Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. I have been extremely busy in trying to meet many deadlines for conferences, sermons, seminary studies, work projects and annual evaluations. I wished I had more than 24 hours per day. But God is fair and kind; He only gives each one of us the same amount of time, and holds us accountable to work within that time frame. Therefore, we learn to work faithfully with the best of our knowledge as a good steward, and rest faithfully to acknowledge who is God, just as the Lord said, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49) Our Lord's childhood was not immature man-hood; our Lord's childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look upon life as being in my Father's house? Is the Son of God living in His Father's house in me?
The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in Holy Communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. "I had to be in my Father's house " - live the moments in My Father's house.
Narrow it down to your individual circumstances - are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His work flow through you in your home, in your business, in your inner circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them; it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in accordance to the Will of God for your sanctification. Let Him be the Lord of your life, and keep in perfect union with Him.
The redemptive life of your Lord should become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in and through you. This is how our Lord’s “incarnation” continues to take place through His Body on earth. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Each member of the Body of Christ must be closely connected with the Head and one another, before this Body can fully effective in living out the life of Christ on earth.
Satan knew he lost his significant battle on the cross. Many of his “prisoners or slaves” had been delivered from his domain since then. In order to slow down his final judgment, he will do whatever he can to reduce the effectiveness of the church on earth. Satan knows the compassion of Christ for the lost, and he knows the love of God, “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore if the church fails to live out the life of Christ on earth, Satan will prolong his evil influence in this world and within the hearts of all men. We will see more suffering, human disasters, horrible tragedies among men, severely domestic violence, lawlessness, senseless and cold blooded killing, and evil will continue to rise. Governments will only compromise their laws to accommodate evil because of their helplessness. In deed, we are helpless in curtailing evil on earth. There is only one way to resist and overcome evil on earth, and it is by the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Body of Christ on earth. Let’s pray that God will give us a revival for His church like He did for His people in Ezekiel’s time, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: ‘I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord…Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them’” (Ezekiel 37:5-6, 13). Somehow God chose to use a messenger to ignite this miracle; unless the Prophet obeyed to proclaim accordingly, revival would not take place. God posted the same challenge for the church today. Will you obey what the Lord has already spoken to you?
Have a blessed and fruitful weekend in enjoying the presence of God!
Love you because of His love,
Lawrence
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Devotional 060809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Thank God for another beautiful day in Daly City that, I can sit in my sun lighted kitchen to enjoy my meditation of God’s words and prayer. It is such a peaceful, lovely and re-charging moment that I really need. God is always here rain or shine. The problem is whether we are willing to spend time with Him or not.
"In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf" (John 16:26). We are too much given to thinking of the Cross as something we have to get through; we get through it only in order to get into it. The Cross stands for one thing only for us - a complete and entire and absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is nothing in which this identification is realized more than in prayer.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with Our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God's grace.
"I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God" (v. 26-27) Have you reached such an intimacy with God that the Lord Jesus Christ's life of prayer is the only explanation of your life of prayer? Has Our Lord's vicarious life become your vital life? "In that day" you will be so identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to fix the blame on someone else. That is always a snare of Satan. You will find there is a reason which is a deep instruction to you, not to anyone else.
Unanswered prayer is an answer from God. When we focus our prayers on a “getting” mode, we will miss the relation aspect of prayer. Prayer is to build intimate relationship with God. That’s why prayer has to be a two way street; we need to speak and listen as well. We don’t choose to listen to what we want to hear or like to hear. We listen with an open mind. And the purpose is not to get what we want, but to enter into a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father, the Almighty God. There are issues and images that will surface in our mind as we pray. We need to discern whether those are from God or not. In my experience, I will ask the Holy Spirit to show me what He may want me to learn from them, or if they were really from God in the first place. If not, then I would surrender those issues to His care and move on to another conversation with Him.
Sometimes God would surface an issue in my life to remind me of His attributes. Sometimes He would use it to remind me of my hidden sins or blind spots. I would listen quietly before Him in prayer as He showed me what I need to learn. There are numerous times that God only reassured me of His love when I was encountering some pressing issues in ministry or in life. He did not give me specific answer or direction. He just wanted me to know that I was always His beloved because of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it generated enough strength for me to press on in life or in ministry. So takes time to pray and listen what God has to say to you today.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. Thank God for another beautiful day in Daly City that, I can sit in my sun lighted kitchen to enjoy my meditation of God’s words and prayer. It is such a peaceful, lovely and re-charging moment that I really need. God is always here rain or shine. The problem is whether we are willing to spend time with Him or not.
