DAY 731 - Are You God's True People? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

I would like to invite you to join us in a 100 days of prayer (From April 9 to July 17) for Michelle, our family and my ministry. Please click this link to join us to pray:
New 100 Days Prayer Campaign (2014.04.09-2014.07.17)

What you need to do is very simple. Choose one hour slot for the whole week to pray for Michelle, our family and my ministry. You may use the whole hour in prayer or you can still do you work in your office but use as much time as you can to pray and the other time work prayerfully that hour to pray for us. I encourage you to participate. We need you to join us! Trust in the power of prayers!

This blog/podcast has people from 111 countries visiting and more than 1/2 million visits.

Want to know why I have been writing and recording my blogs and podcast daily since August 10, 2009? Click these three links:

Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
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: Hebrews 11:7-12

** 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:

http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

To use this simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link:

 .Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf

Please click this link to read Hebrews 11:7-12

English(ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews 11&version=ESV

Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=希 伯 來 書 11&version=CUV

Bible Study

     The story of God's true people who have faith is being revealed here for us as models to follow and as a check-up of our spiritual life. A check-up whether we are God's true people, just as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah. 

Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
      'Faith' here is not a general religious attitude to life.  It's not simply believing difficult or impossible things for the sake of it, as though simple credulity was itself a virtue.  The faith in question, as becomes increasingly clear throughout the chapter, is the faith which hears and believes the promise of God, the assured word from the world's creator that he is also the world's redeemer..
     Faith, it now emerges, is not only the assurance of unseen realities, and the backbone of hope, as in verse 1; it is not only the belief that God exists and rewards those who seek him, as in verse 6; it is also the badge that marks people out as members already of God's true people.

N.T. Wright. Hebrews for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.133, 134.

      By faith, without seeing anything and without any physical assurance, these historical spiritual fathers moved out of their comfort zone into the unknown future.  By faith, they experienced God's great power. By their faith, we have a better chance to follow their models.  By their faith, we have a better chance to be willing to move out of our comfort zone to the unknown future to experience God's mighty power and provision. Do you have that kind of faith? 

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: Are you God's true people?

    The message I got from Jesus today is a simple question. So simple that we do not have any hesitation to say, "Yes, I am God's true people." 

     Wait! Are you so sure? When is the last time that you have no money but you step out to start a new ministry? When is the last time that you do not have enough facts and resources but you step out to do what you need to do?

     Actually the key is there already in today's passage: By faith.
     The secret is in what Bishop Wright says:

It is the faith which hears and believes the promise of God, the assured word from the world's creator that he is also the world's redeemer..

     Are you able to hear and believe the promise of God, the assured Word from our Lord Jesus Christ that you have faith to do something seemingly impossible? 

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be willing to exercise our faith to enter into the unknown future so that we can be your true people.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Rev. Nicky Gumbel and Mrs. Pippa Gumbel's greetings to the Anglican Mission Canada's National Conference May 15-16, 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHpAEv_kl3c&feature=youtu.be

Please click this link to worship with us -

從心合一

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

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I&noredirect=1

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