Dear brothers and sisters,
Good afternoon. I didn’t expect our staff meeting took up the whole morning. And it is time for a farewell party for one of our coworkers, who left for health reason. Please pray that God will provide us her replacement: a graphic designer/IT support.
"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15). We never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we abandon in every particular. Self-surrender is the most difficult thing - I will if…! Oh well, I suppose I must devote my life to God. There is none of the joy of self-sacrifice in that.
As soon as we do abandon, the Holy Spirit gives us an intimation of the joy of Jesus. The final aim of self-sacrifice is laying down our lives for our Friend. When the Holy Ghost comes in, the great desire is to lay down the life for Jesus, and the thought of sacrifice never touches us because sacrifice is the love passion of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord is our example in the life of self-sacrifice - "I delight to do Thy will, O my God." He went on with His sacrifice with exuberant joy. Have I ever yielded in absolute submission to Jesus Christ? If Jesus Christ is not our target, there is no benefit in the sacrifice; but when the sacrifice is made with the eyes on Him, slowly and surely the molding influence begins to surface.
Beware of letting natural kinship hinder your walk in love. One of the cruelest ways of killing natural love is to disregard natural kinship. The kinship of the saint is the Lord Jesus. Love for God is not sentimental, for the saint to love as God loves is the most practical thing.
"I have called you friends." It is a friendship based on the new life created in us which has no kinship with our old life, but only with the life of God. It is unspeakably humble, unblemished pure, and absolutely devoted to God.
We don’t even know how to become genuine friend with people let alone to be with God. Our idea of friendship becomes self serving. We want a friend to be our companion when we are lonely. We want a friend to be our helper when we have a project in mind. Our idea of friendship is becoming so self-centered. We may not care how other may feel or need. We only concern about how we feel and need. When we say we have no friend, we usually are complaining no body care about ME, or none pay attention to ME. Therefore, we choose friends that are influential, helpful, capable, smart, good looking and so on. We are like shopping for friends that we like for our own pleasure. But this is not the same way Jesus chose us as His friends. None of us will meet His standard if He were to choose us as His friend. He chooses us as His friend not because we are good and capable. It is purely His mercy and grace. I guess this is what we need to learn from our Lord in terms of building friendship in Christ.
Love you as a friend in Christ.
Lawrence
Showing posts with label meditating in my office after staff meeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meditating in my office after staff meeting. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Devotional 010709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. While I was driving to office, God prompted me to pray for some missionary candidates who are waiting for God’s provision either for financial support or for visa to enter the mission fields. We may be eager to send them to the needy fields. But our Lord of Harvest seemed to have another plan. Our Lord probably wants them to learn the lesson of waiting, which is not a pleasant experience for most people. Through waiting God nurtures our faith in Him. Apostle James said, “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). I guess God cares for our maturity in Him more than our completion of His work. Praise the Lord!
"I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (Matthew 5:26). There is no heaven with a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure and holy and right; He will not allow you to escape for one moment from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. He urged you to come to judgment right away when He convicted you, but you did not; the inevitable process began to work and now you are in prison, and you will only get out when you have paid the uttermost penalty. "Is this a God of mercy, and of love?" you say. Seen from God's side, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure and spotless and undefiled; but He wants you to recognize your true nature - the nature of seeking your right to yourself. The moment you are willing that God should alter your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. The moment you realize God's purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will utilize the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide it now - "Yes, Lord, I will write that email to-night"; "I will be reconciled to that person now."
These messages of Jesus Christ are for the will and the conscience, not for the head. If you dispute the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will neglect the appeal to your heart.
"I wonder why I don't go on with God?" Are you paying your debts from God's standpoint? Do now what you will have to do some day. Every moral call has an "ought" behind it.
