Dear brothers and sisters,
It feels like I have been away for a long time though it was only two weeks. Thanks very much for your prayer. I had a fruitful journey in visiting Hong Kong, Macau, China and ministry in New York and Pennsylvania. Even though it covered a lot of places, the journey was not too exhausting. I just had to make myself fall asleep every night. Praise God for allowing me to participate in the expansion ceremony of my brother’s factory in China, witnessing God’s provision of a new facility for our church in Macau, speaking at a Mission conference for all North American Chinese churches and preaching in a Chinese Church in New Jersey for the first time. Thank God for using me as a channel of His blessing to different people at different times. After all, this is what God intended for our role to be on earth since the day of Abraham: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:3b).
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret" (2 Corinthians 7:10). Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses a man's conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God - "against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God's grace. Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made mistake, the reflex action of disgust at himself.
The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man's respectable goodness; then the Holy Spirit, Who produces these agonies, begins the formation of the Son of God in the life. The new life will manifest itself in conscious repentance and unconscious holiness, never the other way about. The bedrock of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a man cannot repent when he chooses; repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for "the gift of tears." If ever you cease to know the virtue of repentance, you are in darkness. Examine yourself and see if you have forgotten how to be sorry.
We never seek for gift of repentance. We are afraid or sorry to be caught in sins but not necessary for the sin itself. We seek for gifts of joy and affluence but not gifts of tears and sorrow. When our whole orientation is about earthly comfort and enjoyment, we will not concern so much about the Kingdom of God or holy living; both require self denial and conscious desire of the goodness of God. Our human nature will not desire for the nature of God because it is contradictory to our natural and sinful inclination. It is indeed the gift of God for us to desire His nature in us and His cleansing of our sinful self. If it is not the intervention of God, we will not naturally ask for His cleansing work within our souls. Have mercy on us O Lord. Give us the spirit of repentance as you reveal to us your holiness and love.
Love you in His Holiness,
Lawrence
Showing posts with label meditating in my office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditating in my office. Show all posts
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Devotional 250909
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. My itchy problem is improving. My herbal doctor prescribed some medicine for me to try. I hope it works. This morning I have to speak at a senior citizens’ fellowship. Pray that the Lord will speak through me to encourage this group of seniors. I will have a very busy weekend in preaching and teaching. Please pray for all my preparation. Thanks!
"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41). The summing up of Our Lord's teaching is that the relationship which He demands is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that there be not the slightest trace of resentment even suppressed in the heart of a disciple when he meets with tyranny and injustice. No enthusiasm will ever stand the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His worker, only one thing will, and that is a personal relationship to Himself which has gone through the mill of His spring-cleaning until there is only one purpose left - I am here for God to send me where He will. Every other thing may get fogged, but this relationship to Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally; as long as we have the dead set purpose of being disciples we may be sure we are not. "I have chosen you." That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we cannot get away from; we can disobey it, but we cannot generate it. The drawing is done by the supernatural grace of God, and we never can trace where His work begins. Our Lord's making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are easy to us naturally; He only asks us to do the things we are perfectly fitted to do by His grace, and the cross will come along that line always.
I totally agree that we can do nothing apart from Him. If we can bear any Spiritual fruit, we have to abide in Him at all time. Spiritual Fruit must come from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ that lives within and among us. Without the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit, our inner being will not be able to live out the kind of life that Jesus prescribed in His sermon on the Mount. The bottom line is abiding in obedience. Our Christian living is from obedience to obedience. It was Christ who had chosen us to bear fruit on earth. It was also Christ who will bring us back to eternal home from earth. In both incidences, all we need to do is obedience. We just humbly receive the work of God in us, and learn to anticipate His desire and calling for us, by initiating our obedience in doing His will in everyday of our lives, toward the goal of making disciples of ALL nations. And the strength to do so is again, obedience. Have an obedient weekend in serving the Lord in wherever He places you.
Love you by obedience to His will,
Lawrence
Good morning. My itchy problem is improving. My herbal doctor prescribed some medicine for me to try. I hope it works. This morning I have to speak at a senior citizens’ fellowship. Pray that the Lord will speak through me to encourage this group of seniors. I will have a very busy weekend in preaching and teaching. Please pray for all my preparation. Thanks!
"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41). The summing up of Our Lord's teaching is that the relationship which He demands is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that there be not the slightest trace of resentment even suppressed in the heart of a disciple when he meets with tyranny and injustice. No enthusiasm will ever stand the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His worker, only one thing will, and that is a personal relationship to Himself which has gone through the mill of His spring-cleaning until there is only one purpose left - I am here for God to send me where He will. Every other thing may get fogged, but this relationship to Jesus Christ must never be.
The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally; as long as we have the dead set purpose of being disciples we may be sure we are not. "I have chosen you." That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we cannot get away from; we can disobey it, but we cannot generate it. The drawing is done by the supernatural grace of God, and we never can trace where His work begins. Our Lord's making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are easy to us naturally; He only asks us to do the things we are perfectly fitted to do by His grace, and the cross will come along that line always.
I totally agree that we can do nothing apart from Him. If we can bear any Spiritual fruit, we have to abide in Him at all time. Spiritual Fruit must come from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ that lives within and among us. Without the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit, our inner being will not be able to live out the kind of life that Jesus prescribed in His sermon on the Mount. The bottom line is abiding in obedience. Our Christian living is from obedience to obedience. It was Christ who had chosen us to bear fruit on earth. It was also Christ who will bring us back to eternal home from earth. In both incidences, all we need to do is obedience. We just humbly receive the work of God in us, and learn to anticipate His desire and calling for us, by initiating our obedience in doing His will in everyday of our lives, toward the goal of making disciples of ALL nations. And the strength to do so is again, obedience. Have an obedient weekend in serving the Lord in wherever He places you.
Love you by obedience to His will,
Lawrence
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Devotional 080909
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is good to be back again. The preaching trip was very fruitful. God gave me opportunity to serve as His channel of words to His own church at El Paso. I was asked to preach in Mandarin and translate myself to English at the same time. Both languages are not my mother tongues, and it was challenging to switching back and forth in language, but stay focus on the message. By God’s grace, the 7 messages were well received (at least people understood the messages). My prayer was that my delivery would not interrupt God’s words for His church. And God answered this prayer. Pray that this church in the desert continue to become the oasis for people who thirst for God.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Deliverance from sin is not deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, which the saint has to destroy by neglect; and other things which have to be destroyed by violence, that is by the Divine strength imparted by God's Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but to stand still in and see the salvation of God; but every theory or conception which erects itself as a wall against the knowledge of God is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God's power, not by fleshly endeavor or compromise, just as Paul said, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (v. 4).
It is only when God has altered our character and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin: Jesus Christ deals with sin in Redemption. The conflict is along the line of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in opposition to the habits of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as walls against the knowledge of God. We can either surrender to our nature to make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things and let Jesus bring another person to glory.
Spirituality is a battle of choices. It was the free will of man that had caused him to sin in the first place; to eat the forbidden fruit. So the spiritual battle field is always in the area of our free will – choices to follow His will or our own flesh, choices to love or hate; choices to trust or afraid, choices to rejoice or worry…the list just goes on and on. There are so many things in life that challenge our faith and attitudes. We don’t know whether we should listen to our natural instincts or to our new nature in Christ. Sometimes we want to choose Christ but our nature protests. We are in this constant battle each day; and that’s how we stumble and fall. We lean to take one day or one battle at a time. We learn to yield to God at each battle. We need to re-educate our mind each day like the psalmist did, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11). We need to engage in this kind of “soul teaching” session whenever temptation knocks on our door. Call upon the name of the Lord and declare His lordship over us, Satan will go away temporarily but wait for another opportunity to resume his attack. So take caution. Stay close to fellowship with the saints. Hold each other accountable, and you will experience spiritual growth more than you can ever imagine.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is good to be back again. The preaching trip was very fruitful. God gave me opportunity to serve as His channel of words to His own church at El Paso. I was asked to preach in Mandarin and translate myself to English at the same time. Both languages are not my mother tongues, and it was challenging to switching back and forth in language, but stay focus on the message. By God’s grace, the 7 messages were well received (at least people understood the messages). My prayer was that my delivery would not interrupt God’s words for His church. And God answered this prayer. Pray that this church in the desert continue to become the oasis for people who thirst for God.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Deliverance from sin is not deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, which the saint has to destroy by neglect; and other things which have to be destroyed by violence, that is by the Divine strength imparted by God's Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but to stand still in and see the salvation of God; but every theory or conception which erects itself as a wall against the knowledge of God is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God's power, not by fleshly endeavor or compromise, just as Paul said, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (v. 4).
It is only when God has altered our character and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin: Jesus Christ deals with sin in Redemption. The conflict is along the line of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in opposition to the habits of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as walls against the knowledge of God. We can either surrender to our nature to make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things and let Jesus bring another person to glory.
Spirituality is a battle of choices. It was the free will of man that had caused him to sin in the first place; to eat the forbidden fruit. So the spiritual battle field is always in the area of our free will – choices to follow His will or our own flesh, choices to love or hate; choices to trust or afraid, choices to rejoice or worry…the list just goes on and on. There are so many things in life that challenge our faith and attitudes. We don’t know whether we should listen to our natural instincts or to our new nature in Christ. Sometimes we want to choose Christ but our nature protests. We are in this constant battle each day; and that’s how we stumble and fall. We lean to take one day or one battle at a time. We learn to yield to God at each battle. We need to re-educate our mind each day like the psalmist did, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11). We need to engage in this kind of “soul teaching” session whenever temptation knocks on our door. Call upon the name of the Lord and declare His lordship over us, Satan will go away temporarily but wait for another opportunity to resume his attack. So take caution. Stay close to fellowship with the saints. Hold each other accountable, and you will experience spiritual growth more than you can ever imagine.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Devotional 020909
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I hope you had a good start today. Life is so abundant in Christ each day. There are so much we can utilize our potentials for His Kingdom and for the well beings of others. Our primary calling is not to meet the needs of the world. Honestly we can never fulfill the needs of people in this world. We are called to glorify God in whatever we do in our lives. And the way to glorify God is by submitting to His agenda – His salvation plan for mankind. As Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18), our needs don’t matter much when we are anticipating or participating in the glory of God. That’s why we should change our focus from ‘inward looking – to our own needs and satisfaction’ to ‘outward looking – to God’s glory and His salvation plan for all.’
