Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thanks for your prayer for my health. I am recovering quite well even though I still have some lingering coughs today. Praise God for giving me time to rest; my body was just craving for sleep in the last couples of days. I thought I was well enough to do some chores at home, but my body just shut down on me after a few hours. I guess sickness could be a blessing in disguise; God uses sickness to deal with the chronic problem of workaholics in this high-tech and Internet world .
"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell" (Matthew 5:30). Jesus did not say that everyone must cut off the right hand, but - If your right hand offends you in your walk with Me, cut it off. There are many things that are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to concentrate on God you cannot do them. Your right hand is one of the best things you have, but, says Jesus, if it hinders you in following His principles, cut it off. This line of discipline is the sternest one that ever struck mankind.
When God alters a man by regeneration, the characteristic of the life to begin with is that it is “crippled.” There are a hundred and one things you dare not do, things that to you and in the eyes of the world that knows you are as your right hand and your eye, and the ungodly person says - What is wrong in that? How ridiculous you are! There never has been a saint yet who did not have to live a “crippled life” to start with. But it is better to enter into life crippled and lovely in God's sight than to be lovely in man's sight and lame in God's. In the beginning Jesus Christ by His Spirit has to check you from doing a great many things that may be perfectly right for everyone else but not right for you. See that you do not use your limitations to criticize someone else.
It is a “crippled life” to begin with, but in v.48 Jesus gives the picture of a perfectly satisfied and out of the world kind of life that you will eventually become - "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
The story of "Jacob wrestling with God" came to my mind. He was a man with “street smart.” Jacob was more than a survivor and a successful businessman, who knew how to manipulate things and people for his own agenda. He moved up quickly to get what he wanted. If he were to live in our history today, he would easily make more money than Warren Buffet (the top three richest men in the world). But his success did not come without expenses or costs to his life - he had a lot of problems with his family and extended family. The most critical turning point of his life was when Jacob decided to reconcile with his past – his broken relationship with his brother Esau. He knew how much it might cost him and to his family. He had calculated his risks but he still did not have peace inside. God came to wrestle with Jacob one night and turned him into a crippled man (Gen 32:24). But God also blessed him with a new name called Israel, which means “he has wrestled with God” or “he has been saved by God.” Indeed his "disability" became his sign of regeneration or salvation.
Any sincere seekers of Truth would have “wrestled with God” in some points of their lives. They may wrestle with God mentally, emotionally, spiritually, relationally or in some kind of important issues in life. And the common result through this “spiritual struggle” is a crippled life or a life of humility – willfully laid down their personal rights, freedom, convenience or comfort for the sake of a godly life. I guess this is the quality of life that God separates mankind from other creatures on earth. And this is the kind of "life goal" that we are all called to attain. “Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins” (Heb 12:1 Message).
Love you as fellow runners of His race,
Lawrence
Showing posts with label Rest and meditating at home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rest and meditating at home. Show all posts
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Devotional 150609
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is good to have a special no pay leave to rest and spend with the Lord. If you follow my blog, you know I had a busy weekend. I was tired and my voice exhausted after preaching in two services, fellowshiped with some brothers and sisters over a long lunch, and led worship at the revival meeting. I do need time to recuperate from all these excitements (excitement is exhausting too!) but my heart is filled with joy of thanksgiving, and recalling all my great experiences…
"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (2 Peter 1:5-7). Through the promises of God, “you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” says Peter (v.4), now focus your attention to form habits, give diligence, and concentrate. "Add" means literally put on something new to your life. No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character, he has to build up character. Nor are we born with habits; we have to form habits on the basis of the new life God has put into us. We are not meant to be illuminated versions, but the common stuff of ordinary life exhibiting the marvel of the grace of God. Hard work is the hallmark of character. The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do. But "Jesus took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples' feet."
There are times when there is no enlightenment and no thrill, but just the daily routine and common task. Routine is God's way of saving us between our times of inspiration. Do not expect God always to give you His thrilling experience, but learn to live in the field of hard work by the power of God.
It is the "adding" that is difficult. We say we do not expect God to carry us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we did! The tiniest detail in which I obey has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I do my duty, not for duty's sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.
In your “boring routine” of life, God is at work in a mysterious and quiet way. He used those to build up your character, provided that you choose to respond or react to God’s engineered circumstances in God’s way. To those of us in full time ministry, this temptation of seeking to do the great things for God is very common. Since we answered His call to serve God, of course, we expect to do the extraordinary things for Him. We expect to receive extraordinary power from Him. We expect to receive special insight from Him everyday. Even church members would assume that we, ministers, should have special line with God. God will give us more insight and feeding, so that we become leaders in the faith community. I don’t know about other full time workers, I don’t feel like we have special line with God, though we may be more conscious of God’s movement in our lives and in others. But it does not mean our lives are always “high or thrill” everyday. We have dull moment, frustrating and boring time like everybody. We go through similar training from God. That’s why we need to encourage each others. Let’s cheer each other up to pursue holiness and godly characters for His glory.
Love you in according to His training manual,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is good to have a special no pay leave to rest and spend with the Lord. If you follow my blog, you know I had a busy weekend. I was tired and my voice exhausted after preaching in two services, fellowshiped with some brothers and sisters over a long lunch, and led worship at the revival meeting. I do need time to recuperate from all these excitements (excitement is exhausting too!) but my heart is filled with joy of thanksgiving, and recalling all my great experiences…
"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (2 Peter 1:5-7). Through the promises of God, “you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” says Peter (v.4), now focus your attention to form habits, give diligence, and concentrate. "Add" means literally put on something new to your life. No man is born either naturally or supernaturally with character, he has to build up character. Nor are we born with habits; we have to form habits on the basis of the new life God has put into us. We are not meant to be illuminated versions, but the common stuff of ordinary life exhibiting the marvel of the grace of God. Hard work is the hallmark of character. The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do. But "Jesus took a towel . . . and began to wash the disciples' feet."
There are times when there is no enlightenment and no thrill, but just the daily routine and common task. Routine is God's way of saving us between our times of inspiration. Do not expect God always to give you His thrilling experience, but learn to live in the field of hard work by the power of God.
It is the "adding" that is difficult. We say we do not expect God to carry us to heaven on flowery beds of ease, and yet we act as if we did! The tiniest detail in which I obey has all the omnipotent power of the grace of God behind it. If I do my duty, not for duty's sake, but because I believe God is engineering my circumstances, then at the very point of my obedience the whole superb grace of God is mine through the Atonement.
In your “boring routine” of life, God is at work in a mysterious and quiet way. He used those to build up your character, provided that you choose to respond or react to God’s engineered circumstances in God’s way. To those of us in full time ministry, this temptation of seeking to do the great things for God is very common. Since we answered His call to serve God, of course, we expect to do the extraordinary things for Him. We expect to receive extraordinary power from Him. We expect to receive special insight from Him everyday. Even church members would assume that we, ministers, should have special line with God. God will give us more insight and feeding, so that we become leaders in the faith community. I don’t know about other full time workers, I don’t feel like we have special line with God, though we may be more conscious of God’s movement in our lives and in others. But it does not mean our lives are always “high or thrill” everyday. We have dull moment, frustrating and boring time like everybody. We go through similar training from God. That’s why we need to encourage each others. Let’s cheer each other up to pursue holiness and godly characters for His glory.
