Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thanks for praying for my health. My soar throat has improved significantly though coughing still lingers on. I hope I will fully recover for this weekend. Please continue to pray for our Vision sharing event on this Sunday afternoon. Especially pray that many young career people will come to explore God’s plan for their lives.
"I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man" (Acts 24:16). God's commands are given to the life of His Son in us, consequently to the human nature in which His Son has been formed, His commands are difficult, but immediately we obey they become divinely easy.
Conscience is that faculty in me which attaches itself to the highest that I know, and tells me what the highest I know demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul, which looks out either towards God or towards what it regards as the highest, and therefore conscience records differently in different people. If I am in the habit of steadily facing myself with God, my conscience will always introduce God's perfect law and indicate what I should do. The point is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I walk without offence. I should be living in such perfect sympathy with God's Son, that in every circumstance the spirit of my mind is renewed, and I "make out" at once "what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
God always educates us down to the scruple. Is my ear so keen to hear the tiniest whisper of the Spirit that I know what I should do? "Grieve not the Holy Spirit." He does not come with a voice like thunder; His voice is so gentle that it is easy to ignore it. The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the continual habit of being open to God on the inside. When there is any debate, quit. "Why shouldn't I do this?" You are on the wrong track. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks. At your own risk, you allow one thing to obscure your inner communion with God. Drop it, whatever it is, and see that you keep your inner vision clear.
Our Lord Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). Our liberty in Christ begins with our willingness to obey His teaching. Our life long struggle is to be delivered from the bondage of sins. Our human nature is a sinful nature: self-centeredness, self-righteousness, lustful, greedy, rebellious and so forth. If we do not obey the teaching of Christ and deal with the sinful nature of ours sincerely, we will try to justify it with all kinds of excuses and ways. We can change our law book or dictionary to remove the definition of sins, but we can never be able to change the Word of God or the reality that we are still bond by sins. Deep down inside, we know we are not free or satisfied, until we surrender to the Word of God and obey.
Stop giving yourself excuse or justification not to obey. Do it now and be delivered from the bondage of sins in order to enjoy the abundant life that our Lord has prepared for you.
Love you because of His command,
Lawrence
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Devotional 120509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I took a sick leave to stay home because my throat hurt so badly last night that I could hardly talk. I had developed coughing because of weather changes during the trip, and was not fully recovered after I returned. I believe this is another symptom of a bad cold. I feel a little better this morning. Pray that I will be well enough for my weekend ministry. I need to preach on Sunday, and lead worship at a special event that will be held in Gospel Operation International on Sunday afternoon. For those of you who are in town, I invite you to join this Missions Carnival – singing, sharing, booth games and much more. It is a vision sharing event designed in a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. The event will start at 3 pm on Sunday. Hope you will find time to join us.
I was fascinated by the title of today’s devotional by Oswald Chambers: “Make a habit of having no habits.” Let’s see what he has to say.
"If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:8). When we begin to form a habit we are conscious of it. There are times when we are conscious of becoming virtuous and patient and godly, but it is only a stage; if we stop there we shall at most behave like a moral and spiritual scholar. The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so practised that there is no conscious habit at all. Our spiritual life continually resolves into introspection because there are some qualities we have not added as yet. Ultimately the relationship is to be a completely simple one.
Your god may be your little Christian habit, the habit of prayer at stated times, or the habit of Bible reading. Watch how your Father will upset those times if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes - I can't do that just now, I am praying; it is my hour with God. No, it is your hour with your habit. There is a quality that is lacking in you. Recognize the defect and then look for the opportunity of exercising yourself along the line of the quality to be added.
Love means that there is no habit visible, you have come to the place where the habit is lost, and by practice you do the thing unconsciously. If you are consciously holy, there are certain things you imagine you cannot do, certain relationships in which you are far from simple; that means there is something to be added. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there anywhere where you are not at home with God? Let God press through in that particular circumstance until you gain Him, and life becomes the simple life of a child.