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38). Jesus did not say - "Whoever believes in me shall realize the blessing of the fullness of God," but - "Whoever believes in me out of him shall escape everything he receives." Our Lord's teaching is always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a man; His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-denial. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that really counts. It is not that God makes us beautifully rounded grapes, but that He squeezes the sweetness out of us. Spiritually, we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany broke the jar of precious ointment and poured it on Jesus' head, it was an act for which no one else saw any occasion; the disciples said it was a waste. But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said that wherever His gospel was preached "this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Our Lord is carried beyond Himself with joy when He sees any of us doing what Mary did, not being set on this or that economy, but being abandoned to Him. God spilt the life of His Son that the world might be saved; are we prepared to spill out our lives for Him?
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” - hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. It is time now to break the life, to cease craving for satisfaction, and to spill the thing out. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
Instead of seeing ourselves as the receiving end of God’s blessings, seek to be the channel of God’s blessings to others. This is what Christian life is all about. But in a “me” generation that we are in today, we always uphold our personal rights and satisfaction more than others’ rights and satisfactions. We prefer someone sacrifice for us, than we sacrifice for others. We expect to get more than to give more. That’s why marriage breaks up and family dissolves in this post-modern society; in a narcissistic society that we are in, people will only become more egocentric or self-centered. If they were to look for a religion or church, they would “shop” for one that gives them the most of what they want and less demands in return. If Jesus were to live and preach in America today, I guess many would properly ignore Him as religious idiot. Will you? But this kind of “self giving and self-denial” life is the kind of abundant life that Christ came to offer us. That’s why Paul reminded the elders of Ephesus, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35). Indeed, the word picture I like the most about our calling is a public fountain – people will come to look for us when they are thirst. The fountain itself cannot offer anything that quench the thirst of people; it is only a vessel that connect to the source of living water, which can really quench the thirst of sojourners. We may be easily ignored or regarded as just another piece of ‘thing’ on the sidewalk. But when people are thirst they will come to you for living water. So, don’t underestimate your calling as just a public fountain, and stay connected to the source of Living Water – our Lord Jesus Christ each day. You never know when God will bless others through you some day.
Love you by His calling,
Lawrence
Good morning. I hope you had a good start today. Life is so abundant in Christ each day. There are so much we can utilize our potentials for His Kingdom and for the well beings of others. Our primary calling is not to meet the needs of the world. Honestly we can never fulfill the needs of people in this world. We are called to glorify God in whatever we do in our lives. And the way to glorify God is by submitting to His agenda – His salvation plan for mankind. As Paul said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18), our needs don’t matter much when we are anticipating or participating in the glory of God. That’s why we should change our focus from ‘inward looking – to our own needs and satisfaction’ to ‘outward looking – to God’s glory and His salvation plan for all.’
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38). Jesus did not say - "Whoever believes in me shall realize the blessing of the fullness of God," but - "Whoever believes in me out of him shall escape everything he receives." Our Lord's teaching is always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a man; His purpose is to make a man exactly like Himself, and the characteristic of the Son of God is self-denial. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that really counts. It is not that God makes us beautifully rounded grapes, but that He squeezes the sweetness out of us. Spiritually, we cannot measure our life by success, but only by what God pours through us, and we cannot measure that at all.
When Mary of Bethany broke the jar of precious ointment and poured it on Jesus' head, it was an act for which no one else saw any occasion; the disciples said it was a waste. But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said that wherever His gospel was preached "this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." Our Lord is carried beyond Himself with joy when He sees any of us doing what Mary did, not being set on this or that economy, but being abandoned to Him. God spilt the life of His Son that the world might be saved; are we prepared to spill out our lives for Him?
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” - hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed. It is time now to break the life, to cease craving for satisfaction, and to spill the thing out. Our Lord is asking who of us will do it for Him?
Instead of seeing ourselves as the receiving end of God’s blessings, seek to be the channel of God’s blessings to others. This is what Christian life is all about. But in a “me” generation that we are in today, we always uphold our personal rights and satisfaction more than others’ rights and satisfactions. We prefer someone sacrifice for us, than we sacrifice for others. We expect to get more than to give more. That’s why marriage breaks up and family dissolves in this post-modern society; in a narcissistic society that we are in, people will only become more egocentric or self-centered. If they were to look for a religion or church, they would “shop” for one that gives them the most of what they want and less demands in return. If Jesus were to live and preach in America today, I guess many would properly ignore Him as religious idiot. Will you? But this kind of “self giving and self-denial” life is the kind of abundant life that Christ came to offer us. That’s why Paul reminded the elders of Ephesus, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35). Indeed, the word picture I like the most about our calling is a public fountain – people will come to look for us when they are thirst. The fountain itself cannot offer anything that quench the thirst of people; it is only a vessel that connect to the source of living water, which can really quench the thirst of sojourners. We may be easily ignored or regarded as just another piece of ‘thing’ on the sidewalk. But when people are thirst they will come to you for living water. So, don’t underestimate your calling as just a public fountain, and stay connected to the source of Living Water – our Lord Jesus Christ each day. You never know when God will bless others through you some day.
Love you by His calling,
Lawrence
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Devotional 010909
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. It is great to be back to my 'sunny' office and enjoy a quiet moment to be with the Lord. Last weekend was filled with fun and celebration; wedding, baptism, birthday party, installation, teaching of God’s words and working on the video project etc. I see God’s grace in every single one of these events. As a matter of fact, if we look seriously into each one of the celebrative event in life, you will conclude that it was all because of God’s grace. Without His grace, we cease to exist not to mention any accomplishment on earth. Amen?
"Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). Continually restate to yourself what the purpose of your life is. The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. Nowadays we have far too many attraction, we are degenerate with them; right, good, noble attractions which will yet have their fulfillment, but in the meantime God has to weaken them. The one thing that matters is whether a man will accept the God Who will make him holy. At all costs a man must be rightly related to God.
Do I believe I need to be holy? Do I believe God can come into me and make me holy? If by your preaching you convince me that I am unholy, I resent your preaching. The preaching of the gospel awakens an intense resentment because it must reveal that I am unholy; but it also awakens an intense craving. God has one destined end for mankind, and that is holiness. His one aim is the production of saints. God is not an eternal blessing-machine for men; He did not come to save men out of pity: He came to save men because He had created them to be holy. The Atonement means that God can put me back into perfect union with Himself, without a shadow between, through the Death of Jesus Christ.
Never tolerate through sympathy with yourself or with others any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means unblemished walking with the feet, unblemished talking with the tongue, and unblemished thinking with the mind - every detail of the life under the scrutiny of God. Holiness is not only what God gives me, but what I manifest that God has given me.
Holiness is what I need because this is the kind of life God intended for me to live. God created us according to His own image or nature, and He is holy, therefore He definitely expects us to be Holy. Holiness is to wholeheartedly pursue the plan and purpose of God for our lives. When we focus fully on discovering God’s plan for our lives, the worldly temptations will become dim and weak. On a contrary, when we focus our energy on avoiding or resisting worldly temptations, our awareness of God’s plan for our live will become dime and weak. Therefore, the main challenge can be summarized in the Greatest Commandment that Jesus had in mind, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30). To our Lord Jesus Christ, consume ALL to love God is the core value of Christian living or the main purpose of our existence as His children. If we pursue life toward this goal, our lives are already on the path of righteousness, or journey in the light, or road of perfection.
Let’s encourage each other to aim at this kind of living in wherever God puts you on earth. Let our lives reflect the beauty of God’s holiness, especially in our relationship with others.
Love you according to His holiness,
Lawrence
Friday, August 21, 2009
Devotional 210809
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. It is a blessing to have beautiful sunshine in Burlingame; this gives me a lot of incentives to go to work from my foggy home in Daly City. Everyday is a new privilege in serving God. People may come and go. But our Lord remains eternally. Praise the Lord!
"Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). The New Testament notices things which from our standards do not seem to count. "Blessed are the poor in spirit," literally should be - Blessed are the paupers or homeless - an exceedingly commonplace thing! The preaching of to-day is apt to emphasize strength of will, beauty of character - the things that are easily noticed. The phrase we hear so often, Decide for Christ, is an emphasis on something Our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him - a very different thing. At the basis of Jesus Christ's Kingdom is the unaffected loveliness of the commonplace. The thing I am blessed in is my poverty. If I know I have no strength of will, no nobility of disposition, then Jesus says - Blessed are you, because it is through this poverty that I enter His Kingdom. I cannot enter His Kingdom as a good man or woman, I can only enter it as a complete pauper or very poor person.
The true character of the loveliness that tells for God is always unconscious. Conscious influence is arrogant and un-Christian. If I say - I wonder if I am of any use - I instantly disconnect my life with the Lord. "He that believes in me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water." If I question on the outflow of my life, I lose the touch of the Lord.
Which are the people who have influenced us most? Not the ones who thought they did, but those who had never imagined that they were influencing us. In the Christian life the hidden quality is never conscious, if it is conscious it ceases to have this unaffected loveliness which is the characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.
Genuine fruits came about unconsciously; the natural process of fruit bearing is hidden. You may have waited for your tree to bear fruits for years but see no result. Suddenly one day you see new fruits grow out from the tip of a branch so unexpectedly. You have no clue where it came from. This fruit just grows out from within the tree. In the same token, the Fruit of the Spirit grows out from a person who yields his or her life to Christ totally. Paul said, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). You may have your desire to bear certain type of Spiritual Fruit in life. It is the Holy Spirit that finally determines the kind of fruit He wants you to bear for His glory. We can’t decorate ourselves with godly beauty. Godly beauty is an outflow of a genuine godly life in Christ. You will not even aware of this quality in you until someone is blessed by this spiritual fruit they see in you. Therefore, we don’t focus on bearing fruit but abiding in Christ or obey the Word of God at all time. Have a blessed weekend to walk with the Lover of your soul.
