DAY 40 - God Made Me - I Give? (Cantonese Podcast click here)

Hi brothers and sisters,

I'm in Chicago for a three days meeting and will be back home this Thursday around 11p.m.. I did try my best to put my podcast online till 4a.m. this morning but the hotel internet system is too slow for me to put a podcast. So, if you would like to listen to the podcast for this post then you have to wait until Thursday around 11:30p.m.. Sorry about that!

Please click the title above for the audio podcast "Discipler 123" Cantonese Version.

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. The easiest way to go to my first blog is to type my name "Silas Ng" and have a google search. It will be on top of the list and the name of the blog is "Devotion on Fire". The site of this blog is:http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

Today's Reading: Matthew 19

Please read Matthew 19 and listen to what the Lord Jesus Christ would like to tell you before reading my Spiritual Journal below. If you would like to learn a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method you may click this link directly for the method: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.

Please click this link to worship with us - Blessed Be The Lord God Almighty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RjLEcomNcY

Please click this link to read Matthew 19:

• Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 19&version=CUV
• NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 19&version=NIV
• ESV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 19&version=ESV
• Message: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew 19&version=MSG

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Then the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Matthew 19: 21-24

It can't be a coincidence that the readings of these two days in my two blogs connected so closely to what I experienced here in Chicago of a Conference "Teaching Biblical Stewardship and Encouraging Christian Generosity in the AMiAs"

Well, with the power-points above it is such a God's timing to encourage you to be a good steward and freely give.

I love how Rev. Gary put the first Old Testament Theme of Stewardship and Generosity. You can see it it the first power-point above but I still want to type it out here for it is so inspiring:

OT Theme #1: God's generosity is reflected in creation, all of which God owns, has declared to be good and has entrusted to mankind as stewards (Gen. 1-2, 1: 27-31)

"God made the sun-it gives. God made the moon-it gives. God made the stars-they give. God made the air-it gives. God made the clouds-they give. God made the earth-it gives. God made the sea-it gives. God made the trees-they give. God made the flowers-they give. God made the fish-they give. God made the fowls-they give. God made the beasts-they give. God made man and woman-they? God made me - I ?"

Anonymous quote cited by Steve Olford, The Grace of Giving.

The rich young man's respond was just one of many responds of us as human beings of not able to give because we have all kinds of fear and problems. That is a trust issue that we can follow God's example to give!

Gary's Gospel Theme #3 is a good example of how God wants you to not only understand how to give freely but really to start to give freely as of today!!!

Gospel Theme #3: Most people in the ancient world were poor, and their call to discipleship was simple: follow. For the rich, the call was more complicated: to sell, give, come and follow.

Materialism, greed and covetousness often hinder people from following Jesus. (Mark 1:17-18,4:1-20, 10:17-31)

I praise the Lord for challenging me not to buy anything since February 27(if you have not read what I experienced please go to this link: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2011/02/day-558-are-you-same-as-solomon.html ) until Easter Sunday. I am richly blessed by not buying anything in the past 46 days. I think my lifestyle of shopping too much will change after this wonderful challenge and I can give more to the Lord by spending less on my own. Well, it is not easy to give your money, your time, your everything to the Lord! And, it is now 3:45a.m. in Chicago. In order to give to you guys I have to stay up late to write this post so that you can be fed by the Word of the Lord.

God is good, all the time! How about you?

Dear Lord Jesus,

Help us to follow your example to be able to give freely. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us - God Is Good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl06RN5zRxk&feature=related

Welcome! The purpose of this blog is to encourage those who join our Disciplers 123 to have a place to start their daily devotion - a wonderful and intimate time with Jesus. There are three reasons for you to use this blog as your daily devotion:

1. A healthy spiritual diet - One chapter of the Bible daily. We really need at least one chapter of Bible daily so that we are well fed.


2. A good example of Spiritual Journaling - What I have committed for 1,189 days(the Bible has 1,189 chapters) to write this daily post is not for teaching purposes but this is my daily spiritual journal - I write down what I hear from Jesus and how I experience His intimate relationship with me each day. I have launched a wide-spectrum research on daily devotion and have found out that there are less than 10% of Christians that are having daily devotion. Out of that 10%, many having daily devotion are doing so because of guilt (they know that they are Christians and need to have daily devotion and feel guilty if they don’t do that), duty (they need to fulfill their duty as a Christian) or study(lots of Christians primarily use their daily devotion as a time to study the Bible). I do pray and hope that you will make up your mind to have a relational daily devotion so that you can have an intimate time with Jesus. I pray that you will write your own spiritual journal as well.


3. An online discipler – One of the reasons that so many Christians do not have daily devotion is because they do not have a discipler. A discipler can help them build up this basic element of discipleship when they first become Christians. The best way for you is to have a discipler to walk with you for a certain period of time so that daily devotion become a good habit. Or, you may have a small group of two to three people to encourage and be accountable to each other so that you won’t stop your daily devotion. I offer myself as your online discipler to walk with you daily to enrich your spiritual journey. So, shall we start this journey with Jesus Christ our Lord now!