I totally agree with brother Chambers’ perspective on spiritual habit. When a habit becomes part of you, you will not be conscious of it at all. It is like the habit of turning off house light before you leave the house and knock the door behind you as soon as you exit. It becomes so natural that you may not even remember doing it when you are asked. The goal of spiritual discipline is to make our communication with God a part of our natural life like breathing and drinking. I guess if we were to ask our Lord how He knew the will of God when he walked on earth, He may have difficulty to explain because it is part of His Nature. I believe our Lord will have a hard time to explain why He loves us too becasue He is love. Being totally human,
I don’t think our Lord was born differently than you and me. He simply began the habit of developing intimate realtionship with his Creator God early in life. I like the way childhood Jesus answered his parents’ question when they found him in the Temple (Luke 2:49), “Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Jesus was so at home with His Heavenly Father that he was confused why his parents complained against him to be "at home." It was like“why not staying at home?” To Jesus, there was no explanation necessary for questions like “why pray?” or “why do you study the Bible?” It is just a natural part of him to do so. Luke continued to describe the growth of this special Child of God in one sentence, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Luke gives us the insight that balanced growth of a person derives from his intimate relationship with the Creator God on a daily basis. And people will soon notice how special this person is: healthy, wise, friendly, lovely and godly in a joyous and natural manner.
Let’s make it our life goal to draw close to God each day to the point of not being conscious of such habit like the way we breathe. Hopefully, one day when we look back, we may be surprised of how much we have grown in Christ and enjoyed it.
Love you not out of habit,
Lawrence
Good morning. I took a sick leave to stay home because my throat hurt so badly last night that I could hardly talk. I had developed coughing because of weather changes during the trip, and was not fully recovered after I returned. I believe this is another symptom of a bad cold. I feel a little better this morning. Pray that I will be well enough for my weekend ministry. I need to preach on Sunday, and lead worship at a special event that will be held in Gospel Operation International on Sunday afternoon. For those of you who are in town, I invite you to join this Missions Carnival – singing, sharing, booth games and much more. It is a vision sharing event designed in a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. The event will start at 3 pm on Sunday. Hope you will find time to join us.
I was fascinated by the title of today’s devotional by Oswald Chambers: “Make a habit of having no habits.” Let’s see what he has to say.
"If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:8). When we begin to form a habit we are conscious of it. There are times when we are conscious of becoming virtuous and patient and godly, but it is only a stage; if we stop there we shall at most behave like a moral and spiritual scholar. The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so practised that there is no conscious habit at all. Our spiritual life continually resolves into introspection because there are some qualities we have not added as yet. Ultimately the relationship is to be a completely simple one.
Your god may be your little Christian habit, the habit of prayer at stated times, or the habit of Bible reading. Watch how your Father will upset those times if you begin to worship your habit instead of what the habit symbolizes - I can't do that just now, I am praying; it is my hour with God. No, it is your hour with your habit. There is a quality that is lacking in you. Recognize the defect and then look for the opportunity of exercising yourself along the line of the quality to be added.
Love means that there is no habit visible, you have come to the place where the habit is lost, and by practice you do the thing unconsciously. If you are consciously holy, there are certain things you imagine you cannot do, certain relationships in which you are far from simple; that means there is something to be added. The only supernatural life is the life the Lord Jesus lived, and He was at home with God anywhere. Is there anywhere where you are not at home with God? Let God press through in that particular circumstance until you gain Him, and life becomes the simple life of a child.
I totally agree with brother Chambers’ perspective on spiritual habit. When a habit becomes part of you, you will not be conscious of it at all. It is like the habit of turning off house light before you leave the house and knock the door behind you as soon as you exit. It becomes so natural that you may not even remember doing it when you are asked. The goal of spiritual discipline is to make our communication with God a part of our natural life like breathing and drinking. I guess if we were to ask our Lord how He knew the will of God when he walked on earth, He may have difficulty to explain because it is part of His Nature. I believe our Lord will have a hard time to explain why He loves us too becasue He is love. Being totally human,
I don’t think our Lord was born differently than you and me. He simply began the habit of developing intimate realtionship with his Creator God early in life. I like the way childhood Jesus answered his parents’ question when they found him in the Temple (Luke 2:49), “Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Jesus was so at home with His Heavenly Father that he was confused why his parents complained against him to be "at home." It was like“why not staying at home?” To Jesus, there was no explanation necessary for questions like “why pray?” or “why do you study the Bible?” It is just a natural part of him to do so. Luke continued to describe the growth of this special Child of God in one sentence, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Luke gives us the insight that balanced growth of a person derives from his intimate relationship with the Creator God on a daily basis. And people will soon notice how special this person is: healthy, wise, friendly, lovely and godly in a joyous and natural manner.