Love you through Christ,
Lawrence
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Devotional 200809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Our God is good and He is always good to me. After a long day of ministry (from 8 am to 10 pm), I regained my strength by spending some times to rest in His presence. Indeed his Word is our strength and our joy. He always whispers with His gentle voice in our heart that we are His beloved children. We don’t need to try too hard to listen. We just need to be still with focus on our Lord and His Cross; you will hear His affirming words that come like a warm embrace.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once and ask Him to establish rest. Never allow anything to remain which is disturbing your inner peace. Take every element of disintegration as something to wrestle against, and not to suffer. Say – “Lord, prove Thy consciousness in me,” and self-consciousness will go and He will be all in all. Beware of allowing self-consciousness to continue because by slow degrees it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is Satanic. Well, I am not understood; this is a thing they ought to apologize for; that is a point I really must have cleared up. Leave others alone and ask the Lord to give you Christ-consciousness, and He will dignify you until the completeness is absolute.
The complete life is the life of a child. When I am consciously conscious, there is something wrong. It is the sick man who knows what health is. The child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God. When there has been the slightest deviation from the will of God, we begin to ask - What is Thy will? A child of God never prays to be conscious that God answers prayer, he is so restfully certain that God always does answer prayer.
If we try to overcome self-consciousness by any common-sense method, we will develop it tremendously. Jesus says, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest," i.e., Christ-consciousness will take over the place of self-consciousness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest, the perfect rest that self-conscious activity will not attain.
Yesterday, we visited our distinguished Chaplin, Rev. Mark Cheng, one of the founders of Gospel Operation International, and the champion of mission mobilization among Chinese Church. He was over 90 years old and was diagnosed with last stage of lung cancer lately. With a big smile and serenity on his face, he welcomed us to his house and said, “Wow, I have 3 men of God come to pray for me. God has to listen!” He was humorous and alert. With calm confident he said, “If God wants to heal me he just need to give order and it will be done.” This kind of ‘rest’ is what Brother Chambers talked about. It is not whether we deserve healing or not. It is perfect confidence and surrender to the will of God. There are no more struggles with self-consciousness or self-centeredness. He rested in the arms of God and enjoyed His sovereignty in his life. It is similar to how I feel right now in serving as a ‘second’ man instead of a ‘boss.’ I rested to know that my boss will be ultimately responsible for the well being of this mission. Yes, I still need to do my part faithfully. But if there is anything happen that requires a final decision, I am glad my boss will resolve it for me. We all have the BIG boss in heaven. We can have perfect peace to know that He is always in charge. On a contrary, if we try to take over his place or rebel against His role, we will not have peace at all. May God give you the peace that surpasses all understanding in the days to come!
Love you in peace,
Lawrence
Good morning. Our God is good and He is always good to me. After a long day of ministry (from 8 am to 10 pm), I regained my strength by spending some times to rest in His presence. Indeed his Word is our strength and our joy. He always whispers with His gentle voice in our heart that we are His beloved children. We don’t need to try too hard to listen. We just need to be still with focus on our Lord and His Cross; you will hear His affirming words that come like a warm embrace.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once and ask Him to establish rest. Never allow anything to remain which is disturbing your inner peace. Take every element of disintegration as something to wrestle against, and not to suffer. Say – “Lord, prove Thy consciousness in me,” and self-consciousness will go and He will be all in all. Beware of allowing self-consciousness to continue because by slow degrees it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is Satanic. Well, I am not understood; this is a thing they ought to apologize for; that is a point I really must have cleared up. Leave others alone and ask the Lord to give you Christ-consciousness, and He will dignify you until the completeness is absolute.
The complete life is the life of a child. When I am consciously conscious, there is something wrong. It is the sick man who knows what health is. The child of God is not conscious of the will of God because he is the will of God. When there has been the slightest deviation from the will of God, we begin to ask - What is Thy will? A child of God never prays to be conscious that God answers prayer, he is so restfully certain that God always does answer prayer.
If we try to overcome self-consciousness by any common-sense method, we will develop it tremendously. Jesus says, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest," i.e., Christ-consciousness will take over the place of self-consciousness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest, the perfect rest that self-conscious activity will not attain.
Yesterday, we visited our distinguished Chaplin, Rev. Mark Cheng, one of the founders of Gospel Operation International, and the champion of mission mobilization among Chinese Church. He was over 90 years old and was diagnosed with last stage of lung cancer lately. With a big smile and serenity on his face, he welcomed us to his house and said, “Wow, I have 3 men of God come to pray for me. God has to listen!” He was humorous and alert. With calm confident he said, “If God wants to heal me he just need to give order and it will be done.” This kind of ‘rest’ is what Brother Chambers talked about. It is not whether we deserve healing or not. It is perfect confidence and surrender to the will of God. There are no more struggles with self-consciousness or self-centeredness. He rested in the arms of God and enjoyed His sovereignty in his life. It is similar to how I feel right now in serving as a ‘second’ man instead of a ‘boss.’ I rested to know that my boss will be ultimately responsible for the well being of this mission. Yes, I still need to do my part faithfully. But if there is anything happen that requires a final decision, I am glad my boss will resolve it for me. We all have the BIG boss in heaven. We can have perfect peace to know that He is always in charge. On a contrary, if we try to take over his place or rebel against His role, we will not have peace at all. May God give you the peace that surpasses all understanding in the days to come!
Love you in peace,
Lawrence
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Devotional 050809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. In our staff prayer meeting this morning, our devotional reading came to Romans 10. Apostle Paul made it so clear for his readers a life cycle of discipleship, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (10:13-15) I see a cycle that goes like this (the cycle goes from 1 to 7 and should return to 1 again) :
1. Obey His commission
2. Preach the gospel
3. Hears the gospel
4. Believe He is risen
5. Confess He is Lord
6. Call upon the Lord
7. Saved by His Grace
The problem we encounter in churches nowadays is that Christians ignore the Great Commission of Christ after they were saved by His Grace. Even though they confessed with their mouth that Christ was their Lord, they did not act according to what they confessed. They did not obey. And when Christians continue to live such inconsistent life, they cease to experience the abundant life in Christ, and they cease to become light and salt of the world. On a contrary, they even stumble others from entering into the Body of Christ. There is a big need for revival today, and let it starts with myself... Have mercy on us O Lord!
"And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished . . . And they understood none of these things" (Luke 18:31, 34). God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose.
There comes the mysterious call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is hidden. The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in partnership with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His own purposes.
If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what His purposes are. As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say - Now why did God allow this and that? Behind the whole thing lies the compelling of God. "There's a divinity that shapes our ends." A Christian is one who trusts the intelligence and the wisdom of God, and not his own understanding. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God.
The problem of mankind is that we always think we know better than God; of course, as good Christians we will not explicitly say so. We analyze the work and plan of God. We try to discern with our own common senses, without knowing how limited our common sense or intelligence is in comparing with God’s. Not only we analyze God’s purpose and plan, we make decision as to whether we want to join His plan or not. We calculate the cost and we try to cut a bargain with God from time to time. Just as a disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt 8:21-22). In another word, there is something more important in life to do. You have no clue whether you still alive tomorrow or not. Take advantage of this present moment while you are still alive. Re-prioritize your lives and follow the plan of Christ.
Love you as fellow partners in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. In our staff prayer meeting this morning, our devotional reading came to Romans 10. Apostle Paul made it so clear for his readers a life cycle of discipleship, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (10:13-15) I see a cycle that goes like this (the cycle goes from 1 to 7 and should return to 1 again) :
1. Obey His commission
2. Preach the gospel
3. Hears the gospel
4. Believe He is risen
5. Confess He is Lord
6. Call upon the Lord
7. Saved by His Grace
The problem we encounter in churches nowadays is that Christians ignore the Great Commission of Christ after they were saved by His Grace. Even though they confessed with their mouth that Christ was their Lord, they did not act according to what they confessed. They did not obey. And when Christians continue to live such inconsistent life, they cease to experience the abundant life in Christ, and they cease to become light and salt of the world. On a contrary, they even stumble others from entering into the Body of Christ. There is a big need for revival today, and let it starts with myself... Have mercy on us O Lord!
"And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished . . . And they understood none of these things" (Luke 18:31, 34). God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose.
There comes the mysterious call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is hidden. The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in partnership with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His own purposes.
If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what His purposes are. As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say - Now why did God allow this and that? Behind the whole thing lies the compelling of God. "There's a divinity that shapes our ends." A Christian is one who trusts the intelligence and the wisdom of God, and not his own understanding. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God.
The problem of mankind is that we always think we know better than God; of course, as good Christians we will not explicitly say so. We analyze the work and plan of God. We try to discern with our own common senses, without knowing how limited our common sense or intelligence is in comparing with God’s. Not only we analyze God’s purpose and plan, we make decision as to whether we want to join His plan or not. We calculate the cost and we try to cut a bargain with God from time to time. Just as a disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt 8:21-22). In another word, there is something more important in life to do. You have no clue whether you still alive tomorrow or not. Take advantage of this present moment while you are still alive. Re-prioritize your lives and follow the plan of Christ.
Love you as fellow partners in Christ,
Lawrence
Monday, August 3, 2009
Devotional 030809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Our Lord is doing wonderful thing in shaping our lives each day. His plan is to make us holy through our daily struggle in life. We have struggle because we know what is good but our flesh tells us to do otherwise. Sometimes, this struggle could become very severe and we felt like totally helpless and defeated. Just as Paul said, “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:23-24); it is usually in this kind of desperation and disappointment that, we experience the power of His grace, and we have deeper appreciation of what God’s mercy is all about.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). Jerusalem stands in the life of Our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father's will. "I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me." That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord's life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God's compelling that is brought out. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." We are not taken up into conscious agreement with God's purpose; we are taken up into God's purpose without any consciousness at all. We have no conception of what God is aiming at, and as we go on it gets more and more vague. God's aim looks like missing the mark because we are too short sighted to see what He is aiming at.