Love you in according to His training manual,
Lawrence
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Devotional 070509
Dear brother and sister,
Good morning. Since my trip went by so quickly with overwhelming exposures of new things and experiences, I didn’t have time to sink in at all until I went through the pictures I took yesterday. It was indeed so rich an experience! I am sure you will hear about it in my devotional sharing in the next couples of days if not weeks. Those memories are precious when they stir our passions for Christ from time to time. After all, this is what meditation means to accomplish; not just to muse on what had happened in the past, but to allow the past encourage and transform our lives in the present.
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" （Luke 14:28）Our Lord refers not to a cost we have to count, but to a cost which He has counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal and hatred, the deep unfathomable agony in Gethsemane, and the onslaught at Calvary - the pivot upon which the whole of Time and Eternity turns. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. Men are not going to laugh at Him at last and say - "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
The conditions of discipleship lay down by Our Lord in Luke 14: 26, 27 and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...Any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. Is God going to detect in His searching fire that we have built on the foundation of Jesus some enterprise of our own? These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when we are trying to work for God, and therein is the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.
As I listened to the prayer of two Turkish pastors through an interpreter, they both ended with a similar saying, “for the glory of Christ.” It captures my attention as they mentioned this phrase. How often do we seek the glory of Christ in whatever we do and pray for in everyday of our lives? But as these Turkish believers counting their cost to follow Christ, they focus on the Glory of Christ. As Paul said to the Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (8:18). I guessed when believers are fascinated by human glory or busily seeking their temporal glory and success in life, we will not pay attention to the glory of Christ. On a contrary, when believers are risking everything to become Christians, they do it with one thing in mind: the Glory of Christ.
Let’s encourage each other to seek the glory of Christ even though we do not need to forsake everything like the way early Church or Christians in Muslim world have to consider. The more we concentrate on the glory of Christ, the more we are delivered from the bondage of this materialistic world. It surprised me how sophisticated and beautiful the city of Ephesus was when I visited the ruins. I am sure believers at Paul’s time faced similar temptations for materialistic glory as we do today. That’s why he encouraged the Ephesians, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22-24).
I imagined what Paul might be thinking as he stood at the door way of the magnificent library of Ephesus. People came to this glorious building to seek knowledge from their great philosophers and teachers, but how many came to seek the eternal wisdom of Christ？Don’t be fooled by this world. “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” (Eph 5:15-17). Hope the words of Paul reminds you how to make your day count！
Love you for the glory of Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. Since my trip went by so quickly with overwhelming exposures of new things and experiences, I didn’t have time to sink in at all until I went through the pictures I took yesterday. It was indeed so rich an experience! I am sure you will hear about it in my devotional sharing in the next couples of days if not weeks. Those memories are precious when they stir our passions for Christ from time to time. After all, this is what meditation means to accomplish; not just to muse on what had happened in the past, but to allow the past encourage and transform our lives in the present.
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" （Luke 14:28）Our Lord refers not to a cost we have to count, but to a cost which He has counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal and hatred, the deep unfathomable agony in Gethsemane, and the onslaught at Calvary - the pivot upon which the whole of Time and Eternity turns. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. Men are not going to laugh at Him at last and say - "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
The conditions of discipleship lay down by Our Lord in Luke 14: 26, 27 and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...Any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. Is God going to detect in His searching fire that we have built on the foundation of Jesus some enterprise of our own? These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when we are trying to work for God, and therein is the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.
As I listened to the prayer of two Turkish pastors through an interpreter, they both ended with a similar saying, “for the glory of Christ.” It captures my attention as they mentioned this phrase. How often do we seek the glory of Christ in whatever we do and pray for in everyday of our lives? But as these Turkish believers counting their cost to follow Christ, they focus on the Glory of Christ. As Paul said to the Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (8:18). I guessed when believers are fascinated by human glory or busily seeking their temporal glory and success in life, we will not pay attention to the glory of Christ. On a contrary, when believers are risking everything to become Christians, they do it with one thing in mind: the Glory of Christ.
Let’s encourage each other to seek the glory of Christ even though we do not need to forsake everything like the way early Church or Christians in Muslim world have to consider. The more we concentrate on the glory of Christ, the more we are delivered from the bondage of this materialistic world. It surprised me how sophisticated and beautiful the city of Ephesus was when I visited the ruins. I am sure believers at Paul’s time faced similar temptations for materialistic glory as we do today. That’s why he encouraged the Ephesians, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22-24).
I imagined what Paul might be thinking as he stood at the door way of the magnificent library of Ephesus. People came to this glorious building to seek knowledge from their great philosophers and teachers, but how many came to seek the eternal wisdom of Christ？Don’t be fooled by this world. “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” (Eph 5:15-17). Hope the words of Paul reminds you how to make your day count！
Love you for the glory of Christ,
Lawrence
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Devotional 060509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thanks for your prayers for our trip to the Middle East. It was definitely a fruitful and meaningful one. To me, the most touching experiences were to worship with some Chinese believers in the desert of Dubai. Their company will not allow them to conduct any Christian activities at their dormitory (they call it a camp) or even outside of it. Therefore, they need to meet in some hidden area in the desert away from their camp. The other experience was to hear the testimony of Turkish Christians. They paid high price to become a Christian. Family, relatives, friends and community will reject and disown them – they consider them a disgrace to change their Turkish identity from Muslim to Christian (it shows on their ID card). They will loss their job and any future employment or even business relationship. They were the outcast of the country and constantly under death threat. That’s why there are only 3 thousands some Christians in Turkey of more than 67 millions people, even though the country allows religious freedom. I deliberately asked this Turkish pastor, “Is Christ worth their cost?” With a smile on his face he said, “Definitely worth it. Our cost to follow Christ is nothing in comparing with what Christ did for us on the Cross. He suffered even more rejections than ours.” It made me reflect on what the price we pay to become a follower of Christ in America…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand - "Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals. Jesus warned teachers of the Scripture at His time, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view point. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty - the liberty of realizing the dominance or Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone and to no other yoke whatsoever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations," but not "make converts to your opinions or even your theology."