Let’s make it our life goal to draw close to God each day to the point of not being conscious of such habit like the way we breathe. Hopefully, one day when we look back, we may be surprised of how much we have grown in Christ and enjoyed it.
Love you not out of habit,
Lawrence
Monday, May 11, 2009
Devotional 110509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. It is a blessing to have another compulsory day off from work because of the financial crisis, so that I can spend more time to meditate on God’s words. Out of God’s gracious provision, Loretta is still working even though she was supposed to be laid off on May 1st. Somehow the City managed to keep her in office for a little bit longer. Who knows how long she can keep her job? It does not really matter to us. We learn to trust in His provision one day at a time. Afterall, this is what our Lord wants us to learn from day one: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33). Amen?
"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (2 Peter 1:5-7) Love is indefinite to most of us, we do not know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the sovereign preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that that preference be for Himself. He said, “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). When the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ is easily first; then we must practise the working out of these things mentioned by Peter.
The first thing God does is to knock pretence and the pious pose right out of me. The Holy Spirit reveals that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now, He says to me, show the same love to others - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). “I will bring any number of people to you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited it to you." Honestly, it was not easy if not impossible. You won't reach it by your own strength. Some of us have tried to, but we were soon tired.
"The Lord sufferes long. . . ." Let me look within and see His dealings with me. The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way. God's love to me is inexhaustible, and I must love others from the bedrock of God's love to me. Growth in grace stops the moment I get huffed or intimdating. I get huffed because I have a peculiar person to live with. Just think how disagreeable I have been to God! Am I prepared to be so identified with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness are being poured out all the time? Neither natural love nor Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline.
The more we reflect on how unworthy we are for God’s love, the more we are reminded to love with the same kind of Grace we received freely. We don’t just thank God for His grace with our lips but with our lives – Live out God’s grace by loving others just as Christ loves us. The Holy Spirit commits to internalize His love into our nature, so that we love not because others are lovable, but because it is the nature of God that dwells within us. Once His love grows within us, it changes our paradigm on things and with people. It changes our value system and priority in life. It spurs us to do things beyond we normally would; we are willing to walk extra-miles for people. We gradually realize that unconditional love is possible and attainable for mankind. That’s how Paul prayed for the Ephesians, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:16-19). In a magnificant and most ‘sexual’ city like Ephesus (famous for their fertility goddess - Artemis, along with their ritual sexual activities with her female priests in the house of pleasures) during Paul’s time, the church truly needed to grow in genuine love for one anothers, because the definition of love had been so distorted in the culture of that city. I am sure it is the same in ours today if not worst. There is no way Paul could change the popular culture of his time by his own strength. He could only pray that the love of God would grow within this small community of believers in Ephesus, so that their lifestyle and testimony would shine and gradually delivered people from the bondage of lust into the family God’s love.
Let’s pray for ourselves in the same way in America…
Love you because of His love within me,
Lawrence
Good morning. It is a blessing to have another compulsory day off from work because of the financial crisis, so that I can spend more time to meditate on God’s words. Out of God’s gracious provision, Loretta is still working even though she was supposed to be laid off on May 1st. Somehow the City managed to keep her in office for a little bit longer. Who knows how long she can keep her job? It does not really matter to us. We learn to trust in His provision one day at a time. Afterall, this is what our Lord wants us to learn from day one: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33). Amen?
