Monday, April 30, 2012

DAY 23- (English podcast click here)

DAY 23 - How Well Do You Know Jesus? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Today's Reading: Mark 6: 14-16

**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to read Mark 6: 14-16

Bible Study

We focus on just three verses. Three seemingly not important verses!

Good or bad news spreads through so fast nowadays because we have Facebook, MSN, TV, internet, email, gossip columnist, fashion magazines and all kinds of channels. But not so 2,000 years ago! People knew Jesus from all kinds of different channels and sources:
1. For those who have been waiting for the Messiah to come
They think that Jesus is Elijah because prophet Malachi prophesied that Elijah will come first before the Messiah. And what Jesus had been doing is to bring people's heart turn back to the Heavenly Father and to bring healing and reconciliation to many families:

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."
Malachi 4: 5-6

2. For those who waited to have prophets to come back to Israel
Many of those who remember the glorious days of their ancestors who were led by those mighty prophets like Moses,Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and many others. So they took Jesus should be one of those coming back to them to restore their glorious tradition.

3. For Herod who were in fear of John the Baptist coming back to seek revenge
Herod didn't listen to any of those assumptions because he was in great fear that Jesus should be John the Baptist whom he killed a while ago.

How well do you know Jesus? Who do you think He is?

Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"




My Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: How well do you know Jesus?

What Jesus gives me and you today is a very simple and yet very deep question. It is purely a relational question. What is your answer? How does your answer reflect your true relationship with Him?

Wow! I published this blog five minutes ago and Jesus said, "No, no, no! You need to tell them how well do you know me." So, I clicked open this post and add this line. Praise the Lord for your presence and your abiding Word!

He is my King, my Savior, my Lord, my friend, my fortress, my Shepherd, my coach, my refuge, my commander, my defender, my rock, my perfecter, my hope, my light, my healer, my teacher, my way, my life!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to enter into a deep and intimate relationship with you that we know who you are. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


Please click this link to worship with us -
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I

Chinese praise song - 一生最美的祝福 The Most Wonderful Blessing of My Life


You can subscribe to my podcast feed here:http://feeds.feedburner.com/discipler123



You may choose to follow my first blog which I started in July 2009:http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/

Sunday, April 29, 2012

DAY 22- (English podcast click here)

DAY 22 - Practice! Practice! Practice! (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Today's Reading: Mark 6: 7-13

**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to read Mark 6: 7-13

Bible Study

Mark 3: 13-19 talks about how Jesus appointed His twelve apostles.

From Mark 3: 20 to 5: 43 we see how Jesus demonstrated His power and way of doing Kingdom work to heal, driving out demons and preaching.

But in Mark 6: 1-6, right in Jesus own home village, even Jesus could not do any miracles. Verse 6 says that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.

Right after that Jesus sent all His twelve apostles to practice what they had been learning to test their faith. It was like a kind of mid-term examination. They did the same things Jesus taught them, to preach, to drive out demons and to heal the sick.

They all did well with what they had learned from Jesus.

How do you practice what you learn from Jesus to heal, to drive out demons and to preach?

Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"




My Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: Practice! Practice! Practice!

I bought a T-shirt from the gift shop of Carnegie Hall. The front is "Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall" and the back is "Practice! Practice! Practice!"

This is such an inspiring T-shirt for me as a musician as well as a pastor. What can we get if we do not practice what we have learned?

The standard coaching process is this:
I do, you watch
I do, you help
You do, I help
You do, I watch

You do, your apprentice watch
You do, your apprentice help
your apprentice does, you help
You apprentice does, you watch

Right after Jesus seems discouraged of His family and people from His home town were lack of faith, Jesus gave all His twelve disciples a faith booster. And after this practicing of what they had learned they reached a new level of faith!

How do you practice what you have learned from Jesus? Or, you are doing nothing?
Come on, get up and practice!

Do you know the way to be a faithful disciple of Jesus?
Practice! Practice! Practice!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to have the courage and the willingness to practice what we experience and learn from you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


Please click this link to worship with us -
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I

Chinese praise song - 一生最美的祝福 The Most Wonderful Blessing of My Life


You can subscribe to my podcast feed here:http://feeds.feedburner.com/discipler123



You may choose to follow my first blog which I started in July 2009:http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/

Saturday, April 28, 2012

DAY 21- (English podcast click here)

DAY 21 - It's OK ! (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Today's Reading: Mark 6: 1-6

**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to read Mark 6: 1-6

Bible Study

We have seen three powerful miracles in the last chapter and the connection between healing and faith. But in this chapter, when Jesus went back to his home village, he could only heal a few people. Why?

N.T. Wright says, "Lack of faith, it seems, seriously hinders Jesus' power; an important lesson for all who try to preach or live the kingdom. If even Jesus was thwarted by the unbelief of those around, we shouldn't be surprised if sometimes we don't seem able to do what we thought we should.

Have you been discouraged sometimes when you can't do anything to your relatives or close friends?

Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"




My Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: It's OK!

I have been greatly discouraged quite a number of times that I can't help some of my close friends! Today Jesus gives me a word of comfort, "It's OK! Even I could not do that two thousand years ago to my own brothers and sisters!"

Wow! That's such a relief to me!

On the other hand, this is also a warning to all of us that we might have missed a lot because we do not trust some people who we think we know them well. If in this case, it's not OK!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to not to be discouraged when we are being rejected and help us to build up the trust so that we would not miss your preparations. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


Please click this link to worship with us -
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I

Chinese praise song - 一生最美的祝福 The Most Wonderful Blessing of My Life


You can subscribe to my podcast feed here:http://feeds.feedburner.com/discipler123



You may choose to follow my first blog which I started in July 2009:http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/

Friday, April 27, 2012

DAY 20- (English podcast click here)

DAY 20 - Just Believe! (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)




Today's Reading: Mark 5: 35-43

**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to read Mark 5: 35-43

Bible Study

So here is the other part of the sandwich and in a more intensive situation.

The synagogue ruler came to Jesus in desperation because his young daughter was dying. Jesus went with him but before they arrived the girl had died. Jesus responded by encouraging the father's faith even in that hopeless situation by saying one very simple command, "Just believe!" and everything being turned around! Jesus then commanded the dead girl to stand up and she stood up.

Jesus only raised three persons, Jairus's daughter, the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7: 11-17), and Lazarus (John 11- 1-44). There were so many dead people that Jesus could have raise but He only did it three times. Why? He came not as a super healer but to let people to know that He is the Messiah that they can follow Him.

In you hopeless moment, do you think you can remember these two miracles so that Jesus can remove your fear to call you to believe in Him. Through your faith, though itself powerless, is the channel through which Jesus' power can work.

Have you experienced how Jesus turned your fear into faith?

Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"




My Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: Just believe!

It's really not easy to hear Jesus says, "Just believe!" in a hopeless situation. And yet, we are going to have quite a lot of chances to experience this kind of hopeless situation. Our faith will increase bit by bit if we dare just to believe!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to know just to believe in the midst of our hopeless situation. You are our King, our Savior, our Lord, our God. In you we have no fear. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


Please click this link to worship with us -
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I

Chinese praise song - 一生最美的祝福 The Most Wonderful Blessing of My Life


You can subscribe to my podcast feed here:http://feeds.feedburner.com/discipler123



You may choose to follow my first blog which I started in July 2009:http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/

神啊,求你不要耽延,救我啊!

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