Thanks for your prayers for our trip to the Middle East. It was definitely a fruitful and meaningful one. To me, the most touching experiences were to worship with some Chinese believers in the desert of Dubai. Their company will not allow them to conduct any Christian activities at their dormitory (they call it a camp) or even outside of it. Therefore, they need to meet in some hidden area in the desert away from their camp. The other experience was to hear the testimony of Turkish Christians. They paid high price to become a Christian. Family, relatives, friends and community will reject and disown them – they consider them a disgrace to change their Turkish identity from Muslim to Christian (it shows on their ID card). They will loss their job and any future employment or even business relationship. They were the outcast of the country and constantly under death threat. That’s why there are only 3 thousands some Christians in Turkey of more than 67 millions people, even though the country allows religious freedom. I deliberately asked this Turkish pastor, “Is Christ worth their cost?” With a smile on his face he said, “Definitely worth it. Our cost to follow Christ is nothing in comparing with what Christ did for us on the Cross. He suffered even more rejections than ours.” It made me reflect on what the price we pay to become a follower of Christ in America…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand - "Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals. Jesus warned teachers of the Scripture at His time, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view point. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty - the liberty of realizing the dominance or Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone and to no other yoke whatsoever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations," but not "make converts to your opinions or even your theology."
Have mercy on us O Lord! Give us the discernment that we need to share with others about our relationship with You. Calm our passions to convince others about our opinion towards things and the Bible. Instead, help us walk closely with You each day, and put You first in our priorities. As we share our faith with others, help us shar it sincerely and lovingly.
Though Apostle Paul was a powerful missionary and eloquent preacher, he cautioned his spiritual son, Timothy with this final word, “The Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim 2:24-26). It was indeed an important attitude as we share our faith with others. Try not to put other people down as though you know better than they do. We are asked to share our testimony and our relationship with the Lord as sincere as possible. God will do His part in convicting people from within their hearts. That’s how many Muslims came to know the Lord when Christians had shared about their faith with them not in a forceful but gentle way. It may take longer period of time to see the harvest. But it is certainly God’s way and timing but not ours.
May God strengthen your walk with Him today as always!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Ps. I will show you the pictures I took in my blog
May God strengthen your walk with Him today as always!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Ps. I will show you the pictures I took in my blog
Monday, April 13, 2009
Devotional 130409
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. This is relaxing to enjoy another ‘compulsory no pay day off’ for this month. It gives me more time to spend with the Lord through meditation and reading. I believe the Lord wants us to learn the lesson of ‘reliance’ instead of ‘independence’ from Him. The ultimate temptation for Adam and Eve was to become self-reliance: “you will be like God, knowing (determining what is) good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b). Ever since then, human beings have developed this craving of ‘wanting to be like god.’ We want to have the final say of what is right and wrong; we create political system to allow a group of judges in the Supreme Court or through democratic voting to decide what is moral and what is not. We want to play God – the Lord of our own values and morality. History tells us that this is futile. At the end of the day we will be destroyed by this deep seated desire to play God. Kingdoms after kingdoms failed when their kings wanted to play God. Have mercy on us O Lord! Help us submit to your Word and your sovereignty as the Lord and King of our lives. Silence our inner cry to want to play God and to desire our own ‘rights’ more than Your righteousness.
"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22). We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right and the burden-bearing that is wrong. We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him. "Cast that He has given you upon the Lord." If we undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by bringing in the realization of Himself.
Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before long they are crushed. They do not know what to do with the burden, it produces weariness, and people say - "What a bitter end to such a glorious beginning!"
"Cast your burden upon the Lord" - you have been bearing it all; deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God. "The government shall be upon His shoulder." Commit to God "that He has given you"; not throw it off, but put it over on to Him and yourself with it, and the burden is lightened by the sense of companionship. Never disassociate yourself from the burden that the Lord has put upon you.
Indeed, this is the lesson we need to learn – cast our concerns to God. Apostle Peter gave the church similar encouragement in his letter, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:6-8). In another word, if we are not careful we will become prey to Satan like he did to Adam and Eve. Don’t become anxious as though your fate depends on yourself. No, your fate depends on your Creator God. You have a part to play – to submit to His word and draw close to Him each day. When you do so, you learn to rejoice and be thankful at all times even in the midst of anxious circumstances. Remember the word from the Apostle Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:4, 6-7). Let’s learn to be dependent children of God.
Love you because we are ONE in Him,
Lawrence
Good morning. This is relaxing to enjoy another ‘compulsory no pay day off’ for this month. It gives me more time to spend with the Lord through meditation and reading. I believe the Lord wants us to learn the lesson of ‘reliance’ instead of ‘independence’ from Him. The ultimate temptation for Adam and Eve was to become self-reliance: “you will be like God, knowing (determining what is) good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b). Ever since then, human beings have developed this craving of ‘wanting to be like god.’ We want to have the final say of what is right and wrong; we create political system to allow a group of judges in the Supreme Court or through democratic voting to decide what is moral and what is not. We want to play God – the Lord of our own values and morality. History tells us that this is futile. At the end of the day we will be destroyed by this deep seated desire to play God. Kingdoms after kingdoms failed when their kings wanted to play God. Have mercy on us O Lord! Help us submit to your Word and your sovereignty as the Lord and King of our lives. Silence our inner cry to want to play God and to desire our own ‘rights’ more than Your righteousness.
"Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall" (Psalm 55:22). We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right and the burden-bearing that is wrong. We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him. "Cast that He has given you upon the Lord." If we undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by bringing in the realization of Himself.
Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before long they are crushed. They do not know what to do with the burden, it produces weariness, and people say - "What a bitter end to such a glorious beginning!"
"Cast your burden upon the Lord" - you have been bearing it all; deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God. "The government shall be upon His shoulder." Commit to God "that He has given you"; not throw it off, but put it over on to Him and yourself with it, and the burden is lightened by the sense of companionship. Never disassociate yourself from the burden that the Lord has put upon you.
Indeed, this is the lesson we need to learn – cast our concerns to God. Apostle Peter gave the church similar encouragement in his letter, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:6-8). In another word, if we are not careful we will become prey to Satan like he did to Adam and Eve. Don’t become anxious as though your fate depends on yourself. No, your fate depends on your Creator God. You have a part to play – to submit to His word and draw close to Him each day. When you do so, you learn to rejoice and be thankful at all times even in the midst of anxious circumstances. Remember the word from the Apostle Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:4, 6-7). Let’s learn to be dependent children of God.
Love you because we are ONE in Him,
Lawrence
Friday, April 10, 2009
Good Friday Devotional
Dear brothers and sisters,
It is Good Friday – the day when our Lord literally went through hell for us; the Son of God who took the form of flesh of man and suffered a painful death for mankind. But how does it mean to you today? Was this Good Friday just another religious holiday or ritual? Or was this a new beginning of your life on earth, which generates a profound impact in your world today? Satan knows how powerful that Good Friday means to all Disciples of Christ now and then. It has been transforming millions of lives ever since…I am thankful that I am one of them who were blessed by that Good Friday two thousands years ago. But what should I do in response?
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:6). Co-crucifixion with Christ in me is: Have I made this decision about sin that it must be killed right out in me? It takes a long time to come to a moral decision about sin, but it is the great moment in my life when I do decide that just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world, so sin must die out in me, not be curbed or suppressed or counteracted, but crucified. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be earnestly convinced, and religiously convinced, but what we need to do is to come to the decision which Paul emphasized here.