At the beginning of the Christian life we have our own ideas as to what God's purpose is - 'I am meant to go here or there,' 'God has called me to do this special work'; and we go and do the thing, and still the big compelling of God remains. The work we do is of no account; it is so much scaffolding or primitive work compared with the big compelling of God. "He took unto Him the twelve," He takes us all the time. There is more than we have got at as yet.
There are so much more that God can use you for. You may either never could have imagined how much the Lord would use you, or you never want Him to consider using you at all. You just want to remain mediocre kind of Christian. But in God’s dictionary, there is no such thing as layman or mediocre Christian. There is either disciple of Christ or non-believer; children of God or children of the world. In the spiritual realm, there are those who belong to God and those who are under Satan’s domain. Paul made it clear to us in Romans 8:5-9, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires…You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” God has a Master Plan in terms of how to use you. You will not know the details of this Plan. As a matter of fact, you may not want to know because you may want to run away from it just like Prophet Jonah. All you need to do it to follow His call and do what you already knew. Once you set your mind to obey His Word on a daily basis, and boldly live accordance to the Spirit, He will use you for His glory beyond what you can imagine, and give you His joy to the fullest.
I have never imagined I would become a pastor in United States for so long. I would never have imagined I had opportunity to serve Him in different capacity throughout the world. I may have my “dream” in terms of what to accomplish in life. But His dream is much bigger and far-fetched simply because He is God and I am not. If I acknowledge and allow Him to be God in my life, then I will discover unexpected joy and new horizons in following Him. Let’s remind and encourage each other in walking on this path of obedience like Christ.
Love you in accordance to the Spirit,
Lawrence
Good morning. Our Lord is doing wonderful thing in shaping our lives each day. His plan is to make us holy through our daily struggle in life. We have struggle because we know what is good but our flesh tells us to do otherwise. Sometimes, this struggle could become very severe and we felt like totally helpless and defeated. Just as Paul said, “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:23-24); it is usually in this kind of desperation and disappointment that, we experience the power of His grace, and we have deeper appreciation of what God’s mercy is all about.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). Jerusalem stands in the life of Our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father's will. "I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me." That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord's life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God's compelling that is brought out. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." We are not taken up into conscious agreement with God's purpose; we are taken up into God's purpose without any consciousness at all. We have no conception of what God is aiming at, and as we go on it gets more and more vague. God's aim looks like missing the mark because we are too short sighted to see what He is aiming at.
At the beginning of the Christian life we have our own ideas as to what God's purpose is - 'I am meant to go here or there,' 'God has called me to do this special work'; and we go and do the thing, and still the big compelling of God remains. The work we do is of no account; it is so much scaffolding or primitive work compared with the big compelling of God. "He took unto Him the twelve," He takes us all the time. There is more than we have got at as yet.
There are so much more that God can use you for. You may either never could have imagined how much the Lord would use you, or you never want Him to consider using you at all. You just want to remain mediocre kind of Christian. But in God’s dictionary, there is no such thing as layman or mediocre Christian. There is either disciple of Christ or non-believer; children of God or children of the world. In the spiritual realm, there are those who belong to God and those who are under Satan’s domain. Paul made it clear to us in Romans 8:5-9, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires…You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” God has a Master Plan in terms of how to use you. You will not know the details of this Plan. As a matter of fact, you may not want to know because you may want to run away from it just like Prophet Jonah. All you need to do it to follow His call and do what you already knew. Once you set your mind to obey His Word on a daily basis, and boldly live accordance to the Spirit, He will use you for His glory beyond what you can imagine, and give you His joy to the fullest.
I have never imagined I would become a pastor in United States for so long. I would never have imagined I had opportunity to serve Him in different capacity throughout the world. I may have my “dream” in terms of what to accomplish in life. But His dream is much bigger and far-fetched simply because He is God and I am not. If I acknowledge and allow Him to be God in my life, then I will discover unexpected joy and new horizons in following Him. Let’s remind and encourage each other in walking on this path of obedience like Christ.
Love you in accordance to the Spirit,
Lawrence
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Devotional 300709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Can’t believe it is Thursday already. Time just flies by so fast that we can hardly catch up with it. While I was driving the younger foster kid to a summer camp pick up site, I suddenly remembered I did not sign his parental permission form. “O I forgot your permission form, what shall we do?” I asked. Then he said, “I don’t think they require permission form for college retreat!” Yes. He is a college student now. He is no longer a kid! Time really flies fast. You can’t stop it but you can only make good use of it. Help us Lord, to seize every moment of our time to enjoy our relationship with You, and fully utilize the potential and talents that You endowed in us for Your pleasure. Amen!
"Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man" (John 2:24-25). Disillusionment means that there are no more false judgments in life. To be undeceived by disillusionment may leave us cynical and unkindly severe in our judgment of others, but the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging, bitter things to say. Many of the cruel things in life spring from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts; we are true only to our ideas of one another. Everything is either delightful and fine, or mean and immoral, according to our idea.
The refusal to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering in human life. It works in this way - if we love a human being and do not love God, we demand of him or her every ounce of perfection and righteousness, and when we do not get it we become cruel and bitter; we are demanding of a human being that which he or she cannot give. There is only one Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why Our Lord is apparently so severe regarding every human relationship is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to God will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no man, yet He was never suspicious, never bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God and in what His grace could do for any person was so perfect, that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone.
I totally agree with Brother Chambers’ insight on our attitude toward human relationship. It has to be built upon our relationship with God. The greatest commandment is for us to love God with all our hearts and minds before we love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:37). If we reverse the order, our relation with people will become disaster. Only when we love God wholeheartedly and drink from His love on a daily basis, we will find strength to love others with His love. If our hearts are not fed by His love, we will be hungry for human love or any kind of love, which will not truly fulfill our deepest thirst and hunger from within. As a result we jump from one person to the other or from one fellowship to the other, looking for love that only God can give. After many attempts and failure, we become despair and bitter, and we become cynical or critical toward people and fellowship. We are completely enslaved within our own illusions.
In order to break through from our illusions, we need to return to our basis: put God first in our lives and recognize the root problem of mankind without God. And then we work toward this goal to dwell in His love or abide in Christ. There is no shortcut to resolve our deep seated illusions, but to focus on building a genuine relationship with God. The way to differentiate the fake from the real dollar bill, according to a teller, is to spend more time looking at the genuine one. The way to get rid of the weeds in your lawn, according to a gardener, is to focus on growing the lawn in stead of removing the weeds. In the same token, the way to resolve illusion toward human relationship is to focus on building our loving relationship with Christ.
Love you through His love,
Lawrence
Good morning. Can’t believe it is Thursday already. Time just flies by so fast that we can hardly catch up with it. While I was driving the younger foster kid to a summer camp pick up site, I suddenly remembered I did not sign his parental permission form. “O I forgot your permission form, what shall we do?” I asked. Then he said, “I don’t think they require permission form for college retreat!” Yes. He is a college student now. He is no longer a kid! Time really flies fast. You can’t stop it but you can only make good use of it. Help us Lord, to seize every moment of our time to enjoy our relationship with You, and fully utilize the potential and talents that You endowed in us for Your pleasure. Amen!
"Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man" (John 2:24-25). Disillusionment means that there are no more false judgments in life. To be undeceived by disillusionment may leave us cynical and unkindly severe in our judgment of others, but the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging, bitter things to say. Many of the cruel things in life spring from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts; we are true only to our ideas of one another. Everything is either delightful and fine, or mean and immoral, according to our idea.
The refusal to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering in human life. It works in this way - if we love a human being and do not love God, we demand of him or her every ounce of perfection and righteousness, and when we do not get it we become cruel and bitter; we are demanding of a human being that which he or she cannot give. There is only one Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why Our Lord is apparently so severe regarding every human relationship is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to God will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no man, yet He was never suspicious, never bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God and in what His grace could do for any person was so perfect, that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone.
I totally agree with Brother Chambers’ insight on our attitude toward human relationship. It has to be built upon our relationship with God. The greatest commandment is for us to love God with all our hearts and minds before we love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:37). If we reverse the order, our relation with people will become disaster. Only when we love God wholeheartedly and drink from His love on a daily basis, we will find strength to love others with His love. If our hearts are not fed by His love, we will be hungry for human love or any kind of love, which will not truly fulfill our deepest thirst and hunger from within. As a result we jump from one person to the other or from one fellowship to the other, looking for love that only God can give. After many attempts and failure, we become despair and bitter, and we become cynical or critical toward people and fellowship. We are completely enslaved within our own illusions.
In order to break through from our illusions, we need to return to our basis: put God first in our lives and recognize the root problem of mankind without God. And then we work toward this goal to dwell in His love or abide in Christ. There is no shortcut to resolve our deep seated illusions, but to focus on building a genuine relationship with God. The way to differentiate the fake from the real dollar bill, according to a teller, is to spend more time looking at the genuine one. The way to get rid of the weeds in your lawn, according to a gardener, is to focus on growing the lawn in stead of removing the weeds. In the same token, the way to resolve illusion toward human relationship is to focus on building our loving relationship with Christ.
Love you through His love,
Lawrence
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Devotional 290709
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. Thank God for another beautiful day in Burlingame. Many of our staff either on vacation or sick leave, the office is extremely quiet today. It is a perfect environment for meditation. Silence is gold only if you know how to enjoy the presence of God in it. It could be very noisy in silence; you would hear your own cravings or complains. But if you tune in to God, you will find yourself hearing the loving words of God through His gentle voice in silence. It is so soothing and sweet!
"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen" (Revelation 1:7). In the Bible clouds are always connected with God. Clouds are those sorrows or sufferings or providences, within or without our personal lives, which seem to block us from seeing the glory of God and contradict with the true nature of God. Nevertheless, it is by those very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were no clouds, we should have no faith. "The clouds are but the dust of our Father's feet." The clouds are a sign that He is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow and bereavement and suffering are the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near without clouds; He does not come in clear shining.