"In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf" (John 16:26). We are too much given to thinking of the Cross as something we have to get through; we get through it only in order to get into it. The Cross stands for one thing only for us - a complete and entire and absolute identification with the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is nothing in which this identification is realized more than in prayer.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Then why ask? The idea of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with Our Lord in prayer. We are not here to prove God answers prayer; we are here to be living monuments of God's grace.
"I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God" (v. 26-27) Have you reached such an intimacy with God that the Lord Jesus Christ's life of prayer is the only explanation of your life of prayer? Has Our Lord's vicarious life become your vital life? "In that day" you will be so identified with Jesus that there will be no distinction.
When prayer seems to be unanswered, beware of trying to fix the blame on someone else. That is always a snare of Satan. You will find there is a reason which is a deep instruction to you, not to anyone else.
Unanswered prayer is an answer from God. When we focus our prayers on a “getting” mode, we will miss the relation aspect of prayer. Prayer is to build intimate relationship with God. That’s why prayer has to be a two way street; we need to speak and listen as well. We don’t choose to listen to what we want to hear or like to hear. We listen with an open mind. And the purpose is not to get what we want, but to enter into a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father, the Almighty God. There are issues and images that will surface in our mind as we pray. We need to discern whether those are from God or not. In my experience, I will ask the Holy Spirit to show me what He may want me to learn from them, or if they were really from God in the first place. If not, then I would surrender those issues to His care and move on to another conversation with Him.
Sometimes God would surface an issue in my life to remind me of His attributes. Sometimes He would use it to remind me of my hidden sins or blind spots. I would listen quietly before Him in prayer as He showed me what I need to learn. There are numerous times that God only reassured me of His love when I was encountering some pressing issues in ministry or in life. He did not give me specific answer or direction. He just wanted me to know that I was always His beloved because of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it generated enough strength for me to press on in life or in ministry. So takes time to pray and listen what God has to say to you today.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Devotional 050809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. In our staff prayer meeting this morning, our devotional reading came to Romans 10. Apostle Paul made it so clear for his readers a life cycle of discipleship, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (10:13-15) I see a cycle that goes like this (the cycle goes from 1 to 7 and should return to 1 again) :
1. Obey His commission
2. Preach the gospel
3. Hears the gospel
4. Believe He is risen
5. Confess He is Lord
6. Call upon the Lord
7. Saved by His Grace
The problem we encounter in churches nowadays is that Christians ignore the Great Commission of Christ after they were saved by His Grace. Even though they confessed with their mouth that Christ was their Lord, they did not act according to what they confessed. They did not obey. And when Christians continue to live such inconsistent life, they cease to experience the abundant life in Christ, and they cease to become light and salt of the world. On a contrary, they even stumble others from entering into the Body of Christ. There is a big need for revival today, and let it starts with myself... Have mercy on us O Lord!
"And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished . . . And they understood none of these things" (Luke 18:31, 34). God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose.
There comes the mysterious call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is hidden. The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in partnership with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His own purposes.
If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what His purposes are. As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say - Now why did God allow this and that? Behind the whole thing lies the compelling of God. "There's a divinity that shapes our ends." A Christian is one who trusts the intelligence and the wisdom of God, and not his own understanding. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God.
The problem of mankind is that we always think we know better than God; of course, as good Christians we will not explicitly say so. We analyze the work and plan of God. We try to discern with our own common senses, without knowing how limited our common sense or intelligence is in comparing with God’s. Not only we analyze God’s purpose and plan, we make decision as to whether we want to join His plan or not. We calculate the cost and we try to cut a bargain with God from time to time. Just as a disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt 8:21-22). In another word, there is something more important in life to do. You have no clue whether you still alive tomorrow or not. Take advantage of this present moment while you are still alive. Re-prioritize your lives and follow the plan of Christ.
Love you as fellow partners in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. In our staff prayer meeting this morning, our devotional reading came to Romans 10. Apostle Paul made it so clear for his readers a life cycle of discipleship, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (10:13-15) I see a cycle that goes like this (the cycle goes from 1 to 7 and should return to 1 again) :
1. Obey His commission
2. Preach the gospel
3. Hears the gospel
4. Believe He is risen
5. Confess He is Lord
6. Call upon the Lord
7. Saved by His Grace
The problem we encounter in churches nowadays is that Christians ignore the Great Commission of Christ after they were saved by His Grace. Even though they confessed with their mouth that Christ was their Lord, they did not act according to what they confessed. They did not obey. And when Christians continue to live such inconsistent life, they cease to experience the abundant life in Christ, and they cease to become light and salt of the world. On a contrary, they even stumble others from entering into the Body of Christ. There is a big need for revival today, and let it starts with myself... Have mercy on us O Lord!