In another word, it is not an option or suggestion to live according to God’s standard. If you don’t, your life will be in jeopardy – you will be paying for your judgment. Your judgment may not be eternal condemnation. You will certainly pay for the consequence of your rebellion. Don’t hesitate to follow God’s purpose for your life and experience His saving grace on a daily basis. Just as Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, “My dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence (at church or fellowship), but now much more in my absence (at workplace or home)--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (2:12-13). As we “determine” to do His will and walk His way, the Holy Spirit will empower us to do accordingly. If we fail, we go back to God and confess our inadequacy to Him. Then, stand up and count on His grace to start all over again. This is how toddlers learn to walk; this is how Christians learn to live.
Love you with His joy,
Lawrence
Good morning. While I was driving to office, God prompted me to pray for some missionary candidates who are waiting for God’s provision either for financial support or for visa to enter the mission fields. We may be eager to send them to the needy fields. But our Lord of Harvest seemed to have another plan. Our Lord probably wants them to learn the lesson of waiting, which is not a pleasant experience for most people. Through waiting God nurtures our faith in Him. Apostle James said, “You know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4). I guess God cares for our maturity in Him more than our completion of His work. Praise the Lord!
"I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (Matthew 5:26). There is no heaven with a little corner of hell in it. God is determined to make you pure and holy and right; He will not allow you to escape for one moment from the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit. He urged you to come to judgment right away when He convicted you, but you did not; the inevitable process began to work and now you are in prison, and you will only get out when you have paid the uttermost penalty. "Is this a God of mercy, and of love?" you say. Seen from God's side, it is a glorious ministry of love. God is going to bring you out pure and spotless and undefiled; but He wants you to recognize your true nature - the nature of seeking your right to yourself. The moment you are willing that God should alter your nature, His recreating forces will begin to work. The moment you realize God's purpose, which is to get you rightly related to Himself and then to your fellow men, He will utilize the last limit of the universe to help you take the right road. Decide it now - "Yes, Lord, I will write that email to-night"; "I will be reconciled to that person now."
These messages of Jesus Christ are for the will and the conscience, not for the head. If you dispute the Sermon on the Mount with your head, you will neglect the appeal to your heart.
"I wonder why I don't go on with God?" Are you paying your debts from God's standpoint? Do now what you will have to do some day. Every moral call has an "ought" behind it.
In another word, it is not an option or suggestion to live according to God’s standard. If you don’t, your life will be in jeopardy – you will be paying for your judgment. Your judgment may not be eternal condemnation. You will certainly pay for the consequence of your rebellion. Don’t hesitate to follow God’s purpose for your life and experience His saving grace on a daily basis. Just as Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, “My dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence (at church or fellowship), but now much more in my absence (at workplace or home)--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (2:12-13). As we “determine” to do His will and walk His way, the Holy Spirit will empower us to do accordingly. If we fail, we go back to God and confess our inadequacy to Him. Then, stand up and count on His grace to start all over again. This is how toddlers learn to walk; this is how Christians learn to live.
Love you with His joy,
Lawrence
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Devotional 300609
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. I am back to office today even though my stubborn cough still follows me.
My few days of Sabbath were very helpful and fruitful. I managed to read some book and do some study for a course I took at Western Seminary. It is a very interesting course called Communicating Christ in Culture. It talks about how different cultural factors may affect the way we communicate Christ to different people in the world. The materials are very inspiring, but the course involves a lot of homework. I need to put on my student cap again.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison" (Matthew 5:25). Jesus Christ is laying down this principle - Do what you know you must do, now, and do it quickly; if you do not, the inevitable process will begin to work and you will have to pay for the consequence in pain and agony and distress. God's laws are unalterable; there is no escape from them. The teaching of Jesus goes straight to the way we are made up.
To see that my adversary gives me my rights is natural; but Jesus says that it is a matter of eternal and imperative importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord's standpoint it does not matter whether I am deceived or not; what does matter is that I do not deceive. Am I insisting on my rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ's standpoint?
Do the thing quickly, and bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must do it at once; if you do not, the inevitable process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure and clean and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will prevent none of the working of His spirit. Our insistence in proving that we are right is nearly always an indication that there has been some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit so strongly urges us to walk steadfastly in the light!
