Saturday, July 13, 2013

DAY 420 - Are You Having A Challenging And Life Changing Witness? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)



Kneel 3 Minutes A Day Campaign started on June 27, 2013: http://discipler123.blogspot.ca/2013/06/day-404-i-will-return-kneel-3-minutes.html
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**NEW link for the  14th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 14th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013)


Update  for Leslie, Thursday July 11, 2013:
Leslie walked more and faster today. Physio and nurses are happy.

Today's Reading: Acts 19:23-41

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Please click this link to read Acts 19:23-41

Bible Study

      We read from last two days passages of how Paul changed his strategy in the beginning of his third missionary journey(Acts 18:23-21:16) to stay in Ephesus for two years establishing the hall of Tyrannus, the first Christian seminary. Today we come into an awareness that the fruit of this seminary caused a great disturbance to the whole city of Ephesus. 

     It's all about money. When more and more people become Christians because of Paul's new strategy to raise up more Christian leaders, more people stopped to worship idols and to buy idols. The new way of life brought the fear and anger of those who were making shrines and idols as a big business. They cause a huge riot to accuse Paul and his disciples.

     The theatre in Ephesus hold around 25,000 people. You can imagine how serious it was when 25,000 people were shouting with anger to take away Paul and his disciples. The funny thing is that most people did not know what they were shouting about, they were just following the wave of atmosphere like in a big football or soccer match.

     It is in this situation that we understand how courageous and powerful Paul had been using his new strategy to change the whole city, from idolaters to Artemis to worshippers of Jesus. 
     
     Have we learnt the lesson of being so definite in our witness to the powerful name of Jesus that people will indeed find their vested interests radically challenged, while being so innocent in our actual behaviour that there will be nothing to accuse us of?  There is a fine line to be trodden between a quiet, ineffective 'preaching' of a 'gospel' which will make no impact on real life, on the one hand, and a noisy, obstreperous, personally and socially offensive proclamation on the other. 
    
N.T. Wright. Acts for Everyone, Part 2. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, p.123.

     What kind of witness have you been having? A challenging and life changing one or an ineffective "club life" one? 
                                     
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: Are you having a challenging and life changing witness?

    What I got today is a challenging question to all of us: Are we having an effective ministry for Jesus or just enjoying an ineffective club life?

    How do you answer this question?

    It is not difficult to answer this question but it is very difficult to live it out. Why? Because we all know the answer.

    Jesus says, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit."      Luke 6:43-44

    Yes, we know the answer thinking that we are the good tress bearing good fruit. But, why there are so many Christians, including top Christian leaders having so many terrible misconduct? Why so many learned Christians not helping people to experience transformation but looking down upon others, spreading rumours and accusing each others? Why?

    Are you having a challenging and life changing witness? Really?

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be able to have a challenging and life changing witness. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

You may choose to follow my other daily blog: 

Daily Devotion on Fire 2(One year New Testament): 

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

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

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 

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世世代代頌讚你的作為，傳揚你的大能!

  今日博客的錄影: Nicky Gumbel  牧師今日靈修博客: https://us17.campaign-archive.com/?e=590b90010b&u=607cd553028b55c8cfb706e8a&id=94c5e0eae4 Nicky G...