Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Devotional 300610

Dear brothers and sisters,
It is good to be back home! But I am leaving tomorrow for another preaching engagement at Reddings, California (about 5 hours drive from San Francisco Bay Area). Afterward, I will be preaching at Vancouver, Canada before I head out for China on 7/15. Please remember me in your prayer.
During my travel, I was using a set of devotional material by Dallas Willard that I had downloaded to my iphone. It was short yet thought provoking. It provided me a passages to meditate upon, with the limited free time I had during my stay in Thailand. Our training program was so packed that I hardly had time to study the books I brought with me (I managed to do it on one Saturday afternoon). The weather was another factor - it was so hot that your body became tired easily, and it was really hard to concentrate when your body was sweating at all time. I could understand why the pace of people in rural area of Southeast Asia tends to be so slow. Praise God that a business man in Bangkok has donated an airconditioner for our center after we shared with him our needs. It will definitely improve the learning condition of our future training program.
The Word of God is His supreme creative power. Genesis described how God created the universe by His Word. God rules by the power of His Word. Jesus defended Satan's temptation by God's word, and healed by His commanding Word. Willard said, "Even though God is supreme and could force anyone to do anything, he works evey day through words, understandings, allegiances and alliances." God exercises His power through Words. And His word is indeed the lamp to our feet and light to our path. The consensus of the entire Christian community upholds the primacy of God's word in everything, but in prayer we seldom use God's word to answer His prompting. Prayer is always in an answering mold - God puts His agenda and idea in our mind, we then utter our response through prayer. Without first listening to God's word, our prayer becomes empty and meaningless. Situation is another way God communicates His word to us. You may not hear God's gentle voice in silence, but you see the circumstance around you that may prompt you to pray. Instead of uttering your plead in haste, spend time to meditate your circumstances in the light of God's words. Then, pray to God in an answering speech. You will be surprised how He will interact with you through His words.
Just as Jesus reminded Satan while He was fasting in desert, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word coming from the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4). Yes, we live and are sustained by the power of God's word. Amen.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Ps. click on the slide show in my blog to see other albums from my trip.