It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials: through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child - God and my own soul, other people are just shadows. Until other people become shadows, clouds and darkness will come to me from time to time. Is my relationship with God getting simpler than ever it has been?
There is a connection between the strange providences of God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Unless we can look at the darkest or blackest fact full in the face without damaging God's character, we do not yet know Him.
In their experience of witnessing the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount, the disciples recalled, “While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them…they fell facedown to the ground, terrified” (Matt 17:5-6). The disciples were frightened as they entered the cloud. Is there anyone else still in your cloud than Jesus alone? If so, your cloud will get thicker; you must get to the place like the disciples had experienced, “When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus” (v. 8).
Indeed, through suffering and hardship we came to know God better. On a contrary, when life is smooth and prosperous, we tend to ignore His presence. Yes, we still maintain our religious habit of attending church or Christian activities. But our desire to seek His face gradually fades away. We careless of what He wants from us, or have anything to do with us. We basically just want Him to be out of our complacent living. Jesus becomes one of the many alternatives or attractions in our lives. Even during hardship or sufferings, some people may still be looking at different alternative to save themselves or to resolve their problems. They become more “spiritual” or conscious in prayer as a way to buy out hardship or exchange “favors” from God. They are not really interested in God, but their own desires or the people whom they care a lot. Their clouds getting thicker and they don’t understand why. “I have prayed but I am still in the rut or get stuck!” Until they see God in the rut, or else they will still get stuck. This is truly a spiritual reality in life.
Love you because of His providence,
Lawrence
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Devotional 280709
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. It was good to have a day off yesterday to catch up with some personal business in life. Our plate seems to be always full with unfinished business more than we can handle. Imagine you try to put out fire that keeps growing around you. You know you can only do so much with your energy and your limited resource. You are not superman and you do need to take a break to recharge yourself with energy from above. That’s why “devotional break” is not a luxury or an ideal way of living. It is a necessity or essential rhythmus of life that you can’t live without. Your Heavenly Father is waiting to re-charge you with His love and strength.
“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray... He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed” (Mark 6:45-51). It is understandable for us to imagine that if Jesus Christ constrains us to do certain things, and we obey Him, He will lead us to great success. But in spiritual reality, we must never put our dreams of success as God's purpose for us; His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We tend to think that God is leading us to a particular end, a desired goal in life; He is not. The question of where He leads us is actually insignificant. What we call the process, God calls the goal.
What is my dream of God's purpose for me? His purpose is that I depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay in the middle of the turmoil calm and unconfused, that is the end of the purpose of God. God is not working towards a particular finish for me (He works on my life tirelessly); His end is the process - that I see Him walking on the waves, no shore in sight, no success, no goal, just the absolute certainty that it is all right because I see Him walking on the sea. It is the process, not the end, which is glorifying to God.
God's training is for now, not to wait for a while. His purpose is for this minute, not for something in the future. We have nothing to do with the consequence of obedience; we interpret wrong when we try to think of the consequence. What we call training and preparation, God calls the goal of His purpose for us.
God's goal is to enable me to see that He can walk on the chaos of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we do not pay sufficient attention to the immediate present: if we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.
Throughout church history, many devoted followers of Christ sought to practice the “sacrament of the present moment.” To them, their eagerness to plan for future, to prepare for future, and to control the outcome of future will cause them to miss the purpose of God for them in the present moment. Jesus asked us not to worry about the future (Matt 6:34). What we need to make sure is that we seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness now; we seize the current moment of life to be the kind of person God wants us to be, and to do the things for His glory in wherever He puts us in. Now is the moment He expects us to abide in Him, to see His work and to hear His voice. We don’t know what kind of lessons that He may give us tomorrow. He knows better and it is definitely not our business, to imagine and try to control the kind of purpose He has for us. Submission or obedience is the sacrament of the present moment.
Love you in this moment,
Lawrence
Friday, July 24, 2009
Devotional 240709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I was attracted to an interview with President Obama last night at Night Line. When he answered the question about his spirituality, he said that a good friend of him held him accountable to focus on God each day, by sending his daily devotional to his ‘blackberry.’ It is amazing how this person’s devotional can shape the mind of a person who has political power to change the world. If our president needs to do daily devotional reading to focus on God, I am sure you need it too regardless of your opinion toward this president. Let’s continue to pray for our president just as the Bible said, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings (or Presidents) and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim 2:1-2). Amen? Let’s look at our devotional reading today.
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the super-natural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds “right-doing” is “right-being.” Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new heredity, which would exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says - If you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living, but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind. You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure. Who can stand in the Eternal Light of God and have nothing for God to censure? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that by His Redemption He can put into any man His own disposition, and make him as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is what Jesus has undertaken to do by His Redemption.
No man can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations; His teachings are truths that can only be interpreted by the disposition He puts in. The great marvel of Jesus Christ's salvation is that He alters heredity. He does not alter human nature; He alters its mainspring.
This concept seems to be very profound or abstract. We still operate with the same mindset and attitude after becoming a Christian. We don’t really feel the changes. I am sure the Apostles did not feel the change in them after they decided to follow Christ. As a matter of fact, they reacted by their human nature – Peter stopped his Teacher from heading to the Cross; John asked Jesus to burn the village that had rejected them, and one of them drew a sword and cut off his enemy’s ear. We did not see any “change” in them at that time. But after they were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, something seemed to happen within the core of their being. This group of “scary cats” suddenly became “bold lions.” They were confident and bold in proclaiming the gospel in the place once they were filled with fear. What caused such significant change in them? Was the dramatic or supernatural experience that transformed them from inside out? I don’t really know for sure. But one thing I am sure was that their faith in Christ was deepened through their experience at Pentecost, and their courage was born out of their passion for Christ, who died and resurrected for their sake.
Something had happened to the early church that permeated the whole community. They no longer were afraid of death and persecutions. Even non-Apostle like Stephen died with a similar serenity and passion like Christ. Dr. Luke described, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60). The love of God richly filled this person’s heart even at his violent death. We cannot tell for sure what had happened to Stephen within his being. His life was taped to a new source or spring of strength and love from above. Somehow the first martyr was not one of the Apostles but a “lay leader” in the early church. It means this transformation could take place in any followers of Christ, regardless of their title or what they do in the religious community. It will happen to you too.
Have a blessed weekend to spend more time with the Lord! Please also remember me in your prayer, as I will preach in a summer retreat tomorrow, and teach a Mission class on Sunday.
Love you because of His transformation in me,
Lawrence
Good morning. I was attracted to an interview with President Obama last night at Night Line. When he answered the question about his spirituality, he said that a good friend of him held him accountable to focus on God each day, by sending his daily devotional to his ‘blackberry.’ It is amazing how this person’s devotional can shape the mind of a person who has political power to change the world. If our president needs to do daily devotional reading to focus on God, I am sure you need it too regardless of your opinion toward this president. Let’s continue to pray for our president just as the Bible said, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings (or Presidents) and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim 2:1-2). Amen? Let’s look at our devotional reading today.
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in motive because he has been made good by the super-natural grace of God. The only thing that exceeds “right-doing” is “right-being.” Jesus Christ came to put into any man who would let Him a new heredity, which would exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus says - If you are My disciple you must be right not only in your living, but in your motives, in your dreams, in the recesses of your mind. You must be so pure in your motives that God Almighty can see nothing to censure. Who can stand in the Eternal Light of God and have nothing for God to censure? Only the Son of God, and Jesus Christ claims that by His Redemption He can put into any man His own disposition, and make him as pure and as simple as a child. The purity that God demands is impossible unless I can be remade within, and that is what Jesus has undertaken to do by His Redemption.
No man can make himself pure by obeying laws. Jesus Christ does not give us rules and regulations; His teachings are truths that can only be interpreted by the disposition He puts in. The great marvel of Jesus Christ's salvation is that He alters heredity. He does not alter human nature; He alters its mainspring.
This concept seems to be very profound or abstract. We still operate with the same mindset and attitude after becoming a Christian. We don’t really feel the changes. I am sure the Apostles did not feel the change in them after they decided to follow Christ. As a matter of fact, they reacted by their human nature – Peter stopped his Teacher from heading to the Cross; John asked Jesus to burn the village that had rejected them, and one of them drew a sword and cut off his enemy’s ear. We did not see any “change” in them at that time. But after they were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, something seemed to happen within the core of their being. This group of “scary cats” suddenly became “bold lions.” They were confident and bold in proclaiming the gospel in the place once they were filled with fear. What caused such significant change in them? Was the dramatic or supernatural experience that transformed them from inside out? I don’t really know for sure. But one thing I am sure was that their faith in Christ was deepened through their experience at Pentecost, and their courage was born out of their passion for Christ, who died and resurrected for their sake.
Something had happened to the early church that permeated the whole community. They no longer were afraid of death and persecutions. Even non-Apostle like Stephen died with a similar serenity and passion like Christ. Dr. Luke described, “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:59-60). The love of God richly filled this person’s heart even at his violent death. We cannot tell for sure what had happened to Stephen within his being. His life was taped to a new source or spring of strength and love from above. Somehow the first martyr was not one of the Apostles but a “lay leader” in the early church. It means this transformation could take place in any followers of Christ, regardless of their title or what they do in the religious community. It will happen to you too.
Have a blessed weekend to spend more time with the Lord! Please also remember me in your prayer, as I will preach in a summer retreat tomorrow, and teach a Mission class on Sunday.
Love you because of His transformation in me,
Lawrence
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Devotional 230709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for beautiful sunshine in Burlingame. It was so foggy and wet in Daly City as I left the house. It made me sleepy even though I slept longer because our office is opened at ten on every Thursday. Let's meditate with Brother Chambers, who continued his devotional reading on the same verse that he had started yesterday.
"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to me, not gradually, but instantly when by faith I enter into the realization that Jesus Christ is made unto me sanctification. Sanctification does not mean anything less than the holiness of Jesus being made mine manifestly.
