Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I believe God is doing new and wonderful thing in your life today. This is our Lord who proclaims this, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). It is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, that we can accomplish great and fresh new things for His glory. Amen?
Most of us, most of the time, feel left out—misfits. We don’t belong. Others seem to be so confident, so sure of themselves, “insiders” who know the ropes, old hands in a club from which we are excluded.
One of the ways we have of responding to this is to form our own club, or join one that will have us. Here is at least one place where we are “in” and the others “out.” The clubs range from informal to formal in gatherings that are variously political, social, cultural, and economic. But the one thing they have in common is the principle of exclusion. Identity or worth is achieved by excluding all but the chosen. The terrible price we pay for keeping all those other people out so that we can savor the sweetness of being insiders is a reduction of reality, a shrinkage of life.
Nowhere is this price more terrible than when it is paid in the cause of religion. But religion has a long history of doing just that, of reducing the huge mysteries of God to the respectability of club rules, of shrinking the vast human community to a “membership.” But with God there are no outsiders.
God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion (Romans 3:29b-30). God is bigger than our religion. Religion is a man made system in preserving some traditions, rituals or code of conducts that people use to experience God. It is easier and safer for believers or members of the same religion to identify with one another about their shared practice of belief system. It generates support and energy toward a religious piety. But religion could also confine or reduce the Almighty and unfathomed God into a man-made system – something within the finite system and human understanding of divinity. We do not want God to be dangerous and unsafe. Thus, a man made religion helps put God into a safe and secure container for people to “enjoy.” And the Son of God was killed by man made religion! He did not behave within the expectation of the religious leaders of his time.
Have mercy on us O Lord! How often we will replace the end by the means. Religion and church are supposed to be means to point us to the end – worship the Triune God. But throughout church history, religion and church could become the “end” that believers worship instead of God. Believers killed and fought against those who did not share the same tradition and ritual, even though they believed in the same Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing is wrong with religion and church if they are in the right place of serving as a means or agent to introduce people to the Triune God. But we should constantly recognize the fact that our God is much greater than human religion can contain and describe. We should abide in Christ but not in any man-made religion.
Enjoy His unfathomable love each day,
Lawrence
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Devotional 140910
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Before I head out for two appointments, I would to leave you with the devotional thought of Eugene Peterson that I read this morning. It is a good reminder for us who live in a culture of consumerism, not to be swallowed into its under-current.
Because an appetite for God is easily manipulated into a consumer activity, we need these wise, sane friends as guides and companions. There are entrepreneurs among us who see the wide-spread hunger for spirituality as a marketplace and are out there selling junk food. The gullibility of the unwary who bought relics from itinerant monks in the Middle Ages—splinters of wood from the true cross, finger bones from the saints, a few pieces of thread from Jesus’ seamless robe—is more than matched by North Americans in matters of spirituality.
We are trained from the cradle to be good consumers. It is understandable that we seek to satisfy our hunger for God along the lines in which we have been brought up. But it is not excusable, for we have clear counsel in the Gospels to steer us away from this consumer world: “Blessed are the poor . . . Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me … Love not the world nor the things that are in the world.” And our Lord’s counsel is confirmed and expanded in numerous ways by our wise evangelical ancestors in the faith. “The world with all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity” (1 John 2:17 The Message).
Living in His unconditional love
Lawrence
Good morning. Before I head out for two appointments, I would to leave you with the devotional thought of Eugene Peterson that I read this morning. It is a good reminder for us who live in a culture of consumerism, not to be swallowed into its under-current.
Because an appetite for God is easily manipulated into a consumer activity, we need these wise, sane friends as guides and companions. There are entrepreneurs among us who see the wide-spread hunger for spirituality as a marketplace and are out there selling junk food. The gullibility of the unwary who bought relics from itinerant monks in the Middle Ages—splinters of wood from the true cross, finger bones from the saints, a few pieces of thread from Jesus’ seamless robe—is more than matched by North Americans in matters of spirituality.
We are trained from the cradle to be good consumers. It is understandable that we seek to satisfy our hunger for God along the lines in which we have been brought up. But it is not excusable, for we have clear counsel in the Gospels to steer us away from this consumer world: “Blessed are the poor . . . Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me … Love not the world nor the things that are in the world.” And our Lord’s counsel is confirmed and expanded in numerous ways by our wise evangelical ancestors in the faith. “The world with all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity” (1 John 2:17 The Message).