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary." Have you suddenly turned a corner in any relationship and found that you had anger in your heart? Confess it quickly, quickly put it right before God, be reconciled to that one - do it now.
Nothing is more damaging than unforgiving spirit or bitterness. It does not only condemn oneself to the hell of burning anger and corrupting health, it also hurts one’s family members and drives people away. That’s why Paul urged us, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4:26-27). In most inter-personal relationship, anger was stirred by unfair incidence in life; you are absolutely innocent but people did evil to you or speak evil of you for no reason. But is it really true? Are we truly blameless and innocent? Have you ever pause and meditate on Paul’s words in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”? Does the word “all” include you or not? Before you consume all your energy to prove how other wrong you, confess your wrong before the Lord and let Him enable you to see your own disobedience on His Words.
The key strategy to deal with negative emotion is “don’t let it procrastinate or take root.” We tend to harbor it or subdue it. We thought negative emotion would not bother us if we busy ourselves we something else. But it will come back to haunt on you again from time to time, especially at your most unexpected moment of life. So deal with it quick. Settle the grief in the grace of our Lord Jesus. Jesus has paid your adversary the high price for you on the cross, you just need to confess your sins and claim His promise of forgiveness by faith. Moreover, you also exercise forgiveness as a response to His grace.
Love you because of this Grace,
Lawrence
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Devotional 230609
Dear brothers and sisters,Good morning. Thank God for another wonderful day. Such balmy weather makes you feel like working out door. I need to stop thinking about it. Otherwise. I will not be able to concentrate in my meditation and work. I just praise God for giving me the sensitivity to appreciate His creation, which is a gift from our loving Heavenly Father.
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3). We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life, which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something, which we have not taken into consideration, and that is the problem of sin, which upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed rebellion against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no other possible outcome than that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook, we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and as the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life.
We have problem to admit sin or recognize ourselves as sinners. Many pre-Christian friends are stumbled by our emphasis on facing he reality of sin, and refused to embrace this relationship with God through Christ. To them, sins refer to those behaviors that violate the law of society, or those actions that hurt others like killing and stealing. They may not realize the fact that sinful behavior begins from within. Apostle James said, “After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:15). Deep down inside us we have this rebellious instinct against God. Out of this instinct of rebellion, we tend to challenge any “absolute authority” over us. We fail to do what God intended for us to do. We fail to live up to God’s expectation for us to live. And these are all part of our sin. Some of you may immediately respond with this question, “why do I want to live up to God’s expectation? Why is He so authoritative and make us surrender to Him?” This is human nature to react with such attitude or question – and we call this nature: freedom.
It is this nature of men that put men into a lot of trouble and despairs. If we abuse this nature of freedom that God endow in us, we run into all kinds of problem for ourselves and conflict with other people. This is exactly what Paul said in the book of Romans, “Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another” (Romans 1:21-24). God still honors His endowment for us even though we abuse it. He just wants us to exercise this freedom to enjoy and fulfill His wonderful plan on earth for us. But the bottom line is whether we are willing to kill our sinful desires with this freedom on a daily basis. This is something I also need your prayers. After all, I need someone to hold me accountable too!
Love you as a recovering sinner in Christ,
Lawrence
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
devotional 190509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It was so cold and foggy in Daly City but warm and sunny in Burlingame. Though I took a day off yesterday, I was fully occupied in running errands. I needed to help my foster child to move back home from Berkeley. Time really flies. My foster child has finished first year of college, and his brother will start college this fall. Praise God for giving us the opportunity to serve these two kids. Pray that the Lord will use them to bless many people to come. It was the love of God that inspired us to take care of them. And I believe God will use them to extend His love to even more people in days to come.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35) God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says - "I will be with him in trouble." It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately relevant to our daily living; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our creativity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.
"Shall tribulation separate us from the love of God?" Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may - exhausting, annoying, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.
"Shall anguish separate us from the love of God?" - can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?
"Shall famine separate us from the love of God?" - can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it - the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.