The one marvelous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you." It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification, and imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God's grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the Holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to live a life of indescribable order and sanity and holiness: "Kept by the power of God."
Indeed we have nothing to boast of our holiness. We learned to strip ourselves to nothing but our relationship with God. And between ‘me’ and God, He imparts His holiness and the nature of Christ into our soul on a daily basis. We may not realize how the transformation takes place within us; when we look back after several years, we felt the difference in us. By God’s grace we grow and become more like Him. I agree with Chamber’s description: Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.
If sanctification is our effort to become perfect, our lives will be miserable because we will always be in a stage of regrets and frustrations. We hate our weaknesses, our sinful nature, our helplessness, our hypocrisy, our impotency to the point of giving up to fight. Martin Luther was serious about his calling to be holy. He repented to his supervisor in the monastery as soon as he committed a sinful thought. It came to a point that his supervisor was tired of hearing his repentance. Finally he told this young Martin Luther, to go home and meditate on Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not by repentance we become holy, it is purely the grace of God. Of course, we have to do our part in stripping off the bondage of earthly relationship, so that we can become the disciple of Christ.
By stripping off the bondage of earthly relationship does not mean isolate yourself from Christian fellowship or from family. God does not make us an island or loner. He expects us to live in community and serves Him through community. But we learn to yield not to opinion of men but to the Word of God. Community could be stumbling. Religious institution could be corrupting. We learn to discern the difference between the opinion that is from God or from men. Just as Jesus reprimanded Peter who was out of good will to stop his teacher from going to the cross, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt 16:23). Let the Holy Spirit continue to impart upon you the holiness of Christ each day.
Love you by His holiness,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for beautiful sunshine in Burlingame. It was so foggy and wet in Daly City as I left the house. It made me sleepy even though I slept longer because our office is opened at ten on every Thursday. Let's meditate with Brother Chambers, who continued his devotional reading on the same verse that he had started yesterday.
"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to me, not gradually, but instantly when by faith I enter into the realization that Jesus Christ is made unto me sanctification. Sanctification does not mean anything less than the holiness of Jesus being made mine manifestly.
The one marvelous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is "Christ in you." It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification, and imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God's grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word?
Sanctification means the impartation of the Holy qualities of Jesus Christ. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul. Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy; it is drawing from Jesus the holiness that was manifested in Him, and He manifests it in me. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to live a life of indescribable order and sanity and holiness: "Kept by the power of God."
Indeed we have nothing to boast of our holiness. We learned to strip ourselves to nothing but our relationship with God. And between ‘me’ and God, He imparts His holiness and the nature of Christ into our soul on a daily basis. We may not realize how the transformation takes place within us; when we look back after several years, we felt the difference in us. By God’s grace we grow and become more like Him. I agree with Chamber’s description: Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation.
If sanctification is our effort to become perfect, our lives will be miserable because we will always be in a stage of regrets and frustrations. We hate our weaknesses, our sinful nature, our helplessness, our hypocrisy, our impotency to the point of giving up to fight. Martin Luther was serious about his calling to be holy. He repented to his supervisor in the monastery as soon as he committed a sinful thought. It came to a point that his supervisor was tired of hearing his repentance. Finally he told this young Martin Luther, to go home and meditate on Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is not by repentance we become holy, it is purely the grace of God. Of course, we have to do our part in stripping off the bondage of earthly relationship, so that we can become the disciple of Christ.
By stripping off the bondage of earthly relationship does not mean isolate yourself from Christian fellowship or from family. God does not make us an island or loner. He expects us to live in community and serves Him through community. But we learn to yield not to opinion of men but to the Word of God. Community could be stumbling. Religious institution could be corrupting. We learn to discern the difference between the opinion that is from God or from men. Just as Jesus reprimanded Peter who was out of good will to stop his teacher from going to the cross, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt 16:23). Let the Holy Spirit continue to impart upon you the holiness of Christ each day.
Love you by His holiness,
Lawrence
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Devotional 220709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I am not as fatigue as yesterday, even though I had the same amount of sleep. I need to spend more time to stay focus on the Lord and nourish my hope (not my worry) in Him. He is the one who cares not only my daily walk with Him but every other details of my life. He is the ultimate CEO at my work; He is the real Owner of my house; He is the personal Trainer of my life, He is my true Soul mate or Lover of my soul. He will indeed watch over me day in and day out. Praise the Lord!
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified" (1 Thessalonians 4:3a). In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Many of us spend so much time in the place of death that we get gloomy. There is always a battle royal before sanctification, always something that tugs with resentment against the demands of Jesus Christ. Immediately the Spirit of God begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle begins. "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" (Luke 14:26).
The Spirit of God in the process of sanctification will strip me until I am nothing but "myself," that is the place of death. Am I willing to be "myself" and nothing more? Am I willing to be with no friends, no father, no brother, no self-interest - simply ready for death for Christ? That is the condition of sanctification. No wonder Jesus said: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us faint. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus on this point. "But it is so harsh," we may protest; "He cannot wish me to do that." Our Lord is harsh; and He does wish us to do that for our sanctification.
Am I willing to reduce myself simply to "me," determinedly to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God? Immediately, He will sanctify me wholly, and my life will be free from earnestness in connection with every thing but God.
When I pray - "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself who lives in me. Just as Paul said, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Once we invite Jesus into our house, He expects us to move out all the “precious” things that we have collected or stored from within, and give room for Him to be the new Master. When a groom receives his new bride into his house, he must be willing to change his former lifestyle and allow his wife to have a say in “house cleaning.” If a groom does not treasure his bride more than all his collections in the house, he is not ready to get married.
Many people don’t mind to enjoy “courtship” with Christ or God once a week or 1 hour a day. But when it means costing their lifestyle or their treasures to live with Christ, they will definitely hesitate. They don’t want to have serious commitment to this relationship. They just like to have a little dosage of “spirituality” to make them feel good about themselves. Unfortunately you cannot buy 15 minutes of Christianity whenever you feel like it. Just as you cannot buy 15 minutes of “marriage;” there is only prostitution but not marriage you can buy in such manner. To follow Christ involves a lifetime 24/7 commitments. You ‘cannot’ be His disciples if you are not willing to strip away all your earthly relational attachments; this kind of sanctification process will surely take a lifetime to realize and grow. Let’s encourage one another toward this calling to be the true follower of Christ.
Love you because of Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. I am not as fatigue as yesterday, even though I had the same amount of sleep. I need to spend more time to stay focus on the Lord and nourish my hope (not my worry) in Him. He is the one who cares not only my daily walk with Him but every other details of my life. He is the ultimate CEO at my work; He is the real Owner of my house; He is the personal Trainer of my life, He is my true Soul mate or Lover of my soul. He will indeed watch over me day in and day out. Praise the Lord!
"It is God's will that you should be sanctified" (1 Thessalonians 4:3a). In sanctification God has to deal with us on the death side as well as on the life side. Many of us spend so much time in the place of death that we get gloomy. There is always a battle royal before sanctification, always something that tugs with resentment against the demands of Jesus Christ. Immediately the Spirit of God begins to show us what sanctification means, the struggle begins. "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" (Luke 14:26).
The Spirit of God in the process of sanctification will strip me until I am nothing but "myself," that is the place of death. Am I willing to be "myself" and nothing more? Am I willing to be with no friends, no father, no brother, no self-interest - simply ready for death for Christ? That is the condition of sanctification. No wonder Jesus said: "I came not to send peace, but a sword." This is where the battle comes, and where so many of us faint. We refuse to be identified with the death of Jesus on this point. "But it is so harsh," we may protest; "He cannot wish me to do that." Our Lord is harsh; and He does wish us to do that for our sanctification.
Am I willing to reduce myself simply to "me," determinedly to strip myself of all that my friends think of me, of all I think of myself, and to hand that simple naked self over to God? Immediately, He will sanctify me wholly, and my life will be free from earnestness in connection with every thing but God.
When I pray - "Lord, show me what sanctification means for me," He will show me. It means being made one with Jesus. Sanctification is not something Jesus Christ puts into me: it is Himself who lives in me. Just as Paul said, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Once we invite Jesus into our house, He expects us to move out all the “precious” things that we have collected or stored from within, and give room for Him to be the new Master. When a groom receives his new bride into his house, he must be willing to change his former lifestyle and allow his wife to have a say in “house cleaning.” If a groom does not treasure his bride more than all his collections in the house, he is not ready to get married.
Many people don’t mind to enjoy “courtship” with Christ or God once a week or 1 hour a day. But when it means costing their lifestyle or their treasures to live with Christ, they will definitely hesitate. They don’t want to have serious commitment to this relationship. They just like to have a little dosage of “spirituality” to make them feel good about themselves. Unfortunately you cannot buy 15 minutes of Christianity whenever you feel like it. Just as you cannot buy 15 minutes of “marriage;” there is only prostitution but not marriage you can buy in such manner. To follow Christ involves a lifetime 24/7 commitments. You ‘cannot’ be His disciples if you are not willing to strip away all your earthly relational attachments; this kind of sanctification process will surely take a lifetime to realize and grow. Let’s encourage one another toward this calling to be the true follower of Christ.
Love you because of Christ,
Lawrence
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Devotional 210709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I did not know why I was so sleepy this morning. I need to seek Him for more strength to face the challenge of today. Life is full of excitement. There are so much potential in us to be utilized for the blessing of others and our own fulfillment. The main thing is to focus; do one thing at a time. Prioritization is to identify the things that we need to accomplish in life in according to their importance. Make sure I don’t exhaust myself in doing just the urgent things but not the important things, or spinning the wheel on things without significant values.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first. If Jesus Christ is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to torture me by erecting a standard I cannot attain. What is the use of presenting me with an ideal I cannot possibly come near? I am happier without knowing it. What is the good of telling me to be what I never can be - to be pure in heart, to do more than my duty, to be perfectly devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal, which leads to despair. But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man - the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord's teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the paupers in spirit," that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ's kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility or inadequacy - I cannot begin to do it. Then Jesus says - Blessed are you! That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.
