February 10

Sunday

In the movie Battle of the Alamo, character Davy Crockett in one scene was standing guard on a wall just after a messenger had slipped away from the Alamo through enemy lines to seek help for the besieged troops inside the fort.  The commander Jim Bowie came to Crockett’s post and said, “Makes a man ponder the possibilities, don’t it?”  Crockett’s reply was classic:  “People expect things … If it was just me, simple ol’ David from Tennessee, I might drop over that wall some night and take my chances.  But that Davy Crockett feller – they are all watching him.  He’s been on these walls every day of his life.”  “People expect things.”  Have you ever pondered that?  “People expect things.” 

Ministry

Expectations

Read:

Philippians 1:18-25

Expectations are very powerful.  We respond to them, they drive us, we can be crushed under them and we even complain about them.  However, we cannot escape them.  People expect things.  This is also true in the church as well.  Those who teach the Word of God like pastors, elders, Sunday school teachers and other church leaders are subject to constant evaluation by the congregations they lead.  Our own people expect things of us.  And the burden that flows from these expectations can be overwhelming, especially to a pastor.

Since December 2000, RCCC has had a spotty English pastoral ministry.  During that time until September 2007, the pulpit was occupied for just 15 months.  People expect the pulpit to be filled.  People expect things.  It’s important to know what our congregations expect of us, but it’s far more important to think about the whats, whys and hows our Lord himself expects of us.  When we serve are we ministering according our self-reliance or according to His purpose of what, why and how?

February 11

Monday

I have been a Christian for quite some time.  Years ago I used to hear the older generation tell many moving stories of foreign missionaries.  Then there were the accounts of how the past generation of Chinese preachers was persecuted.  In recent years the news have mostly been about how the number of believers in Mainland China has drastically increased and occasionally we hear disturbing news of preachers being arrested and house churches closed down.  But generally speaking, we have been encouraged by the spreading of the gospel and by how the churches have prospered.  However, above all these are reports of what China’s reforms and open door policy have brought about – improvement in the standard of living, economic development, the gap between the rich and the poor widening, everyone focusing on money, every person working hard for his own interest, evading the control of authorities by whatever means and venting all your views on the internet.

Evangelism

That I May Become a Fellow Partaker of the Gospel

Read:

1 Corinthians 9:13-23; Philippians 4:17

However, a few days ago, through careful recommendations I had the opportunity of stepping into a neat little place.  There were a lot of small cars parked in the yard.  After I entered and went upstairs, I only saw 30-40 lightweight chairs arranged in rows and a small table against the wall.  In the two bedrooms there was a simple big bed.  Coats and jackets were piled on the bed.  After the two-day meeting was ended, I was told that this was the home of a young preacher.  He was also a successful senior manager of a company.  He lived in this apartment without even a sofa with his wife and a four-year-old.  Though this couple had only been believers for less than ten years, they have opened their home for over six years.  The following day, they went early to the airport to see us off.  It turned out that the whole family was going to Hong Kong for a vacation to celebrate the child’s birthday.  After we parted with a prayer, my heart could not calm down for a long time.

Thanks be to the Lord!  From the middle class of today’s Mainland Chinese, God has raised up servants who are willing to live in this way in spite of their abilities and financial prosperity.  I seem to hear the lyrics of a hymn: “…I gave up my heavenly home for you, what did you give up for me?..I gave up my life for you, what did you give up for me?”  Paul made himself “a slave to all” that he “might win the more” (I Corinthians 9:19) “And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow-partaker of it.” (I Corinthians 9:23)

Maybe today you and I are not at that stage yet.  But are we willing to do something that can touch ourselves and touch others for the sake of becoming a fellow-partaker of the gospel?  “I seek for the profit which increases to your account.” (Philippians 4:17)  Amen. 

February 12

Tuesday

One time I asked a person why he believes in Jesus.  He said that he not only believes in Jesus but also believes in other gods as well.  To him, believing in Jesus is like just buying another insurance policy.  He wants to make sure at least one of the gods he believes in will bring him to heaven when he dies.

The first commandment in the Decalogue is: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Jehovah is the only true God.  The word “before me” means “in my presence” As we approach God in worship, our lives must not have any close association with other false god implicitly or explicitly.  In His presence, we must worship Him as the only true God because He Is the only true God and demands us to act so in our worship.  That’s why Christians don’t go to temples of the world religion because if we do, we do not acknowledge our God as the only true God.