Living in His unconditional love
Lawrence
Monday, September 13, 2010
Devotional 130910
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank you so much for some of your prayer support, I have finished all my course work from Western Seminary last week. At this point, I have to finish my three writing assignments, prepare for my final comprehensive examination, and begin to conduct my dissertation research in the month to come. I still covet your prayer for this journey of learning.
Even though the weather is foggy and gloomy in San Francisco, this new day is beautifully filled with the wonderful grace from the Lord. He is our Creator and Lover. He faithfully provides and protects us on earth until we see Him face to face. Life was constantly greeted by all kinds of ups and downs. On Saturday, we said farewell to our beloved sister, Joyce Lau, at her memorial service and received good news from Dorothy and Wilson about the arrival of a new life in the same day. Life comes and goes each day. And it is all in the sovereign hands of God. Thus, while we are enjoying the earthly provisions from God, we want to maximize the resources and opportunities He gives us for His glory. I like the motto of William Carey, “Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God.” By conducting our lives with this kind of commitment, our lives will count each day in making greater impact as light and salt of the world.
Eugene Peterson has five items of counsel in matters of spirituality for all who hunger and thirst after intimacy and transcendence. Each item provides evangelical focus, precision, and rootage to spirituality. As we get it straight ourselves, we will be equipped to provide leadership to others, an evangelical leadership that is so conspicuously lacking at present.
1. Discover what Scripture says about spirituality and immerse yourself in it.
2. Avoid spirituality that does not require commitment.
3. Embrace friends in the faith wherever you find them.
4. But then return home and explore your own tradition.
5. Look for mature guides; honor wise leaders.
Spirituality is not the latest trend but the oldest truth. Spirituality, the alert attention we give to a living God and the faithful response we make to him in community, is at the heart of our Scriptures and is on display throughout the centuries of Israel and the church. We have been at this a long time. We have nearly four millennia of experience to draw upon. When someone hands you a new book, reach for an old one. Isaiah has far more to teach us about spirituality than Carl Jung (famous psychologist). Just as James said, “Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything. Went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course (James 5:10-11a)!
We lost our freedom in talking about God with our friends and family members. Many people feel uneasy to even talk about their relationship with God to their spouse. They can talk about house chores or about their children. But it is hard for many couples to engage in some kind of “spiritual conversation” that is edifying to each other. We need to break this kind of bondage among us. Otherwise, we will become isolated from the community of faith, and compartmentalized as a person – we can’t see that spirituality is the base of our whole being. We are supposed to live, eat, sleep, walk and talk in Christ. If we only count God’s blessing in church but not in the office or at home, we are dividing ourselves into the secular and divine. This kind of attitude toward life will eventually hurt our growth as a godly person. Give us the freedom, O Lord, to live freely in the light of your presence each day.
Love you in His joy,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank you so much for some of your prayer support, I have finished all my course work from Western Seminary last week. At this point, I have to finish my three writing assignments, prepare for my final comprehensive examination, and begin to conduct my dissertation research in the month to come. I still covet your prayer for this journey of learning.
Even though the weather is foggy and gloomy in San Francisco, this new day is beautifully filled with the wonderful grace from the Lord. He is our Creator and Lover. He faithfully provides and protects us on earth until we see Him face to face. Life was constantly greeted by all kinds of ups and downs. On Saturday, we said farewell to our beloved sister, Joyce Lau, at her memorial service and received good news from Dorothy and Wilson about the arrival of a new life in the same day. Life comes and goes each day. And it is all in the sovereign hands of God. Thus, while we are enjoying the earthly provisions from God, we want to maximize the resources and opportunities He gives us for His glory. I like the motto of William Carey, “Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God.” By conducting our lives with this kind of commitment, our lives will count each day in making greater impact as light and salt of the world.
Eugene Peterson has five items of counsel in matters of spirituality for all who hunger and thirst after intimacy and transcendence. Each item provides evangelical focus, precision, and rootage to spirituality. As we get it straight ourselves, we will be equipped to provide leadership to others, an evangelical leadership that is so conspicuously lacking at present.