Haul yourself up, take a time alone with God, and make the moral decision by saying - "Lord, identify me with your death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.
It was not a divine anticipation on the part of Paul, but a very radical and definite experience. Am I prepared to let the Spirit of God search me until I know what the disposition of sin is - the thing that lusts against the Spirit of God in me? Then if so, will I agree with God's verdict on that disposition of sin - that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? I cannot imagine myself "dead indeed unto sin" unless I have been through this radical issue of will before God.
Have I entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ until all that is left is the life of Christ in my flesh and blood? "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and a life goal in front of me. I believe it is a process of being crucified with Christ on a daily basis. From time to time, my old self will struggle to come alive again. Satan will appeal to my flesh and help me justify my sinful thought within me. If it was not the work of the Holy Spirit to empower me, I don’t think I can say ‘NO’ to my own flesh each day. I would have simply justified my own flesh, which clearly against the Spirit of God.
During this Easter weekend, I am reminded once again that it was for my sins Christ went to the cross and suffered a horrible death. It was for my sins that he was mocked. It was for my sins that he was painfully whipped. It was for my sins that he was crucified. As they hammered the nail to pierce through his wrists, it was meant for me in the spiritual realm. Father God, you forsake your beloved Son and let him die a painful death at that time for my sake. How can I forget or how dare I forget that picture of the cross, which is your way to tell me how much you love me. Help me to surrender myself to your love, and love those for whom you died on that very first Good Friday.
Love you because of Good Friday,
Lawrence
It is Good Friday – the day when our Lord literally went through hell for us; the Son of God who took the form of flesh of man and suffered a painful death for mankind. But how does it mean to you today? Was this Good Friday just another religious holiday or ritual? Or was this a new beginning of your life on earth, which generates a profound impact in your world today? Satan knows how powerful that Good Friday means to all Disciples of Christ now and then. It has been transforming millions of lives ever since…I am thankful that I am one of them who were blessed by that Good Friday two thousands years ago. But what should I do in response?
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" (Romans 6:6). Co-crucifixion with Christ in me is: Have I made this decision about sin that it must be killed right out in me? It takes a long time to come to a moral decision about sin, but it is the great moment in my life when I do decide that just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world, so sin must die out in me, not be curbed or suppressed or counteracted, but crucified. No one can bring anyone else to this decision. We may be earnestly convinced, and religiously convinced, but what we need to do is to come to the decision which Paul emphasized here.
Haul yourself up, take a time alone with God, and make the moral decision by saying - "Lord, identify me with your death until I know that sin is dead in me." Make the moral decision that sin in you must be put to death.
It was not a divine anticipation on the part of Paul, but a very radical and definite experience. Am I prepared to let the Spirit of God search me until I know what the disposition of sin is - the thing that lusts against the Spirit of God in me? Then if so, will I agree with God's verdict on that disposition of sin - that it should be identified with the death of Jesus? I cannot imagine myself "dead indeed unto sin" unless I have been through this radical issue of will before God.
Have I entered into the glorious privilege of being crucified with Christ until all that is left is the life of Christ in my flesh and blood? "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, and a life goal in front of me. I believe it is a process of being crucified with Christ on a daily basis. From time to time, my old self will struggle to come alive again. Satan will appeal to my flesh and help me justify my sinful thought within me. If it was not the work of the Holy Spirit to empower me, I don’t think I can say ‘NO’ to my own flesh each day. I would have simply justified my own flesh, which clearly against the Spirit of God.
During this Easter weekend, I am reminded once again that it was for my sins Christ went to the cross and suffered a horrible death. It was for my sins that he was mocked. It was for my sins that he was painfully whipped. It was for my sins that he was crucified. As they hammered the nail to pierce through his wrists, it was meant for me in the spiritual realm. Father God, you forsake your beloved Son and let him die a painful death at that time for my sake. How can I forget or how dare I forget that picture of the cross, which is your way to tell me how much you love me. Help me to surrender myself to your love, and love those for whom you died on that very first Good Friday.
Love you because of Good Friday,
Lawrence
Monday, April 6, 2009
Devotional 060409
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is good to have an extra day of rest to spend with the Lord because of our budget crisis. In order to trim our general fund shortage, our office has to implement ‘no pay leave’ policy for headquarters staff. Therefore, every month I have two special days off. Praise the Lord! I need time to really rest in Christ.
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God's judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God. He made Redemption the basis of human life, that is, He made a way for every son of man to get into communion with God.
The Cross did not happen to Jesus: He came on purpose for it. He is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The whole meaning of the Incarnation is the Cross. Beware of separating God manifest in the flesh from the Son becoming sin. The Incarnation was for the purpose of Redemption. God became incarnate for the purpose of putting away sin; not for the purpose of Self-realization. The Cross is the centre of Time and of Eternity, the answer to the mystery of both.
The Cross is not the cross of a man but the Cross of God, and the Cross of God can never be realized in human experience. The Cross is the exhibition of the nature of God, the gateway whereby any individual of the human race can enter into union with God. When we get to the Cross, we do not go through it; we abide in the life to which the Cross is the gateway.
The centre of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much. The Cross is the point where God and sinful man merge with a crash and the way to life is opened - but the crash is on the heart of God.
Thank God for taking the wound of our sins to Himself. He bore our pain and condemnations. The general impression of God in most human religions is angry and serious – it reflects the reaction of the sinful nature of man. Adam and Eve might have passed on to their children that God was a mean and terrible God because He kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, and never allowed them to re-enter His heaven again. It was true if the Bible stops at chapter three of Genesis. But what human beings did not know was the fact that God reached out to mankind ever since in order to bring them back to eternal Garden of Eden. After all the human effort failed, God came into the world to rescue man to Himself again. This is what the cross is all about. And this is the most precious gifts that we can receive from the Lord. Praise His holy name.
Hope you will find time to spend with your savior and your Father today.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is good to have an extra day of rest to spend with the Lord because of our budget crisis. In order to trim our general fund shortage, our office has to implement ‘no pay leave’ policy for headquarters staff. Therefore, every month I have two special days off. Praise the Lord! I need time to really rest in Christ.
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God's judgment on sin. Never tolerate the idea of martyrdom about the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Cross was a superb triumph in which the foundations of hell were shaken. There is nothing more certain in Time or Eternity than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross: He switched the whole of the human race back into a right relationship with God. He made Redemption the basis of human life, that is, He made a way for every son of man to get into communion with God.
The Cross did not happen to Jesus: He came on purpose for it. He is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The whole meaning of the Incarnation is the Cross. Beware of separating God manifest in the flesh from the Son becoming sin. The Incarnation was for the purpose of Redemption. God became incarnate for the purpose of putting away sin; not for the purpose of Self-realization. The Cross is the centre of Time and of Eternity, the answer to the mystery of both.