Father God, I need this kind of will power and courage in the face of difficulty in life. This kind of will power is not something we born with nor shaped by life experiences. This spiritual resilience must be a gift from above; something that comes with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Sweet Holy Spirit, your presence is the sign of your love for me, because our Lord Jesus has promised that He will never forsake us no matter how the world may turn against us… We stand by and claim your promise because you are our faithful God.
Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus when life is stormy and unpredictable, not like a coward or as a form of escape, but for more courage in conquering Satan’s harassment and oppression. Amen?
Love you because of His relentless love for us,
Lawrence
Good morning. It was so cold and foggy in Daly City but warm and sunny in Burlingame. Though I took a day off yesterday, I was fully occupied in running errands. I needed to help my foster child to move back home from Berkeley. Time really flies. My foster child has finished first year of college, and his brother will start college this fall. Praise God for giving us the opportunity to serve these two kids. Pray that the Lord will use them to bless many people to come. It was the love of God that inspired us to take care of them. And I believe God will use them to extend His love to even more people in days to come.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35) God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says - "I will be with him in trouble." It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately relevant to our daily living; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our creativity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.
"Shall tribulation separate us from the love of God?" Tribulation is never a noble thing; but let tribulation be what it may - exhausting, annoying, fatiguing, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.
"Shall anguish separate us from the love of God?" - can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?
"Shall famine separate us from the love of God?" - can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are all against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it - the love of God in Christ Jesus. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.
Father God, I need this kind of will power and courage in the face of difficulty in life. This kind of will power is not something we born with nor shaped by life experiences. This spiritual resilience must be a gift from above; something that comes with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Sweet Holy Spirit, your presence is the sign of your love for me, because our Lord Jesus has promised that He will never forsake us no matter how the world may turn against us… We stand by and claim your promise because you are our faithful God.
Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus when life is stormy and unpredictable, not like a coward or as a form of escape, but for more courage in conquering Satan’s harassment and oppression. Amen?
Love you because of His relentless love for us,
Lawrence
Friday, May 15, 2009
Devotional 150509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good afternoon. My boss is back from Asia. That’s why I was fully occupied in the morning. I am glad we have a harmonious team in mobilizing churches for the global missions of God. There are so many unreached people in the world, but workers are so few and Christians are reluctant to step out by faith for the Great Commission. Pray that God will bring a great revival to churches across America, especially among Chinese Christians. God has given so much to us, yet we are holding back so much from Him.
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18). Remember what you are saved for - that the Son of God might be manifested in your mortal flesh. Bend the whole energy of your powers to realize your election as a child of God; rise to the occasion every time.
You cannot do anything for your salvation, but you must do something to manifest it, you must work out what God has worked in. Are you working it out with your tongue, and your brain and your nerves? If you are still the same miserable crosspatch, set on your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Engineer, He allows the difficulties to come in order to see if you can leap over them properly - "By my God have I leaped over a wall." God will never shield you from any of the requirements of a son or daughter of His. Peter says - "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Rise to the occasion; do the thing. It does not matter how it hurts as long as it gives God the chance to manifest Him self in your mortal flesh.
May God not find the complains in us any more, but may He find us full of spiritual courage and athleticism, ready to face anything He brings. We have to exercise ourselves in order that the Son of God may be manifested in our mortal flesh. God never has museums. The only aim of the life is that the Son of God may be manifested, and all dictation to God vanishes. Our Lord never dictated to His Father, and we are not here to dictate to God; we are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. When we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured out wine to feed and nourish others.
Unless we are broken or totally surrender to God, we will find many excuses or alternatives to detour from the Will of God for our lives. We are too complicated, which is the cause of our frustrations and complains. Simplicity produces in us a beauty of innocence…it brings us joy and fulfillment. No wonder our Lord said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3). Little children can find joy in simple little thing, as long as they have parents around. It is usually the adults who make an innocent child to become materialistic and complicated. Have mercy on us O Lord…help us to be more pure and simple, because our Lord has promised: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8).
