|
APRIL 27, 2008 - Don't Get Tired Of Doing The Right Thing Galatians 6:9 "And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season you will reap, if you faint not." (KJV) I had been witnessing to a man for 25 years. I went to his restaurant to eat often. I got to know his family a little bit. I tried to solve his problem whenever he asked me to help. I talked to him about sport and politics. But he was not the type that would sit down to listen to Jesus' Word. He was most respectful and nice to me. But he never repented, believed and got baptized. I am glad that I did not give him up. Finally through his sister's testimony, he decided to accept Christ and receive baptism this year. His life has turned around tremendously. He says he feel so happy. He has turned over his burden to God. He is lifted. He wants to participate in more Christian fellowship. He wants to serve God. Recently I heard the testimony of a missionary. He prayed for the salvation of his mother 2,384 times. But she still did not believe in the Lord. But after he prayed for 2,385 times she became a Christian. Brothers and sisters do not give up doing what is right spiritually. You will reap the good result. God knows what you are doing.
|
|
APRIL 28, 2008 - Anvil Time by Max Lucado On God's anvil. Perhaps you've been there. Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for...reshaping? (A few rough edges too many.) Discipline? (A good father disciplines.) Testing? (But why so hard?) I know. I've been on it. It's rough. It's a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing. Passion? It slips out the door. Enthusiasm? Are you kidding? Anvil time. It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. "All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I'm still hurting, wondering....." On the anvil. Brought face to face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the "still, small voice." Paul, blind in Damascus. Pound, pound, pound. I hope you're not on the anvil. (Unless you need to be, and if so, I hope you are.) Anvil time is not to be avoided; it's to be experienced. Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain. Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We shouldn't try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God. God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it's in the right shape. A dull ax or bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God. Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you're still worth reshaping.
|
|
APRIL 29, 2008 - Be Serious In Serving God Ephesians 4:11-12: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;" If you are serious in serving God, you need to be equipped to do so. God has designated five kinds of personnel in the church to train you. They are missionaries (the word apostle in the Greek means some one who is sent), preachers (a prophet is someone who speaks for God), evangelists (doing effective, God-anointed personal evangelism or mass evangelism), and pastors/teachers or just good teachers of the Word. When you join the church you will be trained to serve according to your spiritual ability and talents. If you have been trained, use your ability to serve God now. Coming up we have Vacation Bible School from June 23-27, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm everyday. This is an opportunity for you to serve. Not only bring children to our church you should also volunteer to help in areas such as ushering, welcoming, counting, recording, cooking, teaching, preparing crafts, supervising children, traffic directing, teaching aid, acting drama,...etc. Register this week and tell our director your desire to help. Then from August 15 to 17 nightly at Angel Stadium, there will be a Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie as the speaker plus great music with famous Christian Musicians such as Michael W. Smith, Kutless, Leeland, etc. If you like to be involved in serving then and there, please let me know. Our church will provide Mandarin translation for this great Crusade for the first time in their history. Pray that many Chinese speaking people will be saved. We can train you to be the counselors and follow-up personnel too. Why not serve God today by calling someone and bring him or her to our Youth Fellowship at church this Friday night at 7:30 pm. Better yet bring them to church this Sunday at 10:00 am for the English Service or at 11:15 pm for the Mandarin Service. We will take care of their children too and there will be Children Worship and Sunday School at the same time. Get in training and serve God now. You will experience His power and joy! You will see yourself growing and others' growth too. |
|
APRIL 30, 2008 - Prayer for Mission Acts 13:1-3: Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. And while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them," Then when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. This passage is very significant because it tells us the beginning of the official missionary movements from the church. Notice those prayer partners were from various background and skin color. It was through the local church that missionaries were prayed for and sent out. Without the prayers and fasting at Antioch we would have no Acts 13 to 28 and the Epistles of Paul. Today, you as a purpose driven Christian, must join with the local church to pray for missions and missionaries here and around the world. Our church has been sending 7 % of our monthly offering to participate in the support of more than ten thousand missionaries in North America and Oversea. We also have the privilege of supporting the planting of churches and ministries in Orange County with another 3% of our offering monthly. We need to find out more about these missions and pray for them. And we would want to support them more in any way we can. I have heard report recently that there is one locale in East Asia where there are 6oo churches with thousands of believers without baptisteries. So our missionaries were able to provide them with innovative portable baptisteries with the cost of only $15 each. The money by the way came from your cooperative mission offering! What a joy we have to be partners with these churches who are our close kin. Some of our brothers and sisters are very interested in the Mexicali Chinese Baptist Mission in Mexico ministered by Bro. Karlson and Fanny Poon. Our church supports them financially when there are special needs and had a team to minister to those Chinese there last Christmas. They need our prayers for their new facility to be granted with permit from the government there. When you engage in prayers for missions, God may call you to be part of the mission force too just as he called those in Antioch. That is exciting. |
|
MAY 1, 2008 - Be Strong And Very Courageous Joshua 1:7-9 (NASB) Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I find it fascinating that this passage seems to link courage with the Word of God. When General Joshua would stand strong, meditate the Word of God and practice what the Word said, he would have success. When we take the step to conquer our neighborhood by spreading the message of God through witnessing, we too need to keep two things in mind. One, be fearless. Two, meditate God's Word everyday. When we meditate, we will be strengthened by God's power to be strong. Subsequently we will be able to share with others the excellence of Christ's salvation. May the Lord help us to witness to our friends and loves ones without fear just like those brave Christians living in a hostile environment today. |
|
MAY 2, 2008 - Flame Up Your Fire 2 Timothy 1:6-7: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (NIV) Those, like Timothy, who have sincerely trusted in Christ can be reminded to fan up the flame of their spiritual gifts which was given them at the time of their conversion and baptism. They may have gone cold or lukewarm in their service to Christ. It is unacceptable to God. They must move their own fan and get the fire glowing. Why did their zeal for God die down? According to this passage above, the reason may be cowardice or fearfulness. As a result they have no strength to serve God and little love for others. They have no self-control and sound judgment. These are not the characteristics of a Spirit filled man. Let us by faith come into the presence of God and ask Him to fill us with the Spirit today. Let us confess our sins of disbelieve. The Holy Spirit will come upon us to minister to those around us and the people in our church. That is purpose driven living. |
|
MAY 3, 2008 - Growing Together In Christ Ephesians 4:14-16: Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (NIV) Are you longing to grow as a Christian? There are several principles of Christian growth instructed in this passage. First, there needs to be training and equipping by the special gifted persons who have the position and are identified in the church. This was studied couple days ago in Ephesians 4:11-13. Now in Eph 4:14, we can distinguish who are the growing Christians and who are not by their stability in the doctrine of the Word of God because they should have been taught. Then God tells us that in order to grow as a Christian we must start by telling each other the truth in a loving manner. We all have weaknesses and short coming. We all need someone to point those out because this person cares for us. In a Christian Fellowship we try to learn how to encourage each other. But we must speak the truth. Otherwise we will never grow. As others point out what we need to be changed in our lives, we want to evaluate carefully, accept the truth and seek to change our ways. Then there will be improvement. Our growth is toward Christ. Our standard is Christ's standard. In every thing He is our Head. He controls all of us together. He gives us the grace to grow. Finally, it is so important that we all link together in our growth. Once again, Christian is not asked to grow by ourselves isolated. The word of God clearly teaches that we must join together very closely with other Christians as a member and part of a body. Every member of a local church is important. Every part is required to support for the growth. That's why Christian fellowship is important. It is vital for our individual Christian growth and our church growth. One very important measurement of whether we are growing or not is this: LOVE. (Ephesians 4:16)
|