"And all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished . . . And they understood none of these things" (Luke 18:31, 34). God called Jesus Christ to what seemed absolute disaster. Jesus Christ called His disciples to see Him put to death; He led every one of them to the place where their hearts were broken. Jesus Christ's life was an absolute failure from every standpoint but God's. But what seemed failure from man's standpoint was a tremendous triumph from God's, because God's purpose is never man's purpose.
There comes the mysterious call of God in our lives also. The call of God can never be stated explicitly; it is hidden. The call of God is like the call of the sea; no one hears it but the one who has the nature of the sea in him. It cannot be stated definitely what the call of God is to, because His call is to be in partnership with Himself for His own purposes, and the test is to believe that God knows what He is after. The things that happen do not happen by chance, they happen entirely in the decree of God. God is working out His own purposes.
If we are in communion with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, we shall no longer try to find out what His purposes are. As we go on in the Christian life it gets simpler, because we are less inclined to say - Now why did God allow this and that? Behind the whole thing lies the compelling of God. "There's a divinity that shapes our ends." A Christian is one who trusts the intelligence and the wisdom of God, and not his own understanding. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the leisureliness which ought to characterize the children of God.
The problem of mankind is that we always think we know better than God; of course, as good Christians we will not explicitly say so. We analyze the work and plan of God. We try to discern with our own common senses, without knowing how limited our common sense or intelligence is in comparing with God’s. Not only we analyze God’s purpose and plan, we make decision as to whether we want to join His plan or not. We calculate the cost and we try to cut a bargain with God from time to time. Just as a disciple said to Jesus, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead" (Matt 8:21-22). In another word, there is something more important in life to do. You have no clue whether you still alive tomorrow or not. Take advantage of this present moment while you are still alive. Re-prioritize your lives and follow the plan of Christ.
Love you as fellow partners in Christ,
Lawrence
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Devotional 040809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. What a wonderful blessing to see sunshine in Daly City again! Though we have no certainty how long this beautiful weather will last, we simply enjoy it when it is available. Life is full of uncertainty. It is not always filled with sunshine, nor is foggy at all time. No matter how our circumstances may change, we learn to rejoice in the Lord always, because He is the ultimate source of our joy and fulfillment in life. In Him there is no darkness. And in Him we find true security and peace. Let's continue to meditate with Brother Chambers on the same passage we read yesterday.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). The bravery of God in trusting us! You say - "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value." That is why He chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to believe that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good Christian. It is not a question of our strength but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a question of natural virtues of strength of character, knowledge, and experience - all that is of no advantage in this matter. The only thing that avails is that we are taken up into the big missions of God and became His partner. Apostle Paul reminded us of how we became His chosen partners, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:26-30). The partnership of God is made up out of men who know their poverty. He can do nothing with the man who thinks that he is great asset to God. As Christians we are not out for our own cause at all, we are out for the cause of God, which can never be our cause. We do not know what God is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with Him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with God; if it does get injured we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually attacked by Satan.
Being a self-centered being, we have a tendency to think how important we are or how much we deserve other’s attention and recognition. Even for those who have inferiority complex or low self-esteem problem, they basically want to think the same way except they are conditioned to express in a contrary manner. They became too absorbed into their negative “self” image (dwell in their negative nutshell), that they even nullify what God can do with or in their lives. Yes. I totally agree with Brother Chambers that we need to fully recognize our inadequacy or insufficiency, before we can partner with God in His grant plan on earth. But this is very different from people who stubbornly refuse God’s work in their lives, simply because they have made up their mind that they are useless. They don’t think God can change such useless person to become His vessel of Grace. They can’t accept God’s grace through other people who offer to help. They just concluded that they know better than God; they are nothing but lowly dirt.
Romans 9:20-21 says, “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” If you are truly humble before God, you have no right to nullify how God want to do with your lives. Why can’t you let Him make you a noble vessel, a beautiful person, a gracious channel of His blessing, or a lovely person like angel? God can make you in whatever way He wants, we just let go of our stubborn mindset or our success-driven mentality that interferes with His work.
Let’s walk close to the Lord and learn to truly live a submissive lifestyle for His glory.
