Saturday, October 5, 2013

DAY 504 - We Need Your Name to Be in The List (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)


**NEW link for the  15th: 13th 100 days 24 hours prayer campaign (We are going to use this 13th list leads up to the 15th. 13th from March 15 to June 22, 2013. 14th from June 22 to August 31, 2013, 15th from Sept. 1, 2013 to Dec. 9. 2013)

                               Today's Reading: Romans 16:1-16
** 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 Romans 16:1-16

Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=羅 馬 書 16&version=CUV

Bible Study
      Paul completes the book of Romans with a list of names, twenty-four names of Christians in Rome, with Rufus' mother who isn't named and Phoebe who was not in Rome but in Cenchreae serving as a deacon.

       The names should include important leaders of each of the house churches in Rome. We can see here in this passage there are five: Priscilla and Aquila, Aristobulus , Narcissus, Asyncritus and Philologus. 

       So, why Paul mentions so many names? 

Bishop N.T. Wright's says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     What can we learn from this teasing list of greetings, then?  Plenty of things.  First, of course, the strong sense of love and affection which bound Paul to Christians from various backgrounds in the imperial capital, and which he longed to see at work among them as well. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:Romans: Part 2. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.127-130.

    Yes, to have a church working well we need lots of names. Names of good leaders who have strong sense of love and affection which binds everyone together to build up the body of Christ. 



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":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

Spiritual Journal

    What I heard from Jesus today is: We need your name to be in the list

   What I got from Jesus today is a very important personal invitation to you. An invitation that your name will be included in the list of your church. What kind of list? A list of people who have strong sense of love and affection which binds everyone together to build up that church, the body of Christ.  A list of people who are willing to risk their lives like Priscilla and Aquila to protect and work with God's servant. A list of people who are willing to be a benefactor of God's servant like Phoebe. 

     I am so thankful to the Lord for two lists of people. Two years ago when St. Simon's church was under a crisis they chose to fight the spiritual warfare with spiritual bullet. They started their first weekly prayer meetings on Saturday at 9a.m., same time as we, brothers and sisters of Richmond Emmanuel Church. Today is their two years anniversary, because of those brothers and sisters who are willing to come to pray every Saturday at 9a.m., they successfully protected their own church from separation and making St. Simon a better church now. 

     So, I commend to you two lists of people. This first list consists of those brothers and sisters who participates in St. Simon's weekly Saturday 9a.m. prayer meeting. The second list consists of those brothers and sisters who participates in Richmond Emmanuel's weekly Saturday 9a.m. prayer meeting. I am so thankful that our Lord Jesus Christ gives me a wonderful experience at this moment to see all of their faces.  I am in tears seeing each one of them now! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord for each one of them that they are willing to come to pray each Saturday at 9a.m.

     Satan's most important plan is to first discourage the key leaders of a church and then destroy that church. No human effort can win this spiritual warfare. This is a spiritual warfare! Spiritual warfare needs spiritual bullets. Coming to pray together each week is one of those spiritual bullets. Kneeling to pray each day for at least three minutes in another effective spiritual bullets. I got that vision to start a movement of "kneeling to pray for 3 minutes a day" since June 27 this year. I have been kneeling to pray each day more and more. At least each day when I am making my daily Chinese and English podcast I am kneeling when the theme song is played. Lots of wonderful things happened since June 27 this year.

     I have another list of people to be thankful. Richmond Emmanuel Church started a one year fasting movement since March. We have now almost 60 brothers and sisters joined fasting one meal a week. Yesterday when I asked my wife Michelle, "What did you have for lunch today?" She said, "You forget?" Oh, I see. She has been fasting lunch each Friday till the end of next March.

     We need your name to be in the list that our Lord Jesus Christ is calling you now! Come and join us that you will be a better disciple of Christ, your family will be a better family, your church will be a better church because you are willing to be in Jesus team to fight this spiritual warfare with spiritual bullets!

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be willing to put our names in your list. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us -

一首愛歌

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman

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- First Baby Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 
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