May revival fall upon your people
May their hearts burn with love
For others perishing without You
May they show love and care
May they bring healing where there is hurt
May they seek forgiveness
Where there are misunderstandings
May they genuinely repent
And seek restitution for their wrongdoing
So that their songs of praise may rise up
To heaven and be a pleasing aroma to You
This I pray
In Christ most precious Name
Amen
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Prayer of Guidance
Dear Lord, King of Kings
Lord of Lords
I seek your counsel
Be my guide
That I may not stumble
Establish my tent
Grant me sharp spiritual ears
To hear your promptings
That I may not stumble
For time is limited
So I lay down my plans
Guide me as you’ve guided Moses
Every step, every move
Until thy presence shine forth
Where thy servant resides
Now and forever more
Amen and Amen and Amen
Lord of Lords
I seek your counsel
Be my guide
That I may not stumble
Establish my tent
Grant me sharp spiritual ears
To hear your promptings
That I may not stumble
For time is limited
So I lay down my plans
Guide me as you’ve guided Moses
Every step, every move
Until thy presence shine forth
Where thy servant resides
Now and forever more
Amen and Amen and Amen
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Prayer
May this Christmas , see a rich harvest of souls
May they turn out to be faithful followers
Who will spread your grace and love
To the furtherest corners of the earth
Amen
May they turn out to be faithful followers
Who will spread your grace and love
To the furtherest corners of the earth
Amen
Monday, December 17, 2007
The First Christmas- Visit of the Magi
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. ( Mt.2:11)
Pix 1 : Christmas at the Curve (left) Christmas at Ikano (pix 2, 3)
In the gospel of Matthew, we have record of the first Christmas when three wise men (Magi) from the East followed the star to the place where the baby Jesus was born and there they knelt down and worshipped him with gold, incense and myrrh.
How does this account speak to us today? Gold is as precious today as it was in the days of Herod. Our money is our gold. Do we tithe as part of our worship to God? There are wonderful testimonies of people who tithed faithfully and experienced God's blessings and faithfulness. It's not easy and I'm still learning.
Is our worship as incense rising up to heaven? Apart from our relationship with God, on a horizontal level, are we a fragrance within our sphere of relationships?
Myrrh speaks of death and hope. Jesus' body was embalmed with myrrh. Why? Because he would rise again on the third day. Do we die to our selves, our ambitions?
Christmas in the real sense is so different from the commercialized one with Christmas sales, Christmas trees, dazzling lights and music and booze.
Christian Apologetics (Part 2)
Mrs. Wong was an old neighbor. Her son is working in Taiwan and her married daughter, Alicia works as an accountant in a developer's firm and visits her on weekends to help her get her groceries. Mrs. Wong lives with her ninety year odd old mother.
She spends her day at home, glued to the square box, only moving when it's time to prepare meals or when nature calls or for grocery shopping. Sadly, her lifestyle reflects many women in their retirement age.
She's a-religion. Although her daughter, Alicia has embraced Buddhism in a big way, she remains non commital. She follows her to the temple, sometimes, though.
I shared several testimonies with her. It's not the first time, I've shared with her. She told me her former colleague had also shared with her.
I pray that through a chain of witnesses, Mrs. Wong will one day become a Christian.
She spends her day at home, glued to the square box, only moving when it's time to prepare meals or when nature calls or for grocery shopping. Sadly, her lifestyle reflects many women in their retirement age.
She's a-religion. Although her daughter, Alicia has embraced Buddhism in a big way, she remains non commital. She follows her to the temple, sometimes, though.
I shared several testimonies with her. It's not the first time, I've shared with her. She told me her former colleague had also shared with her.
I pray that through a chain of witnesses, Mrs. Wong will one day become a Christian.
Christian Apologetics
D.... heard the testimony of a Chinese pastor on video. The testimony was very touching and tells of God's providence to a poor student throughout his years of studies abroad. He shares of how through the generosity of fellow Christians, he came to know a God who is real, who cares, who answers prayers and who can be trusted. After his graduation, he went into full time ministry.
I cut out the sermon by Dr. Billy Graham relating to Christian families. Instead, I shared of God's faithfulness to me.
