DAY 682 - Your Offerings Mean Partnership (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

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Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
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My MicroMacro Discipleship, A missing DNA in Discipleship Development: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-micromacro-discipleship.html
Subject Shifting Devotion Method(Inspired by John Stott in 1991: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

                               Today's Reading: Philippians 4:14-23

** If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please read my “Count Down 5” from my Devotion on Fire blog:

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Please click this link to read Philippians 4:14-23

English(ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians 4&version=ESV

Chinese:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=腓 立 比 書 4&version=CUV 

Bible Study

     Paul concludes this letter giving a good teaching on offering. Lots of Christians do not understand the importance of offering so they do not make much offering. Even not much, but most of them think that that is far more than enough. Let's hear what Paul wants to teach us. 

Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     Paul continues here to show both his gratitude for the gift and his anxiety lest anyone should think he is really in this business for the money.  This continued to be a problem in the early church.  There were many wandering teachers and philosophers in the ancient world who would go from place to place selling their ideas, and many of them came to be regarded as crooks and cheats.  Paul is concerned, quite naturally, not only not to be that sort but to be seen not to be that sort.  He therefore has to devise ways of saying 'thank you', and showing his deep gratitude, while making it clear that what matters is the partnership that the gift expresses.
     He therefore declares, using the book-keeping metaphor once more, that what's actually happened through their giving to him is that their own 'account' - presumably in God's eyes - has received a healthy credit balance as a result…
     Paul uses in verse 18 a picture from the Old Testament laws about sacrifices…What really gladdens God's heart is the generous spirit which proceeds from love and trust.  And all this means that he can promise the Philippians what he himself has found to be true: those who trust God in this way can be certain that he will supply all their needs as well (verse 19). 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:The Prison Letters. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.136-137.

     Are you able to summarize what have you learned from Paul concerning offering today? 
     

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

    The title I heard from Jesus today is: Your offerings mean partnership

    The message I got from Jesus today is a good learning about why we need to offer as much as we can, how we can do that and our new action plan:
1.  The amount of your offerings mean a partnership with the Kingdom ministry of Jesus as your King.
2.  Your offerings will come back to you in return to have a healthy credit balance in God's eyes.
3.  Your offerings prove that you have received the generous spirit which proceeds from love and trust.
4.  Your love and trust to God by the action of your beyond your ability offerings will lead you to experience God's promise that He will supply all your needs in His own way.

     How wonderful Paul's teaching about offerings is! But, be careful, don't turn Paul's teaching into a Prosperity Theology. There are quite some Christian leaders teaching Prosperity Theology which means if you offer much, then you will have an airplane, big houses, expensive cars and lots of money, etc. Paul does not teach that. Don't get me wrong!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to have the courage to offer as much as we can so that we can have partnership with you to extend your mighty Kingdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us -

從心合一

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWZQyLzDRQ

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 

Daily Devotion on Fire 2(2 years plan -One year New Testament, one year Old Testament): 

http://bishopsilas2.blogspot.ca/

Daily Devotion on Fire (3 years and 3 months plan, one chapter a day to finish reading the whole Bible): 

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/

Break.Build (40 days daily devotion- For Renewal or First Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 

http://emmanuel330.blogspot.ca/

This blog:
Discipler 123 (Daily devotion using N.T. Wright's NT for Everyone as source)

http://discipler123.blogspot.ca/


Rev. Nicky Gumbel's daily devotion: Bible in One Year
http://www.htb.org.uk/bioy