Love you with a pure heart,
Lawrence
Good afternoon. My boss is back from Asia. That’s why I was fully occupied in the morning. I am glad we have a harmonious team in mobilizing churches for the global missions of God. There are so many unreached people in the world, but workers are so few and Christians are reluctant to step out by faith for the Great Commission. Pray that God will bring a great revival to churches across America, especially among Chinese Christians. God has given so much to us, yet we are holding back so much from Him.
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18). Remember what you are saved for - that the Son of God might be manifested in your mortal flesh. Bend the whole energy of your powers to realize your election as a child of God; rise to the occasion every time.
You cannot do anything for your salvation, but you must do something to manifest it, you must work out what God has worked in. Are you working it out with your tongue, and your brain and your nerves? If you are still the same miserable crosspatch, set on your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.
God is the Master Engineer, He allows the difficulties to come in order to see if you can leap over them properly - "By my God have I leaped over a wall." God will never shield you from any of the requirements of a son or daughter of His. Peter says - "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Rise to the occasion; do the thing. It does not matter how it hurts as long as it gives God the chance to manifest Him self in your mortal flesh.
May God not find the complains in us any more, but may He find us full of spiritual courage and athleticism, ready to face anything He brings. We have to exercise ourselves in order that the Son of God may be manifested in our mortal flesh. God never has museums. The only aim of the life is that the Son of God may be manifested, and all dictation to God vanishes. Our Lord never dictated to His Father, and we are not here to dictate to God; we are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. When we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured out wine to feed and nourish others.
Unless we are broken or totally surrender to God, we will find many excuses or alternatives to detour from the Will of God for our lives. We are too complicated, which is the cause of our frustrations and complains. Simplicity produces in us a beauty of innocence…it brings us joy and fulfillment. No wonder our Lord said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3). Little children can find joy in simple little thing, as long as they have parents around. It is usually the adults who make an innocent child to become materialistic and complicated. Have mercy on us O Lord…help us to be more pure and simple, because our Lord has promised: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matt 5:8).
Love you with a pure heart,
Lawrence
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Devotional 240309
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It was my turn to lead the staff prayer meeting this morning. Our devotional reading was on chapter 8th of Luke. I chose to focus on the one who was possessed by a legion of demons. His whole life was filled with fears. He was afraid to live or mingle with people. He preferred to live alone in the cemetery – a land for dead people. The demons were also fearful for another reason, they were not afraid of death (they were active among the dead) but the eternal judgment of Abyss. And these demons also knew who had authority over the Abyss – that is the Son of God. Therefore they preferred to enter into the pigs then to be punished in eternal hell of Abyss. When this man finally ‘in his right mind’ to realized the one who had authority over the Abyss was a God who loved him, he was no longer afraid…he even volunteer to travel with Jesus to serve other people. But Jesus assigned him to return home to restore his life and reconcile with his inner circle again. We live in a fearful land and a fearful time. We want to be delivered from all kinds of fear and worries. But only when we fully acknowledge that our ultimate fear should be of our loving God, we can’t have a fresh new beginning in life.
"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). If you become a necessity to a soul, you are out of God's order. As a gospel worker, your great responsibility is to be a friend of the Bridegroom. When once you see a soul being shaped by the work of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been in the right direction, and instead of putting out a hand to prevent the suffering or inner struggles, pray that they grow ten times stronger until there is no power on earth or in hell that can hold that soul away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to play God, we come in and prevent the work of God; and say - "This and that must not be done in such a way." Instead of proving ourselves to be loyal friends of the Bridegroom, we put our sympathy in the way, and the soul will one day say - "That one was a thief, he stole my affections from Jesus, and I lost my vision of Him in my life because of his or her interruption."
Beware of rejoicing with a soul in the wrong thing, but see that you do rejoice in the right thing. “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:29-30). This is spoken with joy and not with sadness - at last they are to see the Bridegroom! And John says this is his joy. It is the absolute attitude of the worker not to take away other’s attention from the Bridegroom, he should be fading away and never thought of again.