1. Discover what Scripture says about spirituality and immerse yourself in it.
2. Avoid spirituality that does not require commitment.
3. Embrace friends in the faith wherever you find them.
4. But then return home and explore your own tradition.
5. Look for mature guides; honor wise leaders.
Spirituality is not the latest trend but the oldest truth. Spirituality, the alert attention we give to a living God and the faithful response we make to him in community, is at the heart of our Scriptures and is on display throughout the centuries of Israel and the church. We have been at this a long time. We have nearly four millennia of experience to draw upon. When someone hands you a new book, reach for an old one. Isaiah has far more to teach us about spirituality than Carl Jung (famous psychologist). Just as James said, “Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything. Went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course (James 5:10-11a)!
We lost our freedom in talking about God with our friends and family members. Many people feel uneasy to even talk about their relationship with God to their spouse. They can talk about house chores or about their children. But it is hard for many couples to engage in some kind of “spiritual conversation” that is edifying to each other. We need to break this kind of bondage among us. Otherwise, we will become isolated from the community of faith, and compartmentalized as a person – we can’t see that spirituality is the base of our whole being. We are supposed to live, eat, sleep, walk and talk in Christ. If we only count God’s blessing in church but not in the office or at home, we are dividing ourselves into the secular and divine. This kind of attitude toward life will eventually hurt our growth as a godly person. Give us the freedom, O Lord, to live freely in the light of your presence each day.
Love you in His joy,
Lawrence
Friday, September 3, 2010
Devotional 030910
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for giving us such beautiful weather – we can experience the feeling of “winter” and “summer” in just one day. This is the beauty of living in Daly City and working in Burlingame. This kind of swing in feelings happens all the time in our lives on earth – from one minute happiness to the other minute of sadness. I thank God for this emotional capability that God designs in us. But what is the purpose behind all our experience in life? Eugene Peterson gives me some good insight in his devotion.
If all your friends were suddenly to begin talking about the state of their digestion—comparing symptoms, calling up for advice, swapping remedies—you would not consider it a hopeful sign. Nor does his widespread interest in spirituality today lead me to think that the North American soul is in a flourishing condition.
A person who has a healthy digestion does not talk about it. Neither does a person who has a healthy soul. When our bodies and souls are working well, we are, for the most part, unaware of them. The frequency with which the word spirituality occurs these days is more likely to be evidence of pathology than health.
By taking this stance, I am not dismissing current interest in spirituality as sick. The interest itself is not sick, but sickness has provoked the interest. There is considerable confusion regarding the appropriate treatment, but virtual unanimity in the diagnosis: Our culture is sick with secularism.
But deeper and stronger than our illness is our cure. The Spirit of God that hovered over the primordial chaos (Gen. 1:2) hovers over our murderous and chaotic cities. The Spirit that descended on Jesus like a dove (Matt. 3:16) descends on the followers of Jesus. The Holy spirit that filled men and women with God at nine o’clock in the morning in Jerusalem during Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) fills men and women still in Chicago and Calcutta, Moscow and Montreal, around the clock, 365 days a year.
Our culture has failed precisely because it is a secular culture. A secular culture is a culture reduced to thing and function. Typically, at the outset, people are delighted to find themselves living in such a culture. It is wonderful to have all these things coming our way, without having to worry about their nature or purpose. And it is wonderful to have this incredible freedom to do so much, without bothering about relationships or meaning. But after a few years of this, our delight diminishes as we find ourselves lonely among the things and bored with our freedom.
Our first response is to get more of what brought us delight in the first place: acquire more things, generate more activity. Get more. Do more. After a few years of this, we are genuinely puzzled that we are not any better.
We North Americans have been doing this for well over a century now, and we have succeeded in producing a culture that is reduced to thing and function. And we all seem to be surprised that this magnificent achievement of secularism—all these things! All these activities!—has produced an epidemic of loneliness and boredom. We are surprised to find ourselves lonely behind the wheel of a BMW or bored nearly to death as we advance from one prestigious job to another.
And then, one by one, a few people begin to realize that getting more and doing more only makes the sickness worse. They realize that if it gets much worse, the culture will be dead—a thoroughly secularized culture is a corpse. The psalmist was right in his experience, “Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache…until I entered the sanctuary of God, then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions” (Psalm 73:16-18).