Love you by His strength,
Lawrence
Good morning. What a wonderful blessing to see sunshine in Daly City again! Though we have no certainty how long this beautiful weather will last, we simply enjoy it when it is available. Life is full of uncertainty. It is not always filled with sunshine, nor is foggy at all time. No matter how our circumstances may change, we learn to rejoice in the Lord always, because He is the ultimate source of our joy and fulfillment in life. In Him there is no darkness. And in Him we find true security and peace. Let's continue to meditate with Brother Chambers on the same passage we read yesterday.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). The bravery of God in trusting us! You say - "But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing in me; I am not of any value." That is why He chose you. As long as you think there is something in you, He cannot choose you because you have ends of your own to serve; but if you have let Him bring you to the end of your self-sufficiency then He can choose you to go with Him to Jerusalem, and that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to believe that because a man has natural ability, therefore he will make a good Christian. It is not a question of our strength but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us; not a question of natural virtues of strength of character, knowledge, and experience - all that is of no advantage in this matter. The only thing that avails is that we are taken up into the big missions of God and became His partner. Apostle Paul reminded us of how we became His chosen partners, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:26-30). The partnership of God is made up out of men who know their poverty. He can do nothing with the man who thinks that he is great asset to God. As Christians we are not out for our own cause at all, we are out for the cause of God, which can never be our cause. We do not know what God is after, but we have to maintain our relationship with Him whatever happens. We must never allow anything to injure our relationship with God; if it does get injured we must take time and get it put right. The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually attacked by Satan.
Being a self-centered being, we have a tendency to think how important we are or how much we deserve other’s attention and recognition. Even for those who have inferiority complex or low self-esteem problem, they basically want to think the same way except they are conditioned to express in a contrary manner. They became too absorbed into their negative “self” image (dwell in their negative nutshell), that they even nullify what God can do with or in their lives. Yes. I totally agree with Brother Chambers that we need to fully recognize our inadequacy or insufficiency, before we can partner with God in His grant plan on earth. But this is very different from people who stubbornly refuse God’s work in their lives, simply because they have made up their mind that they are useless. They don’t think God can change such useless person to become His vessel of Grace. They can’t accept God’s grace through other people who offer to help. They just concluded that they know better than God; they are nothing but lowly dirt.
Romans 9:20-21 says, “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” If you are truly humble before God, you have no right to nullify how God want to do with your lives. Why can’t you let Him make you a noble vessel, a beautiful person, a gracious channel of His blessing, or a lovely person like angel? God can make you in whatever way He wants, we just let go of our stubborn mindset or our success-driven mentality that interferes with His work.
Let’s walk close to the Lord and learn to truly live a submissive lifestyle for His glory.
Love you by His strength,
Lawrence
Monday, August 3, 2009
Devotional 030809
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. Our Lord is doing wonderful thing in shaping our lives each day. His plan is to make us holy through our daily struggle in life. We have struggle because we know what is good but our flesh tells us to do otherwise. Sometimes, this struggle could become very severe and we felt like totally helpless and defeated. Just as Paul said, “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:23-24); it is usually in this kind of desperation and disappointment that, we experience the power of His grace, and we have deeper appreciation of what God’s mercy is all about.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). Jerusalem stands in the life of Our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father's will. "I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me." That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord's life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God's compelling that is brought out. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." We are not taken up into conscious agreement with God's purpose; we are taken up into God's purpose without any consciousness at all. We have no conception of what God is aiming at, and as we go on it gets more and more vague. God's aim looks like missing the mark because we are too short sighted to see what He is aiming at.
At the beginning of the Christian life we have our own ideas as to what God's purpose is - 'I am meant to go here or there,' 'God has called me to do this special work'; and we go and do the thing, and still the big compelling of God remains. The work we do is of no account; it is so much scaffolding or primitive work compared with the big compelling of God. "He took unto Him the twelve," He takes us all the time. There is more than we have got at as yet.
There are so much more that God can use you for. You may either never could have imagined how much the Lord would use you, or you never want Him to consider using you at all. You just want to remain mediocre kind of Christian. But in God’s dictionary, there is no such thing as layman or mediocre Christian. There is either disciple of Christ or non-believer; children of God or children of the world. In the spiritual realm, there are those who belong to God and those who are under Satan’s domain. Paul made it clear to us in Romans 8:5-9, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires…You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” God has a Master Plan in terms of how to use you. You will not know the details of this Plan. As a matter of fact, you may not want to know because you may want to run away from it just like Prophet Jonah. All you need to do it to follow His call and do what you already knew. Once you set your mind to obey His Word on a daily basis, and boldly live accordance to the Spirit, He will use you for His glory beyond what you can imagine, and give you His joy to the fullest.