The problem with Christians today is similar to the Church of Laodicea. Jesus warned us of this church, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:15-18). Jesus was referring to the hot spring of Laodicea. A hot spring is full of minerals that are good for healing purpose when it is hot. And when a hot spring completely cool down, with all the minerals settle down on the riverbed, the water becomes drinkable. A lukewarm hot spring is definitely useless; it cannot be used for healing or drinking. If a person drinks a lukewarm hot spring will vomit. That’s how our Lord Jesus describes a lukewarm church or Christian; it is useless in the Kingdom of God. And it will only make people vomit.
When God puts you in a inadequate situation, He wants you to realize how pitiful and poor you are, so that you would seek God for real satisfaction; to quench your thirst or feed your hunger. If you still feel that you are capable to run your life or independent from God, you will never be able to experience the joy of the Kingdom of God.
Love you by the power of His love,
Lawrence
Good morning. I did not know why I was so sleepy this morning. I need to seek Him for more strength to face the challenge of today. Life is full of excitement. There are so much potential in us to be utilized for the blessing of others and our own fulfillment. The main thing is to focus; do one thing at a time. Prioritization is to identify the things that we need to accomplish in life in according to their importance. Make sure I don’t exhaust myself in doing just the urgent things but not the important things, or spinning the wheel on things without significant values.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first. If Jesus Christ is a Teacher only, then all He can do is to torture me by erecting a standard I cannot attain. What is the use of presenting me with an ideal I cannot possibly come near? I am happier without knowing it. What is the good of telling me to be what I never can be - to be pure in heart, to do more than my duty, to be perfectly devoted to God? I must know Jesus Christ as Savior before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal, which leads to despair. But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. The Redemption means that Jesus Christ can put into any man the disposition that ruled His own life, and all the standards God gives are based on that disposition.
The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount produces despair in the natural man - the very thing Jesus means it to do. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord's teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him. "Blessed are the paupers in spirit," that is the first principle in the Kingdom of God. The bedrock in Jesus Christ's kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility or inadequacy - I cannot begin to do it. Then Jesus says - Blessed are you! That is the entrance, and it does take us a long while to believe we are poor! The knowledge of our own poverty brings us to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.
The problem with Christians today is similar to the Church of Laodicea. Jesus warned us of this church, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:15-18). Jesus was referring to the hot spring of Laodicea. A hot spring is full of minerals that are good for healing purpose when it is hot. And when a hot spring completely cool down, with all the minerals settle down on the riverbed, the water becomes drinkable. A lukewarm hot spring is definitely useless; it cannot be used for healing or drinking. If a person drinks a lukewarm hot spring will vomit. That’s how our Lord Jesus describes a lukewarm church or Christian; it is useless in the Kingdom of God. And it will only make people vomit.
When God puts you in a inadequate situation, He wants you to realize how pitiful and poor you are, so that you would seek God for real satisfaction; to quench your thirst or feed your hunger. If you still feel that you are capable to run your life or independent from God, you will never be able to experience the joy of the Kingdom of God.
Love you by the power of His love,
Lawrence
Monday, July 20, 2009
Devotional 200709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is totally His grace that we are active in His plan. The office is excited to anticipate the home coming of our missionary from Dubai who will join us for lunch. God will continue to raise up His church to reach all nations for Christ. And He desires His children to invest their lives toward the same goal both locally and globally. When we draw close to the Lord, we can almost know for sure that we will sense His passions for all nations. And because of this experience, Paul said, “I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish” (Romans 1:14).
"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" (Isaiah 40:31). There is no thrill in walking; it is the test of all the stable qualities. To "walk and not be faint" is the highest reach possible for strength. The word "walk" is used in the Bible to express the character - "John looking on Jesus as He walked, said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’" There is never any thing abstract in the Bible, it is always vivid and real. God does not say - Be spiritual, but - "Walk before Me."
When we are in an unhealthy state physically or emotionally, we always want thrills. In the physical domain this will lead to counterfeiting the Holy Spirit; in the emotional life it leads to inordinate affection and the destruction of morality; and in the spiritual domain if we insist on getting thrills, on mounting up with wings, it will end in the destruction of spirituality.
The reality of God's presence is not dependent on any place, but only dependent upon the determination to set the Lord always before us. Our problems come when we refuse to bank on the reality of His presence. The experience the Psalmist speaks of - "Therefore will we not fear, though . . ." will be ours when once we are based on Reality, not the consciousness of God's presence but the reality of it - Why, He has been here all the time!
At critical moments it is necessary to ask guidance, but it ought to be unnecessary to be saying always - "O Lord, direct me here, and there." Of course He will! If our common-sense decisions are not His order, He will press through them and check; then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
We seek the Lord only when we need His help for some issues beyond our control. We consulted ‘spiritual’ men and women, attempting to find God through them. But we did not ‘walk’ in accordance to what He expected. The psalmist said, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners…” (Psalm 1:1a). If we do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, we should then walk in accordance to the Word of God. That’s why the psalmist continued to say, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:2). If you delight or desire the Word of God, you don’t need to ask God or consult any ‘spiritual’ men and women from time to time, whether you are walking toward the right direction or not. The word of God becomes part of your value or operating system. When you have doubt whether you are doing the right thing, it could be the prompting of the Holy Spirit. You should stop and meditate on God’s word again. When you desire to do the right thing or ‘walk right’ before God, our Holy Spirit will surely guide you on the right path of Truth.
Have mercy on us O Lord. Help us to delight in your Word and meditate day and night!
Love you by His help,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is totally His grace that we are active in His plan. The office is excited to anticipate the home coming of our missionary from Dubai who will join us for lunch. God will continue to raise up His church to reach all nations for Christ. And He desires His children to invest their lives toward the same goal both locally and globally. When we draw close to the Lord, we can almost know for sure that we will sense His passions for all nations. And because of this experience, Paul said, “I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish” (Romans 1:14).
"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" (Isaiah 40:31). There is no thrill in walking; it is the test of all the stable qualities. To "walk and not be faint" is the highest reach possible for strength. The word "walk" is used in the Bible to express the character - "John looking on Jesus as He walked, said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’" There is never any thing abstract in the Bible, it is always vivid and real. God does not say - Be spiritual, but - "Walk before Me."
When we are in an unhealthy state physically or emotionally, we always want thrills. In the physical domain this will lead to counterfeiting the Holy Spirit; in the emotional life it leads to inordinate affection and the destruction of morality; and in the spiritual domain if we insist on getting thrills, on mounting up with wings, it will end in the destruction of spirituality.
The reality of God's presence is not dependent on any place, but only dependent upon the determination to set the Lord always before us. Our problems come when we refuse to bank on the reality of His presence. The experience the Psalmist speaks of - "Therefore will we not fear, though . . ." will be ours when once we are based on Reality, not the consciousness of God's presence but the reality of it - Why, He has been here all the time!
At critical moments it is necessary to ask guidance, but it ought to be unnecessary to be saying always - "O Lord, direct me here, and there." Of course He will! If our common-sense decisions are not His order, He will press through them and check; then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.
We seek the Lord only when we need His help for some issues beyond our control. We consulted ‘spiritual’ men and women, attempting to find God through them. But we did not ‘walk’ in accordance to what He expected. The psalmist said, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners…” (Psalm 1:1a). If we do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, we should then walk in accordance to the Word of God. That’s why the psalmist continued to say, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:2). If you delight or desire the Word of God, you don’t need to ask God or consult any ‘spiritual’ men and women from time to time, whether you are walking toward the right direction or not. The word of God becomes part of your value or operating system. When you have doubt whether you are doing the right thing, it could be the prompting of the Holy Spirit. You should stop and meditate on God’s word again. When you desire to do the right thing or ‘walk right’ before God, our Holy Spirit will surely guide you on the right path of Truth.
Have mercy on us O Lord. Help us to delight in your Word and meditate day and night!
Love you by His help,
Lawrence
Friday, July 17, 2009
Devotional 170709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for giving us the resources to make life more comfortable and beautiful. We have the luxury in life that many people in this world do not have. We live in a world of choices. We can choose the kind of food or diet plan we prefer. We have luxury to choose the kind of car, house, clothes, shoes, hairstyle and furniture that we like. But in reality, many people do not share the same privilege in this world. Yes, the word “privilege” dawn on me while I was driving to work. Driving is a privilege that comes with responsibility; we must obey traffic laws. If we don’t our privilege of driving will be removed from us. In the same token, life is a privilege that comes with a responsibility we receive from God; we are to obey the principles that He spells out in the Bible. Otherwise, this privilege of life we enjoy so far will eventually be removed from us.
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the first rank; he is not speaking out of hopeless humility; but saying that he would veil the power of God if, when he preached the gospel, he impressed people with his "excellency of speech." Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of Redemption, not by impressiveness of speech, not by wooing and winning, but by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of the Redemption comes through the preaching of the Gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher. The real fasting of the preacher is not from food, but rather from eloquence, from impressiveness and exquisite articulation, from everything that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God - "as though God did beseech you by us." He is there to present the Gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the Gospel will end in making me a traitor to Jesus; I prevent the creative power of His Redemption from doing its work.
Our Lord Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:31-32). Our calling as followers of Christ is to lift up the name of our Lord Jesus, so that all men will be drawn to Him but not to us. We have a tendency as human being to draw people’s attention to ourselves to entertain our pride or self-centeredness. We feel good when people want to listen to our teaching or preaching. But when people focus their attention on us, they would have missed the real source of transformation and redemption in Christ. The line is so thin that we preacher can easily stumble by our own ego without we even aware of it. Have mercy on us O Lord! Constantly remind us of our sinful nature lest we would stumble others in our service to you. We have nothing to boast because ability and power, if we have any, are gifts from above. They are given to us for the purpose to lift up the name of Christ and His cross.
May God strengthen your walk with Him today! May your life continue to shine for Him, and the good deeds of your life will bring glory to our Heavenly Father!