I believe there is plenty of food for thought for you this weekend. When you enjoy all the convenience of things in this culture, hope you think about the meaning and purpose behind all these. How do these things help you accomplish the purpose of your life on earth, or what God intended for you to live on earth as salt and light? Have a fruitful long weekend to rest in the Lord…
Love you in Him,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for giving us such beautiful weather – we can experience the feeling of “winter” and “summer” in just one day. This is the beauty of living in Daly City and working in Burlingame. This kind of swing in feelings happens all the time in our lives on earth – from one minute happiness to the other minute of sadness. I thank God for this emotional capability that God designs in us. But what is the purpose behind all our experience in life? Eugene Peterson gives me some good insight in his devotion.
If all your friends were suddenly to begin talking about the state of their digestion—comparing symptoms, calling up for advice, swapping remedies—you would not consider it a hopeful sign. Nor does his widespread interest in spirituality today lead me to think that the North American soul is in a flourishing condition.
A person who has a healthy digestion does not talk about it. Neither does a person who has a healthy soul. When our bodies and souls are working well, we are, for the most part, unaware of them. The frequency with which the word spirituality occurs these days is more likely to be evidence of pathology than health.
By taking this stance, I am not dismissing current interest in spirituality as sick. The interest itself is not sick, but sickness has provoked the interest. There is considerable confusion regarding the appropriate treatment, but virtual unanimity in the diagnosis: Our culture is sick with secularism.
But deeper and stronger than our illness is our cure. The Spirit of God that hovered over the primordial chaos (Gen. 1:2) hovers over our murderous and chaotic cities. The Spirit that descended on Jesus like a dove (Matt. 3:16) descends on the followers of Jesus. The Holy spirit that filled men and women with God at nine o’clock in the morning in Jerusalem during Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) fills men and women still in Chicago and Calcutta, Moscow and Montreal, around the clock, 365 days a year.
Our culture has failed precisely because it is a secular culture. A secular culture is a culture reduced to thing and function. Typically, at the outset, people are delighted to find themselves living in such a culture. It is wonderful to have all these things coming our way, without having to worry about their nature or purpose. And it is wonderful to have this incredible freedom to do so much, without bothering about relationships or meaning. But after a few years of this, our delight diminishes as we find ourselves lonely among the things and bored with our freedom.
Our first response is to get more of what brought us delight in the first place: acquire more things, generate more activity. Get more. Do more. After a few years of this, we are genuinely puzzled that we are not any better.
We North Americans have been doing this for well over a century now, and we have succeeded in producing a culture that is reduced to thing and function. And we all seem to be surprised that this magnificent achievement of secularism—all these things! All these activities!—has produced an epidemic of loneliness and boredom. We are surprised to find ourselves lonely behind the wheel of a BMW or bored nearly to death as we advance from one prestigious job to another.
And then, one by one, a few people begin to realize that getting more and doing more only makes the sickness worse. They realize that if it gets much worse, the culture will be dead—a thoroughly secularized culture is a corpse. The psalmist was right in his experience, “Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache…until I entered the sanctuary of God, then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you’ve put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions” (Psalm 73:16-18).
I believe there is plenty of food for thought for you this weekend. When you enjoy all the convenience of things in this culture, hope you think about the meaning and purpose behind all these. How do these things help you accomplish the purpose of your life on earth, or what God intended for you to live on earth as salt and light? Have a fruitful long weekend to rest in the Lord…
Love you in Him,
Lawrence
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Devotional 020910
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I was saddened by the sudden passing of a beloved sister in Christ, who was killed in a hid and run traffic accident yesterday. Joyce Lau was a caring and active member of our church. She volunteered her retirement time to serve in our senior citizens’ fellowship and among the new immigrants in Chinatown. She will be remembered as a very caring and sincere sister in Christ. Yes, it is a tragic loss to her family and us, but she left a legacy of a committed Christian life – Joyce had made a difference in many people’s life ever since her life was impacted by the love of Christ. This incidence reminds me once again that life is so fragile and short. I need to treasure the time to love and serve God while I am still alive and alert. Indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, don’t give yourself excuse to put off another day or to procrastinate in your pursuit of the commissioning from God.