Watch for all you are worth until you hear the Bridegroom's voice in the life of another. Never mind what difficulties it brings, what upsets, and what crumbling of health you may experience, rejoice with divine laughter when once His voice is heard. You may often see Jesus Christ shatter a life before He saves and reform it again. Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:34-39). Sometimes God allows suffering to shape up a person’s life. Don’t try to rescue a person too fast if God’s hand is working in his or her life. Unfortunately, we don’t learn unless we hit rock bottom. I hope this country learn her lesson through this economic devastation; she needs to recognize the root problem is in her pride and greed. This nation and this world need to return to God and follow the guidance of His Word. Let’s start with His church and His children like you and me.
Love you in accordance to His word,
Lawrence
Good morning. It was my turn to lead the staff prayer meeting this morning. Our devotional reading was on chapter 8th of Luke. I chose to focus on the one who was possessed by a legion of demons. His whole life was filled with fears. He was afraid to live or mingle with people. He preferred to live alone in the cemetery – a land for dead people. The demons were also fearful for another reason, they were not afraid of death (they were active among the dead) but the eternal judgment of Abyss. And these demons also knew who had authority over the Abyss – that is the Son of God. Therefore they preferred to enter into the pigs then to be punished in eternal hell of Abyss. When this man finally ‘in his right mind’ to realized the one who had authority over the Abyss was a God who loved him, he was no longer afraid…he even volunteer to travel with Jesus to serve other people. But Jesus assigned him to return home to restore his life and reconcile with his inner circle again. We live in a fearful land and a fearful time. We want to be delivered from all kinds of fear and worries. But only when we fully acknowledge that our ultimate fear should be of our loving God, we can’t have a fresh new beginning in life.
"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). If you become a necessity to a soul, you are out of God's order. As a gospel worker, your great responsibility is to be a friend of the Bridegroom. When once you see a soul being shaped by the work of Jesus Christ, you know that your influence has been in the right direction, and instead of putting out a hand to prevent the suffering or inner struggles, pray that they grow ten times stronger until there is no power on earth or in hell that can hold that soul away from Jesus Christ. Over and over again, we try to play God, we come in and prevent the work of God; and say - "This and that must not be done in such a way." Instead of proving ourselves to be loyal friends of the Bridegroom, we put our sympathy in the way, and the soul will one day say - "That one was a thief, he stole my affections from Jesus, and I lost my vision of Him in my life because of his or her interruption."
Beware of rejoicing with a soul in the wrong thing, but see that you do rejoice in the right thing. “The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:29-30). This is spoken with joy and not with sadness - at last they are to see the Bridegroom! And John says this is his joy. It is the absolute attitude of the worker not to take away other’s attention from the Bridegroom, he should be fading away and never thought of again.
Watch for all you are worth until you hear the Bridegroom's voice in the life of another. Never mind what difficulties it brings, what upsets, and what crumbling of health you may experience, rejoice with divine laughter when once His voice is heard. You may often see Jesus Christ shatter a life before He saves and reform it again. Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:34-39). Sometimes God allows suffering to shape up a person’s life. Don’t try to rescue a person too fast if God’s hand is working in his or her life. Unfortunately, we don’t learn unless we hit rock bottom. I hope this country learn her lesson through this economic devastation; she needs to recognize the root problem is in her pride and greed. This nation and this world need to return to God and follow the guidance of His Word. Let’s start with His church and His children like you and me.
Love you in accordance to His word,
Lawrence
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Devotional 180309
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for a refreshing day. I felt like I am recovering from my cold. I felt hungry for breakfast and energetic to serve the Lord. Thanks for some of your prayer. I allowed my body to heal myself by drinking a lot of water, resting as much as I could, taking Vitamin C and eating healthily. In the same manner, we allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse or heal our inner being by seeking intimate relationship with Him each day. We may not see symptoms go away immediately. But if we keep on doing what is right, we will definitely see results or healing at the end.
"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Since we have these promises…" I claim the fulfillment of God's promises, and rightly, but that is only the human side; the Divine side is that through the promises I recognize God's claim on me. For instance, am I realizing that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, or have I a habit of body that plainly will not bear the light of God on it? By sanctification the Son of God is formed in me, then I have to transform my natural life into a spiritual life by obedience to Him. God educates us down to the scruple. When He begins to check, do not confer with flesh and blood, cleanse yourself at once. Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.