"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love" (2 Peter 1:5-7) Love is indefinite to most of us, we do not know what we mean when we talk about love. Love is the sovereign preference of one person for another, and spiritually Jesus demands that that preference be for Himself. He said, “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). When the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ is easily first; then we must practise the working out of these things mentioned by Peter.
The first thing God does is to knock pretence and the pious pose right out of me. The Holy Spirit reveals that God loved me not because I was lovable, but because it was His nature to do so. Now, He says to me, show the same love to others - "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). “I will bring any number of people to you whom you cannot respect, and you must exhibit My love to them as I have exhibited it to you." Honestly, it was not easy if not impossible. You won't reach it by your own strength. Some of us have tried to, but we were soon tired.
"The Lord sufferes long. . . ." Let me look within and see His dealings with me. The knowledge that God has loved me to the uttermost, to the end of all my sin and meanness and selfishness and wrong, will send me forth into the world to love in the same way. God's love to me is inexhaustible, and I must love others from the bedrock of God's love to me. Growth in grace stops the moment I get huffed or intimdating. I get huffed because I have a peculiar person to live with. Just think how disagreeable I have been to God! Am I prepared to be so identified with the Lord Jesus that His life and His sweetness are being poured out all the time? Neither natural love nor Divine love will remain unless it is cultivated. Love is spontaneous, but it has to be maintained by discipline.
The more we reflect on how unworthy we are for God’s love, the more we are reminded to love with the same kind of Grace we received freely. We don’t just thank God for His grace with our lips but with our lives – Live out God’s grace by loving others just as Christ loves us. The Holy Spirit commits to internalize His love into our nature, so that we love not because others are lovable, but because it is the nature of God that dwells within us. Once His love grows within us, it changes our paradigm on things and with people. It changes our value system and priority in life. It spurs us to do things beyond we normally would; we are willing to walk extra-miles for people. We gradually realize that unconditional love is possible and attainable for mankind. That’s how Paul prayed for the Ephesians, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:16-19). In a magnificant and most ‘sexual’ city like Ephesus (famous for their fertility goddess - Artemis
Let’s pray for ourselves in the same way in America…
Love you because of His love within me,
Lawrence
Friday, May 8, 2009
Devotional 080509
Dear brother and sister,
Good afternoon. My morning was packed with meetings. But I love to find time to meditate on the word of God whenever I could find time to do so. It is indeed for the well being of my inner being and for getting strength to face my daily lessons in life. Our whole being depends on God. Our Lord Jesus reminded Satan as He faced his temptation in the desert, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Yes, we cannot live without the nurturing of our God.
"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth" (Revelation 3:10). Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and then the saint says - "I cannot stand any more." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He let us fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. "Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him!"
Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but healthy and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs when we fail to maintain that mental self-assurance which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you cast yourself in total confidence on God.
God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ's life, and there are to be none in ours. "This is life eternal, that they might know You." The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
Knowing the attributes of God should generate the kind of faith and commitment in Him, which will empower our confidence in facing all kinds of challenges in life. And we will never be satisfied regarding our knowledge of God. We can never understand the depth of His love nor His wisdom. We are going to spend eternity to understand how awesome and wonderful is our God. And let’s begin to explore a little bit of His greatness each day while we are living on earth. Those knowledge of His greatness will certainly nurture our inner power to handle life under all kinds of circumstances.
I remember asking our missionary in Dubai about the kind of message that may apply to his congregation there; many of them are construction workers who labored out in the desert under extreme hot weather (It was 40°C while we were there) for 12 hours a day. They were totally exhausted when we visited them at night. What kind of message would empower their daily walk with Christ at work? It was the love and healing power of God according to our missionary. It was the love of God who transforms their perspective in life and gives them patience to endure their daily suffering at work. That’s why they love to come to Bible study in the desert regardless of the opposition from their superior.
Hope you will spend your day to know Him more…
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good afternoon. My morning was packed with meetings. But I love to find time to meditate on the word of God whenever I could find time to do so. It is indeed for the well being of my inner being and for getting strength to face my daily lessons in life. Our whole being depends on God. Our Lord Jesus reminded Satan as He faced his temptation in the desert, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Yes, we cannot live without the nurturing of our God.
"Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth" (Revelation 3:10). Patience is more than endurance. A saint's life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and then the saint says - "I cannot stand any more." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He let us fly. Trust yourself in God's hands. For what have you need of patience just now? Maintain your relationship to Jesus Christ by the patience of faith. "Though He slay me, yet will I wait for Him!"
Faith is not a pathetic sentiment, but healthy and vigorous confidence built on the fact that God is holy love. You cannot see Him just now, you cannot understand what He is doing, but you know Him. Shipwreck occurs when we fail to maintain that mental self-assurance which comes from being established on the eternal truth that God is holy love. Faith is the heroic effort of your life; you cast yourself in total confidence on God.
God has ventured all in Jesus Christ to save us, now He wants us to venture our all in abandoned confidence in Him. There are spots where that faith has not worked in us as yet, places untouched by the life of God. There were none of those spots in Jesus Christ's life, and there are to be none in ours. "This is life eternal, that they might know You." The real meaning of eternal life is a life that can face anything it has to face without wavering. If we take this view, life becomes one great romance, a glorious opportunity for seeing marvelous things all the time. God is disciplining us to get us into this central place of power.
Knowing the attributes of God should generate the kind of faith and commitment in Him, which will empower our confidence in facing all kinds of challenges in life. And we will never be satisfied regarding our knowledge of God. We can never understand the depth of His love nor His wisdom. We are going to spend eternity to understand how awesome and wonderful is our God. And let’s begin to explore a little bit of His greatness each day while we are living on earth. Those knowledge of His greatness will certainly nurture our inner power to handle life under all kinds of circumstances.
I remember asking our missionary in Dubai about the kind of message that may apply to his congregation there; many of them are construction workers who labored out in the desert under extreme hot weather (It was 40°C while we were there) for 12 hours a day. They were totally exhausted when we visited them at night. What kind of message would empower their daily walk with Christ at work? It was the love and healing power of God according to our missionary. It was the love of God who transforms their perspective in life and gives them patience to endure their daily suffering at work. That’s why they love to come to Bible study in the desert regardless of the opposition from their superior.
Hope you will spend your day to know Him more…
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Devotional 070509
Dear brother and sister,
Good morning. Since my trip went by so quickly with overwhelming exposures of new things and experiences, I didn’t have time to sink in at all until I went through the pictures I took yesterday. It was indeed so rich an experience! I am sure you will hear about it in my devotional sharing in the next couples of days if not weeks. Those memories are precious when they stir our passions for Christ from time to time. After all, this is what meditation means to accomplish; not just to muse on what had happened in the past, but to allow the past encourage and transform our lives in the present.
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" （Luke 14:28）Our Lord refers not to a cost we have to count, but to a cost which He has counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal and hatred, the deep unfathomable agony in Gethsemane, and the onslaught at Calvary - the pivot upon which the whole of Time and Eternity turns. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. Men are not going to laugh at Him at last and say - "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
The conditions of discipleship lay down by Our Lord in Luke 14: 26, 27 and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...Any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. Is God going to detect in His searching fire that we have built on the foundation of Jesus some enterprise of our own? These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when we are trying to work for God, and therein is the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.
As I listened to the prayer of two Turkish pastors through an interpreter, they both ended with a similar saying, “for the glory of Christ.” It captures my attention as they mentioned this phrase. How often do we seek the glory of Christ in whatever we do and pray for in everyday of our lives? But as these Turkish believers counting their cost to follow Christ, they focus on the Glory of Christ. As Paul said to the Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (8:18). I guessed when believers are fascinated by human glory or busily seeking their temporal glory and success in life, we will not pay attention to the glory of Christ. On a contrary, when believers are risking everything to become Christians, they do it with one thing in mind: the Glory of Christ.
Let’s encourage each other to seek the glory of Christ even though we do not need to forsake everything like the way early Church or Christians in Muslim world have to consider. The more we concentrate on the glory of Christ, the more we are delivered from the bondage of this materialistic world. It surprised me how sophisticated and beautiful the city of Ephesus was when I visited the ruins. I am sure believers at Paul’s time faced similar temptations for materialistic glory as we do today. That’s why he encouraged the Ephesians, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22-24).