I have never imagined I would become a pastor in United States for so long. I would never have imagined I had opportunity to serve Him in different capacity throughout the world. I may have my “dream” in terms of what to accomplish in life. But His dream is much bigger and far-fetched simply because He is God and I am not. If I acknowledge and allow Him to be God in my life, then I will discover unexpected joy and new horizons in following Him. Let’s remind and encourage each other in walking on this path of obedience like Christ.
Love you in accordance to the Spirit,
Lawrence
Good morning. Our Lord is doing wonderful thing in shaping our lives each day. His plan is to make us holy through our daily struggle in life. We have struggle because we know what is good but our flesh tells us to do otherwise. Sometimes, this struggle could become very severe and we felt like totally helpless and defeated. Just as Paul said, “I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:23-24); it is usually in this kind of desperation and disappointment that, we experience the power of His grace, and we have deeper appreciation of what God’s mercy is all about.
"Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled" (Luke 18:31). Jerusalem stands in the life of Our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father's will. "I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me." That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord's life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."
The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God's compelling that is brought out. "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." We are not taken up into conscious agreement with God's purpose; we are taken up into God's purpose without any consciousness at all. We have no conception of what God is aiming at, and as we go on it gets more and more vague. God's aim looks like missing the mark because we are too short sighted to see what He is aiming at.
At the beginning of the Christian life we have our own ideas as to what God's purpose is - 'I am meant to go here or there,' 'God has called me to do this special work'; and we go and do the thing, and still the big compelling of God remains. The work we do is of no account; it is so much scaffolding or primitive work compared with the big compelling of God. "He took unto Him the twelve," He takes us all the time. There is more than we have got at as yet.
There are so much more that God can use you for. You may either never could have imagined how much the Lord would use you, or you never want Him to consider using you at all. You just want to remain mediocre kind of Christian. But in God’s dictionary, there is no such thing as layman or mediocre Christian. There is either disciple of Christ or non-believer; children of God or children of the world. In the spiritual realm, there are those who belong to God and those who are under Satan’s domain. Paul made it clear to us in Romans 8:5-9, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires…You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” God has a Master Plan in terms of how to use you. You will not know the details of this Plan. As a matter of fact, you may not want to know because you may want to run away from it just like Prophet Jonah. All you need to do it to follow His call and do what you already knew. Once you set your mind to obey His Word on a daily basis, and boldly live accordance to the Spirit, He will use you for His glory beyond what you can imagine, and give you His joy to the fullest.
I have never imagined I would become a pastor in United States for so long. I would never have imagined I had opportunity to serve Him in different capacity throughout the world. I may have my “dream” in terms of what to accomplish in life. But His dream is much bigger and far-fetched simply because He is God and I am not. If I acknowledge and allow Him to be God in my life, then I will discover unexpected joy and new horizons in following Him. Let’s remind and encourage each other in walking on this path of obedience like Christ.
Love you in accordance to the Spirit,
Lawrence
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Speaking at Career fellowship
It was wonderful to speak to the Career Fellowship tonight. I don't know how much my audience understand my message, I enjoyed spending time to share the Word of God with this group of lovely brothers and sisters. May God continue to bless this group to become vibrant witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ.Friday, July 31, 2009
Devotional 310709
Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. God is always at work in our lives no matter where you are. I was glad to receive news from two brothers who are away from us in Los Angeles and Macau. They both are doing well and have settled down in their own apartments. Our newly wedded is enjoying their honeymoon with books. And our young pastor is living in a two bedrooms apartment feeling homesick. I am sure our Lord has blessings and lessons for both of them in days to come. I am enjoying my quiet time at home for my no pay leave. There are always a lot of works to do at home besides running errand. I need to prepare sermon for tonight and this Sunday as well.
"Let your endurance be a finished product, so that you may be finished and complete, with never a defect" (James 1:4, MOFFATT). Many of us are all right in the main, but there are some domains in which we are sloppy. It is not a question of sin, but of the odds and ends of our carnal life which are apt to make us sloppy. Carelessness or sloppiness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. There should be nothing sloppy, whether it is in the way we eat and drink, or in the way we worship God.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the external expression of that relationship must be right too. Ultimately God will let nothing escape, every detail is under His scrutiny. In numberless ways God will bring us back to the same point over and over again. He never tires of bringing us to the one point until we learn the lesson, because He is producing the finished product. It may be a question of impulse, and again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to the one particular point; or it may be mental wool-gathering or independent individuality. God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right.