I have to cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit until both are in accord with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I insubordinate in intellect? Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who never spoke from His right to Himself, but maintained an inner watchfulness whereby He continually submitted His spirit to His Father? I have the responsibility of keeping my spirit in agreement with His Spirit, and by degrees Jesus lifts me up to where He lived - in perfect consecration to His Father's will, paying no attention to any other thing. Am I perfecting this type of holiness in the fear of God? Is God getting His freedom to do His work with me, and are other people beginning to see God in my life more and more?
Be serious with God and leave the rest casually alone. Put God first literally in your life. It was not by your wisdom and strength to perfect your holiness. If it was not the work of the Holy Spirit in you, you will not be able to resist temptations around you. Once you sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit to take captive of certain thinking or mindset, turn to Him in praise and pursue His joy and glory. You cannot attain holiness by discipline your mind NOT to think of negative and evil things alone. You need to replace your inner passion or desire by seeking the positive and godly thinking from Him. That’s why Paul educated the Philippians not just presenting their worries or negative thoughts to God. Moreover, He told them to think about, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” (Phil 4:8). If a person always dwells in these kinds of thinking, he or she will be a joyful, charming, friendly, graceful and positive person. It is not wearing a mask to please others, but a daily discipline to pursue the ‘abundant mindset’ from inside out.
Let’s encourage one another in fellowship and small group to dwell in the word of God in a positive and appreciative manner. Let’s rejoice and count God’s blessings in our lives while the world perpetuates the negative and scary mindset by the bad news of our economy. Let your life shines and be the salt of the world during this difficult time in your world.
Love you by the love of our Triune God,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for a refreshing day. I felt like I am recovering from my cold. I felt hungry for breakfast and energetic to serve the Lord. Thanks for some of your prayer. I allowed my body to heal myself by drinking a lot of water, resting as much as I could, taking Vitamin C and eating healthily. In the same manner, we allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse or heal our inner being by seeking intimate relationship with Him each day. We may not see symptoms go away immediately. But if we keep on doing what is right, we will definitely see results or healing at the end.
"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). "Since we have these promises…" I claim the fulfillment of God's promises, and rightly, but that is only the human side; the Divine side is that through the promises I recognize God's claim on me. For instance, am I realizing that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, or have I a habit of body that plainly will not bear the light of God on it? By sanctification the Son of God is formed in me, then I have to transform my natural life into a spiritual life by obedience to Him. God educates us down to the scruple. When He begins to check, do not confer with flesh and blood, cleanse yourself at once. Keep yourself cleansed in your daily walk.
I have to cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit until both are in accord with the nature of God. Is the mind of my spirit in perfect agreement with the life of the Son of God in me, or am I insubordinate in intellect? Am I forming the mind of Christ, Who never spoke from His right to Himself, but maintained an inner watchfulness whereby He continually submitted His spirit to His Father? I have the responsibility of keeping my spirit in agreement with His Spirit, and by degrees Jesus lifts me up to where He lived - in perfect consecration to His Father's will, paying no attention to any other thing. Am I perfecting this type of holiness in the fear of God? Is God getting His freedom to do His work with me, and are other people beginning to see God in my life more and more?
Be serious with God and leave the rest casually alone. Put God first literally in your life. It was not by your wisdom and strength to perfect your holiness. If it was not the work of the Holy Spirit in you, you will not be able to resist temptations around you. Once you sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit to take captive of certain thinking or mindset, turn to Him in praise and pursue His joy and glory. You cannot attain holiness by discipline your mind NOT to think of negative and evil things alone. You need to replace your inner passion or desire by seeking the positive and godly thinking from Him. That’s why Paul educated the Philippians not just presenting their worries or negative thoughts to God. Moreover, He told them to think about, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy” (Phil 4:8). If a person always dwells in these kinds of thinking, he or she will be a joyful, charming, friendly, graceful and positive person. It is not wearing a mask to please others, but a daily discipline to pursue the ‘abundant mindset’ from inside out.