Everyday is a gift and a bonus – something we do not deserve. Our Creator God wants us to invest our lives to maximize the potentials that He has vested in us. Each one of us is a steward of God’s given resources. God expects us to invest those resources even though it may involve risk. Jesus wants His followers to calculate their cost to follow Him. Yes, following Christ involves risks – risk of our complacency, our time and money etc. But comparing with the eternal blessings to come, those risk and cost are nothing. Apostle Paul was a smart teacher. He knew what it took to follow Christ. He gave up his fame and social acceptance as a religious leader in Jerusalem for the sake of Christ. It might sound like he was giving up a lot to follow Jesus. But to him, it was nothing in comparing to what Christ has given up for him and us. Paul said, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). I don’t want to regret for not spending my time wisely when opportunity is no longer available for me to serve Christ and live for Him.
Love you in Him,
Lawrence
Good morning. I was saddened by the sudden passing of a beloved sister in Christ, who was killed in a hid and run traffic accident yesterday. Joyce Lau was a caring and active member of our church. She volunteered her retirement time to serve in our senior citizens’ fellowship and among the new immigrants in Chinatown. She will be remembered as a very caring and sincere sister in Christ. Yes, it is a tragic loss to her family and us, but she left a legacy of a committed Christian life – Joyce had made a difference in many people’s life ever since her life was impacted by the love of Christ. This incidence reminds me once again that life is so fragile and short. I need to treasure the time to love and serve God while I am still alive and alert. Indeed, my dear brothers and sisters, don’t give yourself excuse to put off another day or to procrastinate in your pursuit of the commissioning from God.
Everyday is a gift and a bonus – something we do not deserve. Our Creator God wants us to invest our lives to maximize the potentials that He has vested in us. Each one of us is a steward of God’s given resources. God expects us to invest those resources even though it may involve risk. Jesus wants His followers to calculate their cost to follow Him. Yes, following Christ involves risks – risk of our complacency, our time and money etc. But comparing with the eternal blessings to come, those risk and cost are nothing. Apostle Paul was a smart teacher. He knew what it took to follow Christ. He gave up his fame and social acceptance as a religious leader in Jerusalem for the sake of Christ. It might sound like he was giving up a lot to follow Jesus. But to him, it was nothing in comparing to what Christ has given up for him and us. Paul said, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). I don’t want to regret for not spending my time wisely when opportunity is no longer available for me to serve Christ and live for Him.
Love you in Him,
Lawrence
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Devotional 310810
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for another wonderful day to be in His service. We are called to serve Him in wherever He places us. God uses each one of us in this world for one special agenda, which is to make disciples of all nations. The Great Commission, indeed, is our core value. If we sincerely want to seek Him first the Kingdom of God, then we know His Kingdom involve people who are willing to submit to His kingship. Do you really want to crown God as King in your life today?
The gospel introduces us to a life that begins by receiving the life of God. God pours out his love for us. He mercifully provides the access to forgiveness. All of that is very exhilarating. It is a clear and vast improvement over living on the basis of appetites and impulses, getting and grabbing. We embark on the way of faith. We become free. We are filled with hope. We live more intensely and more amply than ever before.
Now, having begun there, what is the next step? What is the next step after love? Is it cautious mistrust? That is silly. What is the next step after faith? Anxious attempts to avoid anything that might displease God? That is silly. What is the next step after grace? Cannily bargaining with God so that we can manipulate Him for our benefit? That is silly. That is like saying, “Having learned algebra, I will now go back to counting on my fingers.”
“Use your heads,” says Paul. Common sense ought to keep you from abandoning the gospel of grace. Only as we remain rooted in the gospel can we apply the great truths of love and forgiveness and grace to everyday affairs. “Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. “If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it,” said Paul, “how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!” (Galatians 3:3).
The claim of the gospel is that it puts us in touch with reality—all of it, not just a part. It puts us in touch with a God who creates and with the people and world he created. It puts us in touch with Christ who redeems and the people whom he loves. It puts us in touch with our feelings of hope and despair, with our thoughts, doubt and faith, with our acts of virtue and vice. It puts us in touch with everything, visible and invisible, right and wrong, good and evil. It puts us in touch and then trains us in mature ways of living.