The Cross is not the cross of a man but the Cross of God, and the Cross of God can never be realized in human experience. The Cross is the exhibition of the nature of God, the gateway whereby any individual of the human race can enter into union with God. When we get to the Cross, we do not go through it; we abide in the life to which the Cross is the gateway.
The centre of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much. The Cross is the point where God and sinful man merge with a crash and the way to life is opened - but the crash is on the heart of God.
Thank God for taking the wound of our sins to Himself. He bore our pain and condemnations. The general impression of God in most human religions is angry and serious – it reflects the reaction of the sinful nature of man. Adam and Eve might have passed on to their children that God was a mean and terrible God because He kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, and never allowed them to re-enter His heaven again. It was true if the Bible stops at chapter three of Genesis. But what human beings did not know was the fact that God reached out to mankind ever since in order to bring them back to eternal Garden of Eden. After all the human effort failed, God came into the world to rescue man to Himself again. This is what the cross is all about. And this is the most precious gifts that we can receive from the Lord. Praise His holy name.
Hope you will find time to spend with your savior and your Father today.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Monday, February 9, 2009
Devotional 090209
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is wonderful to be able to sleep longer after a weekend ministry. Even though it was exhausting, the joy of fulfillment is overwhelming. Thank God for giving me and Loretta to witness His work in the retreat. He is active among His people and in His church. Many lives were touched because of His word. Praise the Lord! I recognized more and more that preaching is a spiritual battle. It seemed to be easy to ‘talk’ only for an hour or so in each session. But the process of preparation and delivery was like wrestling with Satan or an evil force within my self. It required a lot of prayer and meditation to focus on God; listen to what He may want to say to His people, and consider how within my limitations to deliver it. But God always provides strength to His children as we wait or depend on Him.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom" (Isaiah 40:28). Exhaustion means that the vital forces are worn right out. Spiritual exhaustion never comes through sin but only through service, and whether or not you are exhausted will depend upon where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter - "Feed My sheep," but He gave him nothing to feed them with. The process of being made broken bread and poured out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you to the remains. Be careful that you get your supply, or before long you will be utterly exhausted. Before other souls learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus direct, they have to draw on it through you; you have to be literally "sucked," until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and His sheep as well as for Himself.
Has the way in which you have been serving God betrayed you into exhaustion? If so, then rally your affections. Where did you start the service from? Did you start from your own sympathy or from the basis of the Redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually go back to the foundation of your affections and recollect where the source of power is. You have no right to say - "O Lord, I am so exhausted." He saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that your supply comes from Him. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength; They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isa 40:29-31).
This passage comes so timely for me. I was really exhausted after Mexico and the retreat back to back. Praise God for finding strength and promise in Him. Indeed, our strength is from the Lord. When we focus in Him and rejoice in His glory and love, new spring of energy returns to me because the Joy of the Lord is my strength. When we abide in Him, Jesus promised, “my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). Praise the Lord…Amen.
Love you in His joy,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is wonderful to be able to sleep longer after a weekend ministry. Even though it was exhausting, the joy of fulfillment is overwhelming. Thank God for giving me and Loretta to witness His work in the retreat. He is active among His people and in His church. Many lives were touched because of His word. Praise the Lord! I recognized more and more that preaching is a spiritual battle. It seemed to be easy to ‘talk’ only for an hour or so in each session. But the process of preparation and delivery was like wrestling with Satan or an evil force within my self. It required a lot of prayer and meditation to focus on God; listen to what He may want to say to His people, and consider how within my limitations to deliver it. But God always provides strength to His children as we wait or depend on Him.
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom" (Isaiah 40:28). Exhaustion means that the vital forces are worn right out. Spiritual exhaustion never comes through sin but only through service, and whether or not you are exhausted will depend upon where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter - "Feed My sheep," but He gave him nothing to feed them with. The process of being made broken bread and poured out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you to the remains. Be careful that you get your supply, or before long you will be utterly exhausted. Before other souls learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus direct, they have to draw on it through you; you have to be literally "sucked," until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and His sheep as well as for Himself.
Has the way in which you have been serving God betrayed you into exhaustion? If so, then rally your affections. Where did you start the service from? Did you start from your own sympathy or from the basis of the Redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually go back to the foundation of your affections and recollect where the source of power is. You have no right to say - "O Lord, I am so exhausted." He saved and sanctified you in order to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that your supply comes from Him. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength; They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isa 40:29-31).
This passage comes so timely for me. I was really exhausted after Mexico and the retreat back to back. Praise God for finding strength and promise in Him. Indeed, our strength is from the Lord. When we focus in Him and rejoice in His glory and love, new spring of energy returns to me because the Joy of the Lord is my strength. When we abide in Him, Jesus promised, “my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). Praise the Lord…Amen.
Love you in His joy,
Lawrence
Monday, January 26, 2009
Devotional 260109
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Happy Chinese New Year! I pray that our Lord will grant you strength, endurance and faithfulness like ox that labors in field with whatever hardship and unpredictable weather. We definitely need this kind of stamina to sail through the economic tsunami of 2009. With our hope in Christ and the help from God, we know we can face all kinds of circumstances with ease and joy.
"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30) A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. "Consider," says Jesus, "how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him." Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have conducted our lives as though we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the "much more" of our Heavenly Father.
"Behold the birds of the air" - their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your 'feathers.'
"Consider the lilies of the field" - they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself for one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. It is a life-long and daily process. Am I continually separating myself to consider God in every day of my life?
During this season of economic crisis, I believe God wants us to learn to depend on Him and experience Him as the Provider of life. Does your God know better? Is He more capable than you ever imagine? Will He be able to carry you through your financial difficulties? Will He keep His promises in the Bible? How would He want you to rejoice in simplicity of abidance in Him? Indeed, this is the season to practice our faith and our life as a community of faith – to love one another not only in words but in action.
Love you in His abundant joy,
Lawrence
Good morning. Happy Chinese New Year! I pray that our Lord will grant you strength, endurance and faithfulness like ox that labors in field with whatever hardship and unpredictable weather. We definitely need this kind of stamina to sail through the economic tsunami of 2009. With our hope in Christ and the help from God, we know we can face all kinds of circumstances with ease and joy.
"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30) A simple statement of Jesus is always a puzzle to us if we are not simple. How are we going to be simple with the simplicity of Jesus? By receiving His Spirit, recognizing and relying on Him, obeying Him as He brings the word of God, and life will become amazingly simple. "Consider," says Jesus, "how much more your Father Who clothes the grass of the field will clothe you, if you keep your relationship right with Him." Every time we have gone back in spiritual communion it has been because we have conducted our lives as though we knew better than Jesus Christ. We have allowed the cares of the world to come in, and have forgotten the "much more" of our Heavenly Father.
"Behold the birds of the air" - their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them. Jesus says that if you are rightly related to Him and obey His Spirit that is in you, God will look after your 'feathers.'
