I'm alive and back from our 5 days ACNA and AMiA Bishops' Retreat!
This is perhaps the most difficult, painful but the most joyful and fruitful retreat of my life!
Thanks for the powerful prayers and fasting of you guys that everyone in the retreat came back healthy, renewed and united with a David and Jonathan brotherly love! Lots of time in the camp I felt a very strong sense of your prayers supporting me and I can't stop from tears suddenly. I felt that most strongly in the hours from 12p.m. to 2p.m.. Do you guys use your lunch time to pray for me? If so, please tell me so that I know that is true. There are at least three days at that time I felt like floating by your prayers.
I had a kind of feeling on Monday night when I was at the hotel in Denver that I need to buy two pack on Advil and one pack of Cold and Flu pill after I took two Advil on Tuesday night(June 19)when I got cold that night. And so I really got cold on Friday and Monday(two days ago) and cold and flu Sunday night!!! I think it must be your prayers that I was OK all four times, no fever or anything painful feeling after having those pills. But that's four times! God is good! All the time! And thank you for your prayers! Your prayers save my life and do something miraculously to this retreat!
There are three key moments in this retreat:
1. Reconciliation - David and Jonathan's love
Paul says, " if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
The power of the Holy Spirit is so intense all through the past seven days. There was a holy "moment" that Bishop Trevor Walters and me say sorry to each others and asked forgiveness to each others. Since 2004 after we separated from ACiNW when Trevor was then the Chairman and we established ACiC, Trevor and I had some major misunderstanding, hurts, pains and separation. Every curse was broken at that time when we reconciled in the bus to white water rafting. I was so moved that Trevor said to me, "Silas, from now on I am your Defender, I will defend you, your integrity and your everything!" As said by all bishops and helpers in this retreat that this is one of the most important "moment" as a sign of God to give to us as the sign and fruit of this camp as a sign to revive this David and Jonathan's love between ACNA and AMiA!
2. Moment, Momentum and Movement
God has given the Anglican Communion especially AMiA and ACNA a movement in North America. But because we stepped into Satan's cunning plan in several confusing "moments" causing major misunderstanding, pain and separation that the momentum is being dragged and stuck, the Movement is being pulled back. We need from now on to catch that holy "moment" to reconcile, revive and renew so that we can create wave after wave of momentum that this Godly Movement can come at last. This is His Kingdom plan and as said by Mark(the professional counsellor that each of the bishops have two sessions with), "It's not the Brand, it's the Bride!" God planned this retreat more than a year ago, half a year before the Rwanda crisis came out. So, this retreat is beyond ACNA or AMiA business, it is God's Kingdom plan!
3. Emmanuel
Emmanuel means "God with us". Through these past seven days we all feel the strong presence of God that we can throw away all our past misunderstanding and everything dragging us to let this Emmanuel experience to carry on blessing ACNA and AMiA. We all agree that we need ACNA and AMiA for this Godly Movement in North America.
So, let's pray and fast that from now on we can catch God's holy "moments" to let the momentum and the movement happens in His Kingdom plan!!!
God is good! All the time!
**Some one told me I somewhat look like President Obama and Bishop Folly Beach and me were given a lama "Oblama" to take care of for the past five days! See the first fish I caught first time of my life! Wonderful! I caught two, they are trout, very tasty!
Today's Reading: John 5: 39-47
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read John 5: 39-47
Bible Study
In this passage Jesus tell us what is the evidence we need to show in our lives that He is with us, He is our Lord, our Savior and our King:
1. We come to Jesus, accept Jesus and believe Jesus that He is the Savior and Lord of life.
2. Even someone diligently study the Bible might mean that the Bible can be the Bethesda pool that the guy wrongly waited for healing.
3. We live to obtain the praise and glory from God and not from other people.
So, do you have those evidence to make sure that Jesus is your Lord and that He is with you daily?
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"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: So, what is the evidence?
Christians should not have any problem to have point one that we come to Jesus. But, is it really? We come to "money, power and sex" so often but rarely make time to come to Jesus. Let me ask you, "How much time you are with Jesus in an intimate and personal relationship like "dating"? Now you know what Jesus really means!
I know quite a number of Christians including Christian leaders have lots of study in the Bible and learned men and women but they are just like King Saul throwing spear at David or like King David's son Absalom trying to kill his father. Why? Because all the knowledge or even the Bible can not save anyone only Jesus Christ our Lord. All those knowledge and the Bible is like what Jesus says is to testify about Jesus, pointing to Jesus, opening your eyes to see Jesus that you can be able to come to Him.
If we have point 1 and 2 then our lives will be transformed to live for Christ and the glory of God. But, the reality is that we like to receive praise and glory from other people rather from God because we have not yet established that kind of intimate and personal relationship so we cannot be able to feel the praise of God or to see Jesus smiling to us when we give our everything to glorify God!
So, my friend, what do you say? What are the things you need to give up in order to have more evidence in your life that Jesus is really with you that He is your Lord!
Jesus is Lord! Let's show our lives of Christlikeness because Jesus is our Lord!
Dear Lord Jesus,
Transform our lives daily that we can demonstrates the evidence to the others that you are our Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Chinese praise song - 祢讓我生命改變 You Transform My Life
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