We have been having a wonderful time this Session over the revelation of God's Redemption, our hearts are perfect towards Him; His wonderful work in us makes us know that in the main we are right with Him. "Now," says the Spirit, through James, "let your endurance be a finished product." Watch the careless bits - "Oh, that will have to do for now." Whatever it is, God will point it out with persistence until we are entirely His.
God deserves the best from us. Look at all the details in His creation. Even a little insect is carefully created for a certain function. Therefore, He expects perfection from us even though He knows we can never become perfect. Our post-modern culture uplifts carefree clothing or lifestyle but not sloppy on the presentations (matching colors and style from head to toe). Wedding for example is getting more sophisticated and expensive; young couples don’t mind to invest a lot of money and time to one day celebration. But they are sloppy or carefree on their daily habits in up keeping their marriage afterward. God expects us to approach perfection from inside out. With His gentle voice and loving methods, our God will put us through different lessons in helping us to grow out of our sloppiness in life.
As fellow members of His Body, we learn to hold each other accountable in dealing with our sloppiness. Of course, we need to do it in a tactful way and loving motive. We don’t use a teasing or harsh manner to point out other’s sloppy habit. We learn to remind others in private and sincere manner. And make sure we ask others to remind you when they see your sloppiness. By doing so, we are functioning truly like a body, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:26-27). God will make you perfect. And He will perfect you through your Body life with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, don’t run away when you find it difficult to be under scrutiny or to change yourself to interact with “strangers,” see it as a way God wants to grow you from your sloppy lifestyle.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
Good morning. God is always at work in our lives no matter where you are. I was glad to receive news from two brothers who are away from us in Los Angeles and Macau. They both are doing well and have settled down in their own apartments. Our newly wedded is enjoying their honeymoon with books. And our young pastor is living in a two bedrooms apartment feeling homesick. I am sure our Lord has blessings and lessons for both of them in days to come. I am enjoying my quiet time at home for my no pay leave. There are always a lot of works to do at home besides running errand. I need to prepare sermon for tonight and this Sunday as well.
"Let your endurance be a finished product, so that you may be finished and complete, with never a defect" (James 1:4, MOFFATT). Many of us are all right in the main, but there are some domains in which we are sloppy. It is not a question of sin, but of the odds and ends of our carnal life which are apt to make us sloppy. Carelessness or sloppiness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. There should be nothing sloppy, whether it is in the way we eat and drink, or in the way we worship God.
Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the external expression of that relationship must be right too. Ultimately God will let nothing escape, every detail is under His scrutiny. In numberless ways God will bring us back to the same point over and over again. He never tires of bringing us to the one point until we learn the lesson, because He is producing the finished product. It may be a question of impulse, and again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to the one particular point; or it may be mental wool-gathering or independent individuality. God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right.
We have been having a wonderful time this Session over the revelation of God's Redemption, our hearts are perfect towards Him; His wonderful work in us makes us know that in the main we are right with Him. "Now," says the Spirit, through James, "let your endurance be a finished product." Watch the careless bits - "Oh, that will have to do for now." Whatever it is, God will point it out with persistence until we are entirely His.
God deserves the best from us. Look at all the details in His creation. Even a little insect is carefully created for a certain function. Therefore, He expects perfection from us even though He knows we can never become perfect. Our post-modern culture uplifts carefree clothing or lifestyle but not sloppy on the presentations (matching colors and style from head to toe). Wedding for example is getting more sophisticated and expensive; young couples don’t mind to invest a lot of money and time to one day celebration. But they are sloppy or carefree on their daily habits in up keeping their marriage afterward. God expects us to approach perfection from inside out. With His gentle voice and loving methods, our God will put us through different lessons in helping us to grow out of our sloppiness in life.
As fellow members of His Body, we learn to hold each other accountable in dealing with our sloppiness. Of course, we need to do it in a tactful way and loving motive. We don’t use a teasing or harsh manner to point out other’s sloppy habit. We learn to remind others in private and sincere manner. And make sure we ask others to remind you when they see your sloppiness. By doing so, we are functioning truly like a body, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:26-27). God will make you perfect. And He will perfect you through your Body life with other brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, don’t run away when you find it difficult to be under scrutiny or to change yourself to interact with “strangers,” see it as a way God wants to grow you from your sloppy lifestyle.
Love you in Christ,
Lawrence
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