I imagined what Paul might be thinking as he stood at the door way of the magnificent library of Ephesus. People came to this glorious building to seek knowledge from their great philosophers and teachers, but how many came to seek the eternal wisdom of Christ？Don’t be fooled by this world. “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” (Eph 5:15-17). Hope the words of Paul reminds you how to make your day count！
Love you for the glory of Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. Since my trip went by so quickly with overwhelming exposures of new things and experiences, I didn’t have time to sink in at all until I went through the pictures I took yesterday. It was indeed so rich an experience! I am sure you will hear about it in my devotional sharing in the next couples of days if not weeks. Those memories are precious when they stir our passions for Christ from time to time. After all, this is what meditation means to accomplish; not just to muse on what had happened in the past, but to allow the past encourage and transform our lives in the present.
"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" （Luke 14:28）Our Lord refers not to a cost we have to count, but to a cost which He has counted. The cost was those thirty years in Nazareth, those three years of popularity, scandal and hatred, the deep unfathomable agony in Gethsemane, and the onslaught at Calvary - the pivot upon which the whole of Time and Eternity turns. Jesus Christ has counted the cost. Men are not going to laugh at Him at last and say - "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
The conditions of discipleship lay down by Our Lord in Luke 14: 26, 27 and 33 mean that the men and women He is going to use in His mighty building enterprises are those in whom He has done everything. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...Any of you who do not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Our Lord implies that the only men and women He will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately and devotedly beyond any of the closest ties on earth. The conditions are stern, but they are glorious.
All that we build is going to be inspected by God. Is God going to detect in His searching fire that we have built on the foundation of Jesus some enterprise of our own? These are days of tremendous enterprises, days when we are trying to work for God, and therein is the snare. Profoundly speaking, we can never work for God. Jesus takes us over for His enterprises, His building schemes entirely, and no soul has any right to claim where he shall be put.
As I listened to the prayer of two Turkish pastors through an interpreter, they both ended with a similar saying, “for the glory of Christ.” It captures my attention as they mentioned this phrase. How often do we seek the glory of Christ in whatever we do and pray for in everyday of our lives? But as these Turkish believers counting their cost to follow Christ, they focus on the Glory of Christ. As Paul said to the Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (8:18). I guessed when believers are fascinated by human glory or busily seeking their temporal glory and success in life, we will not pay attention to the glory of Christ. On a contrary, when believers are risking everything to become Christians, they do it with one thing in mind: the Glory of Christ.
Let’s encourage each other to seek the glory of Christ even though we do not need to forsake everything like the way early Church or Christians in Muslim world have to consider. The more we concentrate on the glory of Christ, the more we are delivered from the bondage of this materialistic world. It surprised me how sophisticated and beautiful the city of Ephesus was when I visited the ruins. I am sure believers at Paul’s time faced similar temptations for materialistic glory as we do today. That’s why he encouraged the Ephesians, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22-24).
I imagined what Paul might be thinking as he stood at the door way of the magnificent library of Ephesus. People came to this glorious building to seek knowledge from their great philosophers and teachers, but how many came to seek the eternal wisdom of Christ？Don’t be fooled by this world. “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is” (Eph 5:15-17). Hope the words of Paul reminds you how to make your day count！
Love you for the glory of Christ,
Lawrence
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Devotional 060509
Dear brothers and sisters,
Thanks for your prayers for our trip to the Middle East. It was definitely a fruitful and meaningful one. To me, the most touching experiences were to worship with some Chinese believers in the desert of Dubai. Their company will not allow them to conduct any Christian activities at their dormitory (they call it a camp) or even outside of it. Therefore, they need to meet in some hidden area in the desert away from their camp. The other experience was to hear the testimony of Turkish Christians. They paid high price to become a Christian. Family, relatives, friends and community will reject and disown them – they consider them a disgrace to change their Turkish identity from Muslim to Christian (it shows on their ID card). They will loss their job and any future employment or even business relationship. They were the outcast of the country and constantly under death threat. That’s why there are only 3 thousands some Christians in Turkey of more than 67 millions people, even though the country allows religious freedom. I deliberately asked this Turkish pastor, “Is Christ worth their cost?” With a smile on his face he said, “Definitely worth it. Our cost to follow Christ is nothing in comparing with what Christ did for us on the Cross. He suffered even more rejections than ours.” It made me reflect on what the price we pay to become a follower of Christ in America…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand - "Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals. Jesus warned teachers of the Scripture at His time, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view point. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty - the liberty of realizing the dominance or Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone and to no other yoke whatsoever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations," but not "make converts to your opinions or even your theology."
