Saturday, May 25, 2013

DAY 371 - The Call to Give And to Encourage (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Thanks to your prayers for Leslie! 

This is what Kenny SMS at 10:00p.m.:
Same as yesterday, nothing special. Will keep him stable in weekend.







Today's Reading: Acts 4:32-37

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Please click this link to read Acts 4:32-37

Bible Study

      Is there a point for Luke to repeat the same point within three chapters of the sharing of possessions?

     We need to know that the early Christians were the first Jews to try communal living. The best-known example is in the Dead Sea Scrolls community. Michelle and I visited that place just three months ago and we were told by our guide David who is a Jew, also a Christian who has just finished his Ph.D. in Theology. David told us that he deeply believe that John the Baptist was from the Dead Sea Scrolls community.

     The sign of giving all to the Early Church is a sign of the New Covenant for those new Christians. Luke also named a very important person, Barnabas as one of those who were willing to sold a field he owned and gave it to the Early Church. The meaning of his name as Son of Encouragement shows us how important it is for such kind of giving to the Christians of the Early Church. 

     N.T. Wright's says (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright):
     What you do with money and possessions declares loudly what sort of a community you are, and the statement made by the early church's practice was clear and definite.  No wonder they were able to give such powerful testimony to the resurrection of Jesus.  They were demonstrating that it was a reality in ways that many Christians today, who often sadly balk at even giving a tithe of their income to the church, can only dream of. 

N.T. Wright. Acts for Everyone, Part 1. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, p.76.



     How are you called by Jesus today to change your way of giving? 
     
                      
Let's 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 Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"



Spiritual Journal

     What I heard from Jesus today is: The call to give and to encourage
    What I got from Jesus is a very important call to all of us but so difficult to do. The past few days we have been wonderfully led by our Lord Jesus Christ to experience the power of prayers and healing. Today, Jesus calls us to enter into a new stage of our relationship with Him. Giving all you have to your loved one is the fruit and result of a true loving relationship as shown in marriage and family. Here today, we see that in the life of the Early Church. Is that just the early church? No!

     I think this is not another coincidence just as the past few days talking about the healing of the crippled beggar and we have the healing of Leslie. Some wonderful thing happened Thursday, two days ago. The day we had our 10:15a.m. joint force prayers for Leslie.

     A member of our church shared with me that she and her husband received a call that they have to sell one of their houses(I think they have three houses) and give part of those money to our Development Fund so that our goal for the first stage of buying a land to build our own church might have a better chance to accomplish. I do not know how much they will give, but it will surely be a big, big encouragement to our people just as what Barnabas did to encourage the Christians of the Early Church. 

     Dr. S.K. Lee, a member of our Toronto Emmanuel Church, has given out more than eight millions dollars for the use of our Vintage Garden 150 million dollars project (http://english.vintagegarden.ca/?page_id=14) which after ten years of hard working and planning is now in the actual building process. Stage One of 175 Senior Condo units with part of our Community Centre will soon be completed. 

     My wife and I sold our house and moved to a town house last August so that we can be part of those who can make a larger amount of offering to our Development Fund for Richmond Emmanuel Church building project. In such kind of effort from our people we received a total amount of more than $90,000 on Easter Sunday. Though, it is quite far away from our goal of our first stage: one million dollars before next March. Some people told me we can never reach this goal because our people really do not have that amount of money. Yes, we are not able. But, if that is God's preparation and plan, He has His own way to make His Kingdom plan comes true.

     I do hope and pray that no matter you are member of Richmond Emmanuel Church or people from far away that you have received a call from Jesus now to give an extra offering to support our building project that our vision and dream may be fulfilled.

     The call to give and to encourage needs to be a real one constantly as a sign to be part of Jesus New Covenant. 
         
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to discern your call is a real one so that we can give more and encourage more so that your Kingdom will be extended and your name will be glorified. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


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