March 2

Sunday

According to one report, a group of young brothers and sisters in Mainland China have a burden to spread the gospel to millions of migrant workers.  Generally speaking, the working hours of the workers in factories are dictated by the production timeline.  When a deadline is looming, the workers work round the clock.  Since they eat and sleep in the factories, their life is extremely monotonous and there is no privacy to speak of.  This group of brothers and sisters decided to reach out to the workers by providing performances to entertain them.  However, a big group rehearsing gospel songs, dances and skits can get into trouble very easily, so when they were training and preparing for the programs these young people will just confine themselves to a dorm and not venture out unless it is absolutely necessary.  For some of them their commitment kept them in this ministry for six months to a year—they call this “being imprisoned for the Lord.”

Evangelism

Proclaiming the Gospel with All Wisdom

Read:

Colossians 1:21-29

Thanks be to God!  God is pleased with the work of their hands.  Their performances moved the workers.  Their evangelism had the help of the Holy Spirit and many were led to Christ.  I wonder if the mainstream churches in Europe and America would find this untraditional model of evangelism readily acceptable?

According to a report, almost 20% of the population in Mainland China are middle-aged and old people.  In Shanghai alone there are over two million.  They are lonely and need someone to chat with.  As a result, a new profession has emerged during the daytime in the park of some big cities—“chatters”.  The fee is about RMB $10 for an hour.  Do you think anyone will consider including this opportunity in the mission field?

According to reports, the trend of outsourcing American jobs is still growing.  Most of the jobs are outsourced to India and China. The key to the success of such outsourcing projects is the transfer of skills and the competence of technical personnel responsible for liaison and communication.  As a result, technically skilled people who can communicate fluently in English and Chinese are in great demand in China.  How many churches would ask brothers and sisters to pray about “relocating to China for the sake of the gospel”?

Do we see God working all around us?  Things that only God can do are happening to our own flesh and blood.  Please read Colossians 1:28-29 with me again. “And we proclaim Him,…with all wisdom,…and for this purpose also I labor, striving…”  Even if we have not reached the stage of laboring and striving, at the very least, let us remember often the missionaries we support.  Ask God to open doors for them to preach the gospel so that they can proclaim the mysteries of Christ.

March 3

Monday

If someone asks: “What does it take for us to be reconciled with God?”  The answer is Jesus Christ.  We are reconciled with God by the grace of God through faith in Jesus.  Anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus Christ shall be saved.  Thus we can worship God the moment we become a Christian.  However, if someone asks: “How can we please God and experience Him in a deeper way in worship?”  How would you respond? Psalm 24:3-6 give us the answer.

Psalm 24 verse 3 asks the question: who can worship God in His holy temple?  The question is answered in verse 4.  We should examine three areas of our lives to see if we are pleasing God – our hands, our heart, and our integrity.

Worship

Worshipping God with Integrity

Read:

Psalm 24: 3-6

1.    Our hands – Hands stand for deeds or external actions.  “Clean hands” means doing the right thing, innocent of wrong doing, or actively staying away from dirty, unclean matter.  To please God, we must keep ourselves clean in our actions.  If we have sinned, we should repent before the Lord so as to keep us clean in His love.

2.    Our heart – The heart stands for our thoughts, our internal motivation.  “Pure heart” means our thoughts and the motives of our action are for the glory of God and for the benefit of others.

3.    Our integrity – “Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully.” indicates a singleness in devotion and honesty in action.

God has promised we shall receive a blessing from Him if our hands and our thoughts are pure, and if we have integrity in our character.  Have you committed certain sins in your lives of which you have not repented yet?  Are you an honest person?  Let’s pray to God to help us live a life that can experience God in a deeper way in our worship and in our life everyday.

March 4

Tuesday

As we interact with other Christians in the church, we must learn the important lesson of loving one another. This is a commandment given by Jesus to his disciples.  In the Chinese Bible translation, the phrase “love one another” was repeated 14 times.  Love is regarded as the characteristic trait of Christianity, the essence of Christian fellowship life.  Such love is founded upon Christ’s redemption of all sinners.  The Bible tells us that “we love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19.  1 Corinthians 13, regarded as the poem of love, was written by Paul.  In it he described a sacrificial, giving, and surrendering love, exemplified by Jesus for his followers.

In fellowship life, nothing supersedes the importance of carrying out the command of love.  Love for one another is tremendously powerful, and a great testimony for our Lord.  For Jesus said, if believers love one another, then all men, Christians and non-Christians alike, will know that we are His disciples.  Jesus also said, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."  Therefore to love one another is a commandment, is not optional, and is the greatest of all commandments, the cardinal rule in our fellowship with each other.

Fellowship

Love One Another

Read:

John 13:34-35

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

March 5

Wednesday

We admire the movers and shakers of our world. We are interested in knowing the life stories of people like Einstein, Edison, Roosevelt, and Churchill, to name just a few. These heroes sometimes come across as bigger than life. There is no doubt that these figures contributed much to the human race. On closer examination of their lives, we will invariably discover some of their quirks and faults. We all have failures and that is true also of our heroes.

• Did you know that Einstein remarked in 1932 that, “There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable?” Can you believe that the “father of the nuclear age” said that?

Discipleship

Discipleship and Faith

Read:

Matthew 5:18

Hebrews 11:1-6

• Did you know that Thomas Edison thought alternating current would be a waste of time?