Thanks for your prayers for our trip to the Middle East. It was definitely a fruitful and meaningful one. To me, the most touching experiences were to worship with some Chinese believers in the desert of Dubai. Their company will not allow them to conduct any Christian activities at their dormitory (they call it a camp) or even outside of it. Therefore, they need to meet in some hidden area in the desert away from their camp. The other experience was to hear the testimony of Turkish Christians. They paid high price to become a Christian. Family, relatives, friends and community will reject and disown them – they consider them a disgrace to change their Turkish identity from Muslim to Christian (it shows on their ID card). They will loss their job and any future employment or even business relationship. They were the outcast of the country and constantly under death threat. That’s why there are only 3 thousands some Christians in Turkey of more than 67 millions people, even though the country allows religious freedom. I deliberately asked this Turkish pastor, “Is Christ worth their cost?” With a smile on his face he said, “Definitely worth it. Our cost to follow Christ is nothing in comparing with what Christ did for us on the Cross. He suffered even more rejections than ours.” It made me reflect on what the price we pay to become a follower of Christ in America…
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). A spiritually minded man will never come to you with the demand - "Believe this and that;" but with the demand that you square your life with the standards of Jesus. We are not asked to believe the Bible, but to believe the One Whom the Bible reveals. Jesus warned teachers of the Scripture at His time, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40). We are called to present liberty of conscience, not liberty of view point. If we are free with the liberty of Christ, others will be brought into that same liberty - the liberty of realizing the dominance or Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Always keep your life measured by the standards of Jesus. Bow your neck to His yoke alone and to no other yoke whatsoever; and be careful to see that you never bind a yoke on others that is not placed by Jesus Christ. It takes God a long time to get us out of the way of thinking that unless everyone sees as we do, they must be wrong. That is never God's view. There is only one liberty, the liberty of Jesus at work in our conscience enabling us to do what is right.
Don't get impatient, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations," but not "make converts to your opinions or even your theology."
Have mercy on us O Lord! Give us the discernment that we need to share with others about our relationship with You. Calm our passions to convince others about our opinion towards things and the Bible. Instead, help us walk closely with You each day, and put You first in our priorities. As we share our faith with others, help us shar it sincerely and lovingly.
Though Apostle Paul was a powerful missionary and eloquent preacher, he cautioned his spiritual son, Timothy with this final word, “The Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Tim 2:24-26). It was indeed an important attitude as we share our faith with others. Try not to put other people down as though you know better than they do. We are asked to share our testimony and our relationship with the Lord as sincere as possible. God will do His part in convicting people from within their hearts. That’s how many Muslims came to know the Lord when Christians had shared about their faith with them not in a forceful but gentle way. It may take longer period of time to see the harvest. But it is certainly God’s way and timing but not ours.
May God strengthen your walk with Him today as always!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Ps. I will show you the pictures I took in my blog
May God strengthen your walk with Him today as always!
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Ps. I will show you the pictures I took in my blog
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Visit at Cyprus
At this beautiful island in the Mediterranean Seas, we found the footprints of Apostle Paul, Barnabas, and Lazarus. It was great to discuss about missions in this place where Paul and Barnabas did similar things in 2000 years ago. Please pray for our missionaries here...they did wonderful ministry in reaching Chinese for Christ.
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