"Consider the lilies of the field" - they grow where they are put. Many of us refuse to grow where we are put, consequently we take root nowhere. Jesus says that if we obey the life God has given us, He will look after all the other things. Has Jesus Christ told us a lie? If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations. How much time have we taken up worrying God with questions when we should have been absolutely free to concentrate on His work? Consecration means the continual separating of myself for one particular thing. We cannot consecrate once and for all. It is a life-long and daily process. Am I continually separating myself to consider God in every day of my life?
During this season of economic crisis, I believe God wants us to learn to depend on Him and experience Him as the Provider of life. Does your God know better? Is He more capable than you ever imagine? Will He be able to carry you through your financial difficulties? Will He keep His promises in the Bible? How would He want you to rejoice in simplicity of abidance in Him? Indeed, this is the season to practice our faith and our life as a community of faith – to love one another not only in words but in action.
Love you in His abundant joy,
Lawrence
Monday, January 19, 2009
Devotional 190109
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is nice to have a day off on Martin Luther King’s birthday. And this day is particularly historical as our country is about to install the first African American President. No matter how our view or opinion may be different toward this new President, the Bible teaches us to respect and pray for leaders above us, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men…Show proper respect to everyone; love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king/President (1 Peter 2:15-17)…I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings/President and all those in authority (1 Tim 2:1-2),” because it is the God of history who put him in that office. And I sincerely pray that our new President will encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in a fresh new way, while he serves this enormous task with trembling and fear.
An interesting description in Genesis 15:12 caused us to reflect upon the vision of God, “A horror of great darkness fell upon him…” Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him, as it were, in the shadow of His hand, and the saint's duty is to be still and listen. There is a darkness which comes from excess of light, and then is the time to listen. This happened to Apostle Paul when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus, where he planned to persecute the followers of Christ. He was blinded by the light of God and was in darkness for three days. During those days, I am sure Paul went through a lot of reflections and self evaluation. That encounter or vision of God totally shattered Paul’s theology and religiosity. He was a new person and his purpose of life completely transformed.
Genesis 16 is an illustration of listening to good advice when it is dark instead of waiting for God to send the light. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you will wait His time. Never try and help God fulfill His word. Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left of relying on common-sense ways. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not of displeasure or depression. Never pump up joy and confidence, but stay upon God. Our Lord warned His children in Isaiah 50:10, 11 by saying, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, TRUST in the name of the Lord and RELY on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: you will lie down in torment.”
Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God; in books and prayers and ecstasies; and is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings? "I am the Almighty God" - El-Shaddai, the Father-Mother God. The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other people become shadows. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
I pray that this “darkness” of God will come upon our new President, so that he will learn not to depend on his own wisdom and knowledge, but to rely on God who ultimately put him in office. If God’s willing, I pray that such darkness/vision of God will also come upon you and me, so that we will grow in our trust and obedience toward Him even more each day.
Love you by the mercy of God,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is nice to have a day off on Martin Luther King’s birthday. And this day is particularly historical as our country is about to install the first African American President. No matter how our view or opinion may be different toward this new President, the Bible teaches us to respect and pray for leaders above us, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men…Show proper respect to everyone; love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king/President (1 Peter 2:15-17)…I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings/President and all those in authority (1 Tim 2:1-2),” because it is the God of history who put him in that office. And I sincerely pray that our new President will encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in a fresh new way, while he serves this enormous task with trembling and fear.
An interesting description in Genesis 15:12 caused us to reflect upon the vision of God, “A horror of great darkness fell upon him…” Whenever God gives a vision to a saint, He puts him, as it were, in the shadow of His hand, and the saint's duty is to be still and listen. There is a darkness which comes from excess of light, and then is the time to listen. This happened to Apostle Paul when the Lord met him on the road to Damascus, where he planned to persecute the followers of Christ. He was blinded by the light of God and was in darkness for three days. During those days, I am sure Paul went through a lot of reflections and self evaluation. That encounter or vision of God totally shattered Paul’s theology and religiosity. He was a new person and his purpose of life completely transformed.
Genesis 16 is an illustration of listening to good advice when it is dark instead of waiting for God to send the light. When God gives a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will make you in accordance with the vision He has given if you will wait His time. Never try and help God fulfill His word. Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left of relying on common-sense ways. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not of displeasure or depression. Never pump up joy and confidence, but stay upon God. Our Lord warned His children in Isaiah 50:10, 11 by saying, “Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, TRUST in the name of the Lord and RELY on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: you will lie down in torment.”
Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God; in books and prayers and ecstasies; and is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings? "I am the Almighty God" - El-Shaddai, the Father-Mother God. The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other people become shadows. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.
I pray that this “darkness” of God will come upon our new President, so that he will learn not to depend on his own wisdom and knowledge, but to rely on God who ultimately put him in office. If God’s willing, I pray that such darkness/vision of God will also come upon you and me, so that we will grow in our trust and obedience toward Him even more each day.
Love you by the mercy of God,
Lawrence
Monday, January 12, 2009
Devotional 120109
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I am taking a day off from my busy schedule ever since I came back from my last trip. There are so much I need to follow up at work that I need to rest in Him in order to recharge my inner strength. We all need to take a break in order to regain focus and energy. Otherwise, we will easily fall into Satan's temptation while we are in auto-pilot mode.
The Bible says, "He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything" (Mark 4:34). Our Solitude with Christ is essential to our well being as His disciples. Jesus does not take us alone and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we can understand them. Other lives are parables. God is making us spell out our own souls. It is slow work, so slow that it takes God all time and eternity to make a man and woman after His own purpose. The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own characters. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We do not know envy when we see it, or laziness, or pride. Jesus reveals to us all that this body has been harboring before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look in our own characters with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves; it is the last arrogance to go. The only One who really understands us is God. The greatest curse in spiritual life is arrogance or pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we shall never say - "Oh, I am so unworthy," because we shall know we are, beyond the possibility of stating it. As long as we are not quite sure that we are unworthy, God will keep narrowing us in until He gets us alone. Wherever there is any element of pride or arrogance, Jesus cannot explain a thing. He will take us through the disappointment of a wounded pride of intellect, through disappointment of heart. He will reveal excessive affection - things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. We listen to many things in sermon or Bible classes, but they are not an exposition to us yet. They will be when God gets us alone over them.
Satan will do whatever to distract us from spending solitude time with God. He will give us all kinds of excuse or justification not to do so. We believe our own justification: “I really don’t have time to do so…even if I do, I can’t focus or get anything out of it. I am a doer but not a thinker. I don’t like to read books. I will fall asleep when I start meditating. I think I receive enough spiritual feeding by attending church service and fellowship. I don’t need to spend time to be alone with God. It is kind of scary and uncomfortable to do so anyway…” If those justifications sound familiar to you, they are the temptations of Satan that nurture your pride as though you know what you need better than what God says you need. The more you surrender to those excuses, the more you are yielding your soul to Satan and suffer in his endless manipulations. Moreover, he will use you to stumble other believers and pre-Christian friends as a result; young Christians will follow your bad example and pre-Christians will not see the work of Christ in your life. Have mercy on us O Lord! Strengthen our daily walk with you so that we are enlightened to see who we are and what you desire for us to be today.