Let’s encourage one another in fellowship and small group to dwell in the word of God in a positive and appreciative manner. Let’s rejoice and count God’s blessings in our lives while the world perpetuates the negative and scary mindset by the bad news of our economy. Let your life shines and be the salt of the world during this difficult time in your world.
Love you by the love of our Triune God,
Lawrence
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Devotional 130109
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. The weather is amazingly warm even though this may be the abnormal consequence of global warming problem. Some one asked me last night whether global warming is one of the sign of the end time. We are in the end time and we have enough signs to tell us that Jesus will come back at any time. Let’s not concern so much on the exact timing of His return. If Jesus did not want to disclose His timing, let’s not waste our time to predict as though we know better than our Lord Jesus. God wants us to be prepared at all time for His second coming. The way to do it is to draw close to the Lord. We will find more assurance of His presence when we enter into solitude time with Christ. Sometimes God will also use suffering to draw us closer to Him
When God gets us alone by affliction, heartbreak, or temptation, by disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted affection, by a broken friendship, or by a new friendship - when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are dumbfounded, and cannot ask one question, then He begins to explain His Truth to us. Watch Jesus Christ's training of the twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. They constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them; but they only understood after they had received the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
If you are going on with God, the only thing that is clear to you, and the only thing God intends to be clear, is the way He deals with your own soul. Your brother's sorrows and perplexities are an absolute confusion to you. We imagine we understand where the other person is, until God gives us a dose of the plague of our own hearts. There are whole tracts of stubbornness and ignorance to be revealed by the Holy Spirit in each one of us, and it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now, or are we taken up with little fussy notions, fussy comradeships in God's service, fussy ideas about our bodies? Jesus can explain nothing until we get through all the noisy questions of the head and are alone with Him.
If we don’t draw close to our Lord, we will naturally focus on our environment, which will only make us more fearful and confused. Let’s not give foothold to Satan by yielding to our worry, especially during this difficult down time of our economy. Instead, remember what the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7-10, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Love you in the Lord,
Lawrence
Good morning. The weather is amazingly warm even though this may be the abnormal consequence of global warming problem. Some one asked me last night whether global warming is one of the sign of the end time. We are in the end time and we have enough signs to tell us that Jesus will come back at any time. Let’s not concern so much on the exact timing of His return. If Jesus did not want to disclose His timing, let’s not waste our time to predict as though we know better than our Lord Jesus. God wants us to be prepared at all time for His second coming. The way to do it is to draw close to the Lord. We will find more assurance of His presence when we enter into solitude time with Christ. Sometimes God will also use suffering to draw us closer to Him
When God gets us alone by affliction, heartbreak, or temptation, by disappointment, sickness, or by thwarted affection, by a broken friendship, or by a new friendship - when He gets us absolutely alone, and we are dumbfounded, and cannot ask one question, then He begins to explain His Truth to us. Watch Jesus Christ's training of the twelve. It was the disciples, not the crowd outside, who were confused. They constantly asked Him questions, and He constantly explained things to them; but they only understood after they had received the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised, “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).
If you are going on with God, the only thing that is clear to you, and the only thing God intends to be clear, is the way He deals with your own soul. Your brother's sorrows and perplexities are an absolute confusion to you. We imagine we understand where the other person is, until God gives us a dose of the plague of our own hearts. There are whole tracts of stubbornness and ignorance to be revealed by the Holy Spirit in each one of us, and it can only be done when Jesus gets us alone. Are we alone with Him now, or are we taken up with little fussy notions, fussy comradeships in God's service, fussy ideas about our bodies? Jesus can explain nothing until we get through all the noisy questions of the head and are alone with Him.
If we don’t draw close to our Lord, we will naturally focus on our environment, which will only make us more fearful and confused. Let’s not give foothold to Satan by yielding to our worry, especially during this difficult down time of our economy. Instead, remember what the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7-10, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Love you in the Lord,
Lawrence
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