• Did you know that FDR once predicted, when he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, that airplanes would never be useful in battle against a fleet of ships?

• Did you know that Gary Cooper turned down the Rhett Butler role in “Gone with the Wind”? He had remarked that, “I’m just glad it will be Clark Gable who’s falling flat on his face and not Gary Cooper.”

• Did you know that Charles Duell, the commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, in 1899 said: “Everything that can be invented, has been invented”?

• Did you know that Lord Kelvin, president of the Royal Society, predicted in 1883 that X-rays would prove to be a hoax?

• Did you know that in 1966, Coco Chanel said that the miniskirt was a bad joke that won’t last?¹

We can learn many lessons from our heroes. Besides making significant contributions to the human race, they have also not been afraid to tell us what they are thinking. They spoke their mind, even though they were proved to be wrong in the end. They were willing to take the risk of looking like fools. They were willing to venture into the unknown. Isn’t that what faith is all about? Faith in God ought to make us bold in our dealings. When we step into the unknown with nothing more than the promises of God, we are walking in the footsteps of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The difference between Einstein, FDR, Edison, Cooper, Chanel and us is the fact that we have the infallible WORD of God as our guide: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matt 24:35). Without God’s sure guide, even the smartest people on earth can sometimes look like complete fools.     

Matt. 5:18, I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

March 6

Thursday

Harvard University’s Christ Centered-Rules were first adopted in 1646.  They are called “Rules and Precepts” which read:

(1) Every one shall consider the main end of his life and studies to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life.

(2) Seeing the Lord giveth wisdom, every one shall seriously by prayer in secret seek wisdom of him.

(3) Every one shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day that they be ready to give an account of their proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of languages and logic, and in practical and spiritual truths … ”

And thus, 52% of the 17th century Harvard graduates became ministers!  [And I may add that we have come a long, long way from the university’s founding fathers faith in God! (author’s comment).]

Ministry

The Affection of Ministry

Read:

2 Timothy 1:8-12

Paul’s affection for the ministry is reflected in his affection and care for Timothy and Titus as young servants in Christ.  Paul was committed to discipling these two young shepherds and they were joining him on the front lines of spiritual warfare.  Paul was the veteran and sharing his insight, wisdom and experience was invaluable to them.  Above all, Paul gave them a point of reference by which they could clearly understand the expectations and priorities of their pastoral mission and responsibilities.  Paul’s assurance of ministry, personal holiness and doctrinal fidelity rests upon 2 Timothy 1:12, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” and on the power and grace of God to keep him faithful to the end.

Let us be affectionate in our ministry and rest upon God’s promise that “He is able to guard the trust He has given me!” as we serve Him.

March 7

Friday

On December 22 over 30 brothers and sisters from our church took part in singing carols in front of Grand Asia Market.  This is the first time our church has sung carols and handed out gospel tracts in a public venue after we moved to our new location.  Originally this was proposed by the NCSU Students’ Fellowship and was scheduled on the evening of Christmas Day, but because other brothers and sisters wanted to join in, the date was changed to Saturday the 22^nd.  To our surprise, a number of people turned up even though they did not sign up.  Then there were those who joined in for a short time on their way to do their Chinese grocery shopping.  It was freezing cold but the hearts of the singers were very warm.  In an hour’s time, all 275 gifts were handed out.  An exciting surprise was that a seeker who joined the caroling was the first to benefit – deciding to accept Jesus Christ then and there.  Let us praise and thank the Lord!

Evangelism

Sent to Proclaim the Gospel

Read:

Romans 10:9-15

John 20:21-22

Just as it is written in Scripture: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!”  After His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” (John 20:21)  Do not these words also warm our hearts?  God has sent so many of our own flesh and blood from so many places to the Triangle area.  They come here to work, to study, to visit relatives, to make their home with their loved ones…Is this not God’s way of putting the mission field for long and short term mission opportunities right in front of us?

May we who are sent have a message ready to share; may those who are willing to listen open their hearts ready to receive – those who sincerely call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  May the Lord add to the church daily those who were being saved.  May all the churches lift up Jesus Christ and give glory to God!

March 8

Saturday

Have you wondered how we should worship God?  A person who missed the Sunday worship in the church said: “We are in the New Testament age.  We can worship anywhere, so if we don’t feel like going to church to worship, we can turn on the TV and worship with the TV preacher on the Sunday Pulpit Hour.  It does not matter if we worship in the church or at home.”

John 4:23 says “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

In the New Testament, spirit and soul signify the inner part of a person, or his heart; the phrase “in spirit and truth” can be understood as “with our heart and as He truly is.”  To put it in another way:  God is seeking those who worship Him truthfully with his heart based on a true view of the Father which the Holy Spirit has revealed to him.

Worship

Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth

Read:

John 4:23

For example, the Holy Spirit has shown you through the Bible that God is your provider.  Therefore, during your worship, you cast your burden on Him and praise Him from your heart for who He is even if you are in the midst of financial difficulty.

The Bible tells us that God is our Savior and Lord; therefore, our worship should reflect our humility and our gratitude.

The Bible tells us that God is our judge and righteousness; therefore, we can still rejoice in worship even if we are mistreated.

When our heart focuses on who God is in worship, instead who we are, how we feel or what is best for us, our worship reaches a new height.

In verse 23, it says “for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”  God is seeking … Are you a true worshipper who worship in spirit and truth?  Will you be one?