Love you because of the stubborn love of God,
Lawrence
Good morning. I am taking a day off from my busy schedule ever since I came back from my last trip. There are so much I need to follow up at work that I need to rest in Him in order to recharge my inner strength. We all need to take a break in order to regain focus and energy. Otherwise, we will easily fall into Satan's temptation while we are in auto-pilot mode.
The Bible says, "He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything" (Mark 4:34). Our Solitude with Christ is essential to our well being as His disciples. Jesus does not take us alone and explain things to us all the time; He explains things to us as we can understand them. Other lives are parables. God is making us spell out our own souls. It is slow work, so slow that it takes God all time and eternity to make a man and woman after His own purpose. The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own characters. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves! We do not know envy when we see it, or laziness, or pride. Jesus reveals to us all that this body has been harboring before His grace began to work. How many of us have learned to look in our own characters with courage?
We have to get rid of the idea that we understand ourselves; it is the last arrogance to go. The only One who really understands us is God. The greatest curse in spiritual life is arrogance or pride. If we have ever had a glimpse of what we are like in the sight of God, we shall never say - "Oh, I am so unworthy," because we shall know we are, beyond the possibility of stating it. As long as we are not quite sure that we are unworthy, God will keep narrowing us in until He gets us alone. Wherever there is any element of pride or arrogance, Jesus cannot explain a thing. He will take us through the disappointment of a wounded pride of intellect, through disappointment of heart. He will reveal excessive affection - things over which we never thought He would have to get us alone. We listen to many things in sermon or Bible classes, but they are not an exposition to us yet. They will be when God gets us alone over them.
Satan will do whatever to distract us from spending solitude time with God. He will give us all kinds of excuse or justification not to do so. We believe our own justification: “I really don’t have time to do so…even if I do, I can’t focus or get anything out of it. I am a doer but not a thinker. I don’t like to read books. I will fall asleep when I start meditating. I think I receive enough spiritual feeding by attending church service and fellowship. I don’t need to spend time to be alone with God. It is kind of scary and uncomfortable to do so anyway…” If those justifications sound familiar to you, they are the temptations of Satan that nurture your pride as though you know what you need better than what God says you need. The more you surrender to those excuses, the more you are yielding your soul to Satan and suffer in his endless manipulations. Moreover, he will use you to stumble other believers and pre-Christian friends as a result; young Christians will follow your bad example and pre-Christians will not see the work of Christ in your life. Have mercy on us O Lord! Strengthen our daily walk with you so that we are enlightened to see who we are and what you desire for us to be today.
Love you because of the stubborn love of God,
Lawrence
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Devotional 080109
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. What a wonderful morning we have! It is indeed a day worth living because of the new purpose we found in Christ. We don’t just survive for another day without knowing what it is for. We wake up to a new day with this new purpose of giving our best to His highest call. I don’t know what God may have prepared for me to encounter today. I just venture out with the determination to live my life to the fullest in accordance to the purpose that God has designed. The devotional of Oswald Chambers reminded us of what it means to give ourselves as living sacrifice each day.
"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son…" (Genesis 22:9-10). This incident is a picture of the common mistake we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, viz., sacrifice our lives. Not - I am willing to go to death with Christ, but - I am willing to be identified with His death so that I may sacrifice my life to God. We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having - viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bands that hinder the life, and immediately those bands are loosened by identification with the death of Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God whereby we can sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice," to let Him have all your powers that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus. This is the thing that is acceptable to God. Paul said, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 12:1-2). A living sacrifice is a renewed value system or priority in our daily life. We don’t just give up everything for Christ, without living our life fully for His purpose.
May you enjoy this day that the Lord has made for you…and let your Holy Spirit to renew your thought, your feeling and your desires. So that you may fully experience this new and abundant life that He has designed for you.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. What a wonderful morning we have! It is indeed a day worth living because of the new purpose we found in Christ. We don’t just survive for another day without knowing what it is for. We wake up to a new day with this new purpose of giving our best to His highest call. I don’t know what God may have prepared for me to encounter today. I just venture out with the determination to live my life to the fullest in accordance to the purpose that God has designed. The devotional of Oswald Chambers reminded us of what it means to give ourselves as living sacrifice each day.
"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son…" (Genesis 22:9-10). This incident is a picture of the common mistake we make in thinking that the final thing God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, viz., sacrifice our lives. Not - I am willing to go to death with Christ, but - I am willing to be identified with His death so that I may sacrifice my life to God. We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this blunder, and the same discipline goes on in our lives. God nowhere tells us to give up things for the sake of giving them up. He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having - viz., life with Himself. It is a question of loosening the bands that hinder the life, and immediately those bands are loosened by identification with the death of Jesus, we enter into a relationship with God whereby we can sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice," to let Him have all your powers that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus. This is the thing that is acceptable to God. Paul said, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 12:1-2). A living sacrifice is a renewed value system or priority in our daily life. We don’t just give up everything for Christ, without living our life fully for His purpose.
May you enjoy this day that the Lord has made for you…and let your Holy Spirit to renew your thought, your feeling and your desires. So that you may fully experience this new and abundant life that He has designed for you.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Year Devotional
Dear brothers and sisters,
Happy New Year! May this New Year bring you closer to the Lord and experience Him in a very intimate way. I wish to encourage you with the beginning chapter of our devotional by Oswald Chambers: "My eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed, but that now as ever I may do honor to Christ in my own person by fearless courage." (Philippians 1:20)
My Utmost for His Highest. "My says eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed." We shall all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus on the point He has asked us to yield to Him. Paul - "My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest." To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point. An overweening consideration for ourselves is the thing that keeps us from that decision, though we put it that we are considering others. When we consider what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He does not know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point; He does know. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only - My Utmost for His Highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.
My Undeterredness for His Holiness. "Whether that means life or death, no matter!" (v.21.) Paul is determined that nothing shall deter him from doing exactly what God wants. God's order has to work up to a crisis in our lives because we will not heed the gentler way. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him, and we begin to debate; then He produces a providential crisis where we have to decide - for or against, and from that point the "Great Divide" begins.
If the crisis has come to you on any line, surrender your will to Him absolutely and irrevocably. God will put you in situation where we learn to surrender our will to Him so that we can experience Him in a most intimate way. We do not know how the economy may turn or when will it rebound this year. Regardless of how tomorrow may bring, let’s make this resolution to be our utmost for His Highest – not to settle with giving our minimum but our best for the Lord in accordance to His Will and His Word.