Worship

Worshipping the Only True God

Read:

Exodus 20:3

Today, Christians know that Jehovah is God, but sometimes, they are ignorant about the practice of the world and unintentionally bring other gods into the presence of Jehovah in their lives.  One example is the popular practice of Yoga.  Many people think Yoga is just a health exercise; on the contrary, it is an exercise to attain the physical, mental and spiritual integration of one’s self for the union with the spirit of the universe.  All Hindus practice it. Yoga is their training of such a union of themselves with their Universal Spirit.  Christians must be very careful as we approach things of the world.  Do not be easily led into any practice of the soul.  We must be critical in our thinking and in our understanding about the origin and the spiritual meaning of such practices in the light of Biblical teaching.

Worship starts with a relationship, a God-man, a Lord-servant and Savior-redeemed relationship.  This relationship must be unique and focused. God demands our exclusive loyalty to Him.  David says: “The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied.” (Psalm 16:4)  Let us make sure that we worship the only true God in our mind and in our action.

February 13

Wednesday

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul drew the analogy between the Christian church and the body.  A body is composed of many members that are intimately related.  Jesus Christ is the head of the body, and we are all members of Christ’s body.  As the members of the body are joined together, so are all Christians joined in fellowship with each other.  Just as members of the same body cannot live apart from each other, Christians should not be isolated from other Christians.  Once a person accepts Christ, he becomes an essential part of the church body and should therefore be intimately involved in fellowship with other Christians.  Every born again Christian “ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

Every Christian needs to be in fellowship foremost with God, then with family, brothers and sisters in Christ, co-workers, and friends. Fellowship life reflects a close relationship of sharing each other’s joy, bearing each other’s burden.  As stated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

Fellowship

Caring for Each Other

Read:

1 Corinthians 12:27

February 14

Thursday

A Christian strives to have a good relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s why Christians should love the church.  Jesus is the founder and head of the church.  He loved the church and sacrificed Himself for it.

That doesn’t mean that the church today is perfect.  The only perfect church is a church with no people. Still, the message of Jesus seems to be that, if you really love Him, you will love His church.

Membership in an organization can seem like nothing more than getting your name on the roll.  But in the church of Jesus Christ, it is more than that. It is being part of God’s toolbox, which God uses to work on the world.

Others prefer to be members of the church universal rather than any local expression of the body of Christ.  Yet if we understand the church to be a functioning body doing Christ’s work in the world, how will the church function unless it does so on a local level?  And if it is going to function effectively on a local level, it must have people who are committed to it.

Discipleship

Discipleship and Church Membership¹

Read:

Hebrews 10:24-25

Ephesians 4:1-6

¹Adapted from Current Thoughts & Trends, August 2003, 22

It is sad, but often true, that many of us want the benefits of church membership without bothering with the responsibilities and costs involved.

Paul says, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” (Romans 12:15).  As members of the church, we get to experience both.  Our lives will be stunted if we only experience one and not the other.

In his book The Disciplines of a Godly Man (Crossway), author Kent Hughes says that the person who attends church without joining the church is like the hitchhiker who wants a free ride, but expects his host to pay for the car, the gas, any repairs, and the insurance.

The bottom line is that we join the local church because of Jesus, who loves us, and gave His life for the church.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

February 15

Friday

At work I recently helped craft a mission/vision and values statement to guide the purpose and direction of our unit.  This statement declares our existence and how it hopes to fulfill its responsibility and establish a niche in the company.

The apostle Paul desired to train Timothy and Titus in pastoral leadership with all of its expectations so that they would have a purpose and direction and not be overwhelmed.  Paul wanted to continue to invest in their spiritual and pastoral development.  To help them to be effective servants of Christ, he wrote instructions to them in First and Second Timothy and Titus among the so-called ‘pastoral epistles.’  Paul wanted Timothy to approach church ministry with a sense of priority and purpose so he wrote him a mission statement for effective pastoral care encompassing the significant elements of shepherding, the reasons behind them and how to accomplish them.  This statement is found in 1 Timothy 1:5,

Ministry

Mission Statement

Read:

1 Timothy 1:3-11

“The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (nasb)

Clear and powerful.  This one verse provides us the answers to the significant questions – the what, the why, and the how of what we are called to do in the name of Christ.  We should adopt this statement as our own standard in our service and ministry to Christ as well.  [Subsequent devotionals will touch on the what, the why and the how of doing ministry.]