We live in a world where people are going crazy. We have a gospel that sets us free to think, and in so doing it develops us in a rich and robust sanity. The sanity of the gospel is one of its most attractive features. Persons who truly live by faith are in touch with reality and become conspicuously sane.
The more I talked to pre-Christian friends, the more I realized what Peterson said here is true. On one hand people realize they are not God but on the other they try to play God. They become so confused at time that they really don’t know what we are thinking or arguing. They could not accept the existence of God. They prefer the existence of a big confusion. It takes the act of humility to receive the illumination of the God and the redemption of Christ to make use sane and whole again.
Love you in His mercy
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for another wonderful day to be in His service. We are called to serve Him in wherever He places us. God uses each one of us in this world for one special agenda, which is to make disciples of all nations. The Great Commission, indeed, is our core value. If we sincerely want to seek Him first the Kingdom of God, then we know His Kingdom involve people who are willing to submit to His kingship. Do you really want to crown God as King in your life today?
The gospel introduces us to a life that begins by receiving the life of God. God pours out his love for us. He mercifully provides the access to forgiveness. All of that is very exhilarating. It is a clear and vast improvement over living on the basis of appetites and impulses, getting and grabbing. We embark on the way of faith. We become free. We are filled with hope. We live more intensely and more amply than ever before.
Now, having begun there, what is the next step? What is the next step after love? Is it cautious mistrust? That is silly. What is the next step after faith? Anxious attempts to avoid anything that might displease God? That is silly. What is the next step after grace? Cannily bargaining with God so that we can manipulate Him for our benefit? That is silly. That is like saying, “Having learned algebra, I will now go back to counting on my fingers.”
“Use your heads,” says Paul. Common sense ought to keep you from abandoning the gospel of grace. Only as we remain rooted in the gospel can we apply the great truths of love and forgiveness and grace to everyday affairs. “Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. “If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it,” said Paul, “how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!” (Galatians 3:3).
The claim of the gospel is that it puts us in touch with reality—all of it, not just a part. It puts us in touch with a God who creates and with the people and world he created. It puts us in touch with Christ who redeems and the people whom he loves. It puts us in touch with our feelings of hope and despair, with our thoughts, doubt and faith, with our acts of virtue and vice. It puts us in touch with everything, visible and invisible, right and wrong, good and evil. It puts us in touch and then trains us in mature ways of living.
We live in a world where people are going crazy. We have a gospel that sets us free to think, and in so doing it develops us in a rich and robust sanity. The sanity of the gospel is one of its most attractive features. Persons who truly live by faith are in touch with reality and become conspicuously sane.
The more I talked to pre-Christian friends, the more I realized what Peterson said here is true. On one hand people realize they are not God but on the other they try to play God. They become so confused at time that they really don’t know what we are thinking or arguing. They could not accept the existence of God. They prefer the existence of a big confusion. It takes the act of humility to receive the illumination of the God and the redemption of Christ to make use sane and whole again.
Love you in His mercy
Lawrence
Monday, August 30, 2010
Devotional 300810
Dear brothers an sisters,
Good morning. After a whole week of schooling and service in a church retreat, I am back to my routine in office again. I enjoy my routine where I have better control of my time. Instead of being rushed into one thing to the other, I can balance my time in my daily routine. It is always refreshing to start the day with some quiet time to meditate on God’s words and my relationship with Him. How important it is to be reminded of the fact that our self worth depends on Him but not on our accomplishment in life.
All of us grow up with an inferiority complex. Some of us are able to disguise it better than others, but the feelings of inferiority are there le same. One reason is that during the most formative years of our lives, we were small, less knowledgeable, weaker and less experienced than the important people in our lives (parents, teachers, older children in the neighborhood). There was always someone around who was better than we were in some way or other. We lose some of those feelings as we mature, but never entirely. We are always vulnerable to self-doubt. Am I worth anything at all? Does anyone care if I really exist? If I disappeared tomorrow, how long would it take before everything was normal? Would it take a week, a month, or a year? We try in various ways to become indispensable to people around us so that we can have our significance verified, but our efforts are not convincing.