One of the most touching lessons I learnt from the Missions conference was how hundreds of missionaries from the West had committed their lives to serve God in China in the past two hundred years. Many gave their lives as well as their families’ in order to preach the gospel to our forefathers. They were nobles and highly educated people, yet they chose to leave their comfort zone, travel thousands of miles by boat, change their lifestyle and live among the poorest of the poor in China. They learnt our language, suffer rejections and hardship for only one reason: to be the utmost for His Highest or to do what Christ desires them to do. Many died without seeing the result at their live times. Yet the blood of these martyrs had primed the soil for the growth of Chinese churches today. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). When we are willing to surrender our will to live for His Highest, our lives will impact many lives in according to what He desires.
Love you because He first loved us,
Lawrence
Happy New Year! May this New Year bring you closer to the Lord and experience Him in a very intimate way. I wish to encourage you with the beginning chapter of our devotional by Oswald Chambers: "My eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed, but that now as ever I may do honor to Christ in my own person by fearless courage." (Philippians 1:20)
My Utmost for His Highest. "My says eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed." We shall all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus on the point He has asked us to yield to Him. Paul - "My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest." To get there is a question of will, not of debate nor of reasoning, but a surrender of will, an absolute and irrevocable surrender on that point. An overweening consideration for ourselves is the thing that keeps us from that decision, though we put it that we are considering others. When we consider what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He does not know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point; He does know. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only - My Utmost for His Highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.
My Undeterredness for His Holiness. "Whether that means life or death, no matter!" (v.21.) Paul is determined that nothing shall deter him from doing exactly what God wants. God's order has to work up to a crisis in our lives because we will not heed the gentler way. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him, and we begin to debate; then He produces a providential crisis where we have to decide - for or against, and from that point the "Great Divide" begins.
If the crisis has come to you on any line, surrender your will to Him absolutely and irrevocably. God will put you in situation where we learn to surrender our will to Him so that we can experience Him in a most intimate way. We do not know how the economy may turn or when will it rebound this year. Regardless of how tomorrow may bring, let’s make this resolution to be our utmost for His Highest – not to settle with giving our minimum but our best for the Lord in accordance to His Will and His Word.
One of the most touching lessons I learnt from the Missions conference was how hundreds of missionaries from the West had committed their lives to serve God in China in the past two hundred years. Many gave their lives as well as their families’ in order to preach the gospel to our forefathers. They were nobles and highly educated people, yet they chose to leave their comfort zone, travel thousands of miles by boat, change their lifestyle and live among the poorest of the poor in China. They learnt our language, suffer rejections and hardship for only one reason: to be the utmost for His Highest or to do what Christ desires them to do. Many died without seeing the result at their live times. Yet the blood of these martyrs had primed the soil for the growth of Chinese churches today. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). When we are willing to surrender our will to live for His Highest, our lives will impact many lives in according to what He desires.
Love you because He first loved us,
Lawrence
Friday, December 26, 2008
Devotional 261208
Dear brothers and sisters,
How was your Christmas celebration? I hope you had an enjoyable time to spend with your family and loved ones. Today, I have a day off to rest and run some errant at home. Starting tonight, we are going to have a Missions Conference that will be held at Sharaton Hotel of Burlingame. It is a 4 days conference with participants coming as far as Canada. Pray that the work of the Holy Spirit will stir the fire of His missions among the participating churches and all the Missions organizations, including GOI. Please remember me in your prayers since I will be leading the morning worship and prayer time each day, and do translation for all evening speakers. May God cleanse me of my sins so that I will be available for His use to be a channel of His blessings to all!
The Bible says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). To have mistaken ‘conscious freedom from sin’ for ‘deliverance from sin by the Atonement’ is a great error. No man knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced on Calvary. The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. It takes the last reach of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the impartation of His absolute perfection, in order to make a man know what sin is (under the light of His Perfection).
The Holy Spirit applies the Atonement to us in the unconscious realm as well as in the realm of which we are totally conscious, and it is only when we get a grasp of the unrivalled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." This does not refer to conscious sin only, but to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me realizes.
If I walk in the light as God is in the light, not in the light of my conscience, but in the light of God - if I walk there, with nothing folded up, then there comes the amazing revelation, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin so that God Almighty can see nothing to censure in me. In my consciousness it works with a keen poignant knowledge of what sin is. The love of God at work in me makes me hate with the hatred of the Holy Spirit all that is not in keeping with God's holiness. To walk in the light means that everything that is of the darkness drives me closer into the centre of the light.
O Holy Spirit, help me walk in Your Light as our Triune God is in the Light! The Holiness of God does not only make us avoid carnal sins, but to actively participate in His Goodness and His Perfection as well. This is something beyond what man can accomplish because it is the divine work of the Holy Spirit. We can make our best effort to obey His Word and His guidance. But to participate in His Perfection is the desire and work of the Holy Spirit.
May God grant us the desire to yield to Him in doing what He desires us to do each day and in the year to come!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
How was your Christmas celebration? I hope you had an enjoyable time to spend with your family and loved ones. Today, I have a day off to rest and run some errant at home. Starting tonight, we are going to have a Missions Conference that will be held at Sharaton Hotel of Burlingame. It is a 4 days conference with participants coming as far as Canada. Pray that the work of the Holy Spirit will stir the fire of His missions among the participating churches and all the Missions organizations, including GOI. Please remember me in your prayers since I will be leading the morning worship and prayer time each day, and do translation for all evening speakers. May God cleanse me of my sins so that I will be available for His use to be a channel of His blessings to all!
The Bible says, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). To have mistaken ‘conscious freedom from sin’ for ‘deliverance from sin by the Atonement’ is a great error. No man knows what sin is until he is born again. Sin is what Jesus Christ faced on Calvary. The evidence that I am delivered from sin is that I know the real nature of sin in me. It takes the last reach of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, the impartation of His absolute perfection, in order to make a man know what sin is (under the light of His Perfection).
The Holy Spirit applies the Atonement to us in the unconscious realm as well as in the realm of which we are totally conscious, and it is only when we get a grasp of the unrivalled power of the Spirit in us that we understand the meaning of 1 John 1:7, "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." This does not refer to conscious sin only, but to the tremendously profound understanding of sin which only the Holy Spirit in me realizes.
If I walk in the light as God is in the light, not in the light of my conscience, but in the light of God - if I walk there, with nothing folded up, then there comes the amazing revelation, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin so that God Almighty can see nothing to censure in me. In my consciousness it works with a keen poignant knowledge of what sin is. The love of God at work in me makes me hate with the hatred of the Holy Spirit all that is not in keeping with God's holiness. To walk in the light means that everything that is of the darkness drives me closer into the centre of the light.
O Holy Spirit, help me walk in Your Light as our Triune God is in the Light! The Holiness of God does not only make us avoid carnal sins, but to actively participate in His Goodness and His Perfection as well. This is something beyond what man can accomplish because it is the divine work of the Holy Spirit. We can make our best effort to obey His Word and His guidance. But to participate in His Perfection is the desire and work of the Holy Spirit.
May God grant us the desire to yield to Him in doing what He desires us to do each day and in the year to come!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
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