D.... has been exposed to a church wedding when he attended the wedding of his sister in law's sister. His excuse is that he is a Buddhist and he gets drunk sometimes.
The devil's ploy is often that all religions are the same and that "oh, I'm not good enough to be a Christian."
How to defend the issue of "all religions are the same." Use an analogy that your listener can relate to. For my Chinese students in China, I would tell them :
"There are many ways to go to Beijing - by train, air, bus, on foot etc. But there is
only ONE way to heaven. And it is not by being a good person, obeying your parents, abiding by party rules etc, etc. Although such things are good, by themselves if they are within the law, they cannot solve the SIN issue. Jesus, by his death on the cross serves as a BRIDGE between GOD and MAN. When you accept Jesus as LORD and SAVIOR, you bridge the gap between yourself and GOD. He solves your sin issue because your sins are forgiven.
Other religions provides rules. Christianity asks ONLY that you BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again. Once you confess that and invite JESUS to be your LORD and SAVIOR, you have eternal life and your sins are forgiven- as simple as all that. And your place in heaven is guaranteed. In other religions, you can work till doomsday and still WILL NOT be able to fulfill your tasks because sinning is in our nature.
How to defend the issue of "I'm not good enough to be a Christian."
You don't become good to be a Christian. It's the other way round. As Jesus said, I come for the sinners. Once you believe in Jesus Christ, something wonderful takes place within your heart and spirit and by God's enabling, you will desire to do good because you love HIM.
I cut out the sermon by Dr. Billy Graham relating to Christian families. Instead, I shared of God's faithfulness to me.
D.... has been exposed to a church wedding when he attended the wedding of his sister in law's sister. His excuse is that he is a Buddhist and he gets drunk sometimes.
The devil's ploy is often that all religions are the same and that "oh, I'm not good enough to be a Christian."
How to defend the issue of "all religions are the same." Use an analogy that your listener can relate to. For my Chinese students in China, I would tell them :
"There are many ways to go to Beijing - by train, air, bus, on foot etc. But there is
only ONE way to heaven. And it is not by being a good person, obeying your parents, abiding by party rules etc, etc. Although such things are good, by themselves if they are within the law, they cannot solve the SIN issue. Jesus, by his death on the cross serves as a BRIDGE between GOD and MAN. When you accept Jesus as LORD and SAVIOR, you bridge the gap between yourself and GOD. He solves your sin issue because your sins are forgiven.
Other religions provides rules. Christianity asks ONLY that you BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again. Once you confess that and invite JESUS to be your LORD and SAVIOR, you have eternal life and your sins are forgiven- as simple as all that. And your place in heaven is guaranteed. In other religions, you can work till doomsday and still WILL NOT be able to fulfill your tasks because sinning is in our nature.
How to defend the issue of "I'm not good enough to be a Christian."
You don't become good to be a Christian. It's the other way round. As Jesus said, I come for the sinners. Once you believe in Jesus Christ, something wonderful takes place within your heart and spirit and by God's enabling, you will desire to do good because you love HIM.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
A Faulty Remote
The Rusty Coil (Pix 1) Remote Control (Pix 2)
Liu Po (ur) returned my call. She’s unable to make it for the breakfast video. What a waste, I thought. I’ve got three videos and no one to show it to. I had invited my nephew, David but he shied off when he heard about the video. But surprise, surprise!!! My neighbors whom I had also invited and requested to RSVP by Tuesday, called on Wednesday evening. Beyonce is coming with a friend.
I’ve previewed the English video. The testimony is powerful. If I use it, I would need to cut off the songs. I’ve also seen the Chinese version. It is good too. Which to choose, that’s the problem. If I choose the Chinese video, I don’t have to bother with using the remote but if I choose the English video, I would need to select the shorter version and to fast forward and I'm unable to do it because the remote control is not functioning since the battery had leaked causing a rusty spring. The machine doesn't make allowance for manual function. Nevertheless, I would still need to get a new remote that works on my video.
What kind of dinner should I prepare for my guests? The choice is between Italian and Chinese. I don’t trust my oven, yet I’m inclined towards Italian. We’ll just have to see this coming Sunday.
Lord, may your Holy Spirit touch the hearts of those watching the video.
In Christ's Name
Amen
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