We cannot experience freedom when we live that way. A feeling of inadequacy is enslaving. No matter how free we are told that we are, if we don’t think we are worth anything, we will not be motivated to express our strengths, will not be confident in developing our gifts, will not feel up to enjoying the blessings of the day.
The gospel counters that enslaving experience by telling the story of our redemption: “We were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had filly come, God sent forth his Son; born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (paraphrased from Galatians 4:4-5) The action-packed sentence is a powerful description of Christ’s great work on behalf of all of us. One word in it tells us what we are worth: redeem.
All Paul’s readers would have been familiar with the first century Greek process for freeing slaves. The word redeem describes this process. Sometimes a slave caught the attention of a wealthy free person and for some reason or other—compassion, affection, justice—the free person decided to free the slave. The free person would then go to the temple or shrine and deposit with the priests the sum of money required for manumission. The priests would then deliver an oracle: The god Apollo has purchased this slave so-and-so from owners such-and-such and is now free. The priests then passed the redemption price on to the recent owner. The ex-slave who all his or her life had been treated as an inferior, useful J only for purposes of running someone else’s errands, doing someone else’s work, was no longer subject to such evaluation. The person was free. No price could be put on that head again. The person was valuable not to do something but to be someone.
That, says Paul, is what has happened to each and every one of us: we have been singled out for redemption. We are free in Christ. We have received a new identity – a child of God. We become a new person with a new worth or value. We are unique and valuable for a divine purpose. For that reason, “we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original” (Galatians 5:26). This is a new day that God has prepared for you. Maximize the opportunity of this day to fulfill God’s plan for your life. Amen.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. After a whole week of schooling and service in a church retreat, I am back to my routine in office again. I enjoy my routine where I have better control of my time. Instead of being rushed into one thing to the other, I can balance my time in my daily routine. It is always refreshing to start the day with some quiet time to meditate on God’s words and my relationship with Him. How important it is to be reminded of the fact that our self worth depends on Him but not on our accomplishment in life.
All of us grow up with an inferiority complex. Some of us are able to disguise it better than others, but the feelings of inferiority are there le same. One reason is that during the most formative years of our lives, we were small, less knowledgeable, weaker and less experienced than the important people in our lives (parents, teachers, older children in the neighborhood). There was always someone around who was better than we were in some way or other. We lose some of those feelings as we mature, but never entirely. We are always vulnerable to self-doubt. Am I worth anything at all? Does anyone care if I really exist? If I disappeared tomorrow, how long would it take before everything was normal? Would it take a week, a month, or a year? We try in various ways to become indispensable to people around us so that we can have our significance verified, but our efforts are not convincing.
We cannot experience freedom when we live that way. A feeling of inadequacy is enslaving. No matter how free we are told that we are, if we don’t think we are worth anything, we will not be motivated to express our strengths, will not be confident in developing our gifts, will not feel up to enjoying the blessings of the day.
The gospel counters that enslaving experience by telling the story of our redemption: “We were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time had filly come, God sent forth his Son; born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (paraphrased from Galatians 4:4-5) The action-packed sentence is a powerful description of Christ’s great work on behalf of all of us. One word in it tells us what we are worth: redeem.
All Paul’s readers would have been familiar with the first century Greek process for freeing slaves. The word redeem describes this process. Sometimes a slave caught the attention of a wealthy free person and for some reason or other—compassion, affection, justice—the free person decided to free the slave. The free person would then go to the temple or shrine and deposit with the priests the sum of money required for manumission. The priests would then deliver an oracle: The god Apollo has purchased this slave so-and-so from owners such-and-such and is now free. The priests then passed the redemption price on to the recent owner. The ex-slave who all his or her life had been treated as an inferior, useful J only for purposes of running someone else’s errands, doing someone else’s work, was no longer subject to such evaluation. The person was free. No price could be put on that head again. The person was valuable not to do something but to be someone.
That, says Paul, is what has happened to each and every one of us: we have been singled out for redemption. We are free in Christ. We have received a new identity – a child of God. We become a new person with a new worth or value. We are unique and valuable for a divine purpose. For that reason, “we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original” (Galatians 5:26). This is a new day that God has prepared for you. Maximize the opportunity of this day to fulfill God’s plan for your life. Amen.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
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