Love you by His goodness,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for giving us the resources to make life more comfortable and beautiful. We have the luxury in life that many people in this world do not have. We live in a world of choices. We can choose the kind of food or diet plan we prefer. We have luxury to choose the kind of car, house, clothes, shoes, hairstyle and furniture that we like. But in reality, many people do not share the same privilege in this world. Yes, the word “privilege” dawn on me while I was driving to work. Driving is a privilege that comes with responsibility; we must obey traffic laws. If we don’t our privilege of driving will be removed from us. In the same token, life is a privilege that comes with a responsibility we receive from God; we are to obey the principles that He spells out in the Bible. Otherwise, this privilege of life we enjoy so far will eventually be removed from us.
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
Paul was a scholar and an orator of the first rank; he is not speaking out of hopeless humility; but saying that he would veil the power of God if, when he preached the gospel, he impressed people with his "excellency of speech." Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of Redemption, not by impressiveness of speech, not by wooing and winning, but by the sheer unaided power of God. The creative power of the Redemption comes through the preaching of the Gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher. The real fasting of the preacher is not from food, but rather from eloquence, from impressiveness and exquisite articulation, from everything that might hinder the gospel of God being presented. The preacher is there as the representative of God - "as though God did beseech you by us." He is there to present the Gospel of God. If it is only because of my preaching that people desire to be better, they will never get anywhere near Jesus Christ. Anything that flatters me in my preaching of the Gospel will end in making me a traitor to Jesus; I prevent the creative power of His Redemption from doing its work.
Our Lord Jesus said, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:31-32). Our calling as followers of Christ is to lift up the name of our Lord Jesus, so that all men will be drawn to Him but not to us. We have a tendency as human being to draw people’s attention to ourselves to entertain our pride or self-centeredness. We feel good when people want to listen to our teaching or preaching. But when people focus their attention on us, they would have missed the real source of transformation and redemption in Christ. The line is so thin that we preacher can easily stumble by our own ego without we even aware of it. Have mercy on us O Lord! Constantly remind us of our sinful nature lest we would stumble others in our service to you. We have nothing to boast because ability and power, if we have any, are gifts from above. They are given to us for the purpose to lift up the name of Christ and His cross.
May God strengthen your walk with Him today! May your life continue to shine for Him, and the good deeds of your life will bring glory to our Heavenly Father!
Love you by His goodness,
Lawrence
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Devotional 150709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I like the warm sunny weather in Burlingame (Daly City is still foggy right now). Praise God for giving me an enjoyable trip to visit my daughter and son-in-law last weekend. If you visited my blog, you will see some pictures I posted there. Thank you for your prayer for our journey. We were stopped by a brush fire on Los Angel’s mountain on our way back. We were glad the highway was still opened at that time, even though the traffic was sluggish. It took us more than 45 minutes to pass through the smoky site. Yesterday, I was fully engaged with meetings and preaching at Chinatown campus of Cumberland Presbyterian Chinese Church until 3 pm. Thus, I did not have time to send you my devotional.
"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (Romans 1:14-15). Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent himself to express it. The great inspiration in Paul's life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that sense of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul? The spiritual honor of my life as a saint is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to them. Every bit of my life that is of value I owe to the Redemption of Jesus Christ; am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His Redemption into actual manifestation in other lives? I can only do it as the Spirit of God works in me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not to be a superior person among men, but a bond-slave of the Lord Jesus. "Ye are not your own." Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ. He says - I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the Gospel of Jesus; I am free to be an absolute slave only. That is the characteristic of the life when once this point of spiritual honor is realized. Quit praying about yourself and be spent for others as the bond-slave of Jesus. That is the meaning of being made broken bread and poured out wine in reality.
This obligation to share the gospel is not out of fear of judgment but a loving respond to our Savior. As we draw close to the Lord and appreciate the blessing to be His own, we do whatever that will please Him the most. You are liar if you said you love a person but do not do what you can in pleasing him or her. This obligation to share the gospel is a willful decision derived from a thankful heart. You are chosen to be His own not for no reason. You are chosen so that those who are within your daily contact will be blessed.
During our staff prayer meeting this morning, we read about Paul’s conversion experience in Acts 22. What caught my eyes was how Paul described the life of Ananias, “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there” (Acts 22:12). Ananias was a devout Christian whose life was highly respected by all people in his daily contact or circle of influence. The Bible did not say much about this brother, except one thing that changed church history; he obeyed the guidance of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of an “anti-Christ” Paul, who later changed the entire course of church history. Before the calling to do the historical task for Christ, Ananias committed to lead a devout life that earned the respect of all people around him. He lived out what he believed or the teaching of the Word. Ananias was a genuine seeker of Truth and a practitioner of Christian values. O Holy Spirit, help me to do the same for your honor.
Love you in His name,
Lawrence
Good morning. I like the warm sunny weather in Burlingame (Daly City is still foggy right now). Praise God for giving me an enjoyable trip to visit my daughter and son-in-law last weekend. If you visited my blog, you will see some pictures I posted there. Thank you for your prayer for our journey. We were stopped by a brush fire on Los Angel’s mountain on our way back. We were glad the highway was still opened at that time, even though the traffic was sluggish. It took us more than 45 minutes to pass through the smoky site. Yesterday, I was fully engaged with meetings and preaching at Chinatown campus of Cumberland Presbyterian Chinese Church until 3 pm. Thus, I did not have time to send you my devotional.
"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome" (Romans 1:14-15). Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent himself to express it. The great inspiration in Paul's life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that sense of indebtedness to Christ in regard to every unsaved soul? The spiritual honor of my life as a saint is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to them. Every bit of my life that is of value I owe to the Redemption of Jesus Christ; am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His Redemption into actual manifestation in other lives? I can only do it as the Spirit of God works in me this sense of indebtedness.
I am not to be a superior person among men, but a bond-slave of the Lord Jesus. "Ye are not your own." Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ. He says - I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the Gospel of Jesus; I am free to be an absolute slave only. That is the characteristic of the life when once this point of spiritual honor is realized. Quit praying about yourself and be spent for others as the bond-slave of Jesus. That is the meaning of being made broken bread and poured out wine in reality.
This obligation to share the gospel is not out of fear of judgment but a loving respond to our Savior. As we draw close to the Lord and appreciate the blessing to be His own, we do whatever that will please Him the most. You are liar if you said you love a person but do not do what you can in pleasing him or her. This obligation to share the gospel is a willful decision derived from a thankful heart. You are chosen to be His own not for no reason. You are chosen so that those who are within your daily contact will be blessed.
During our staff prayer meeting this morning, we read about Paul’s conversion experience in Acts 22. What caught my eyes was how Paul described the life of Ananias, “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there” (Acts 22:12). Ananias was a devout Christian whose life was highly respected by all people in his daily contact or circle of influence. The Bible did not say much about this brother, except one thing that changed church history; he obeyed the guidance of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of an “anti-Christ” Paul, who later changed the entire course of church history. Before the calling to do the historical task for Christ, Ananias committed to lead a devout life that earned the respect of all people around him. He lived out what he believed or the teaching of the Word. Ananias was a genuine seeker of Truth and a practitioner of Christian values. O Holy Spirit, help me to do the same for your honor.
Love you in His name,
Lawrence
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Devotional 080709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. There is no better title than to be the follower of Christ and the Child of God. It makes the whole world difference when we meditate on our relationship with the Triune God. We don’t need to do anything to prove that we are worthy to be His child. We just need to draw close to Him, and we will hear him whisper to our ears, “You are always my beloved child!”
“Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49) Our Lord's childhood was not immature man-hood; our Lord's childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look upon life as being in my Father's house? Is the Son of God living in His Father's house in me?
The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in Holy Communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. "I must be about My Father's business" - live the moments in My Father's house.
Narrow it down to your individual circumstances - are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them; it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father's providence in your particular sainthood. Let Him have His way, keep in perfect union with Him.
The sensational life of your Lord is to become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in you. Jesus came to demonstrate the kind of life God desires for men to live. It is a life that engages in daily chores or business, but enjoys communion with the Creator God. Paul reminded the early Christians, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Eph 6:5-7, 9). Paul did not challenge the unfair social system of his time. Instead he focused on how individual Christian should do his daily chores or business, in the light of his or her new relationship with Christ.
God will not change our job or role in society, even when we draw close to Him each day. He promises to deliver us from the bondage of our sins, our self-centeredness or narcissistic mindset, our inferiority complex, our hatred, our worry and our fear. God has promised to give us a new heart, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). One of the key characteristics of this new heart is the desire to obey the Words of God and to enjoy His presence.
Love you with this new heart from Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. There is no better title than to be the follower of Christ and the Child of God. It makes the whole world difference when we meditate on our relationship with the Triune God. We don’t need to do anything to prove that we are worthy to be His child. We just need to draw close to Him, and we will hear him whisper to our ears, “You are always my beloved child!”
“Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49) Our Lord's childhood was not immature man-hood; our Lord's childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look upon life as being in my Father's house? Is the Son of God living in His Father's house in me?
The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in Holy Communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. "I must be about My Father's business" - live the moments in My Father's house.
Narrow it down to your individual circumstances - are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them; it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father's providence in your particular sainthood. Let Him have His way, keep in perfect union with Him.
The sensational life of your Lord is to become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in you. Jesus came to demonstrate the kind of life God desires for men to live. It is a life that engages in daily chores or business, but enjoys communion with the Creator God. Paul reminded the early Christians, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Eph 6:5-7, 9). Paul did not challenge the unfair social system of his time. Instead he focused on how individual Christian should do his daily chores or business, in the light of his or her new relationship with Christ.
God will not change our job or role in society, even when we draw close to Him each day. He promises to deliver us from the bondage of our sins, our self-centeredness or narcissistic mindset, our inferiority complex, our hatred, our worry and our fear. God has promised to give us a new heart, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). One of the key characteristics of this new heart is the desire to obey the Words of God and to enjoy His presence.
Love you with this new heart from Christ,
Lawrence
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
