude, even when we are on holiday.
3. A desire to be THANKFUL always
As children of God, we have a Heavenly Father who cares for us and provides for all our daily necessities, provided we seek to do what is right always (Matthew 6:33). As such, we must have an attitude of thankfulness (1 Thessalonians 5:18) to the one who provides all good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). When we are on holiday, we will see new and wondrous sights, which we do not often get to see in Singapore. We will see the night sky in all its glory, and we will give thanks to the Lord who set the stars in their place (Psalm 8:3). We will see majestic rainbows arching over the sky, and we will be thankful to the God who has promised that He will never again destroy the Earth with a flood (Genesis 9:11-17). We will meet people from different cultures and nationalities, and we will be thankful that God is not a respecter of persons, and that whosoever fears Him and works righteousness will be accepted by Him (Acts 10:34-35). We will pack along a desire to be thankful always, even when we are on holiday.
4. A desire to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES daily
Though a holiday is meant to be a well-deserved break from our work responsibilities, this does not mean that we should take a break from studying the Scriptures daily to discern God’s will (2 Timothy 2:15; cf. Acts 17:11). We must continue with our daily Bible reading devotion, to show our young children that we will never take a holiday from the Word of God. We can read passages of Scripture that correlate with what we had seen during the day, such as the Creation account (Genesis 1-2) after a day spent looking at nature attractions. We will pack along a desire to search the Scriptures daily, even when we are on holiday.
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