Thursday, November 7, 2013

DAY 537 - How to Please God? (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)

Want to know why I have been writing and recording my blogs and podcast daily since August 10, 2009? Click these three links:

Confirmation from John Stott in 2009: 
http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html
My MicroMacro Discipleship, A missing DNA in Discipleship Development: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/introduction-micromacro-discipleship.html
Subject Shifting Devotion Method(Inspired by John Stott in 1991: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

                               Today's Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-5
** 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 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

Bible Study

     Paul starts a new message in this chapter to deal with the problem of the Corinthians misusing their privilege in Baptism and Eucharist. He draws similarities of how the Israelites experienced God's presence and guidance by four elements, the cloud, the sea, the food and the drink. That is similar to what a Christian experienced and that is the Baptism and the Eucharist. But, because the Israelites took all that for granted, God was not pleased and most of them died and could not enter into the Promised Land.

     Paul wants to tell the Corinthians if they just take their privilege of Baptism and Eucharist for granted without any change in their life, to be more like Christ and not going back into their old-self or some old lifestyle of pagan worship like joining in the idol feasts as described in the next section of this chapter, verses 14 to 22, God will not be pleased and they would eat their own fruit just like how those Israelites who died in the desert. 
Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     All the Israelites had these experiences, just as all the Corinthians have had.  But God was displeased with most of them. It is a terrible warning not to presume on God's kindness...
     The point Paul wants to put is his challenge to the Corinthians to appreciate the privilege they have in sharing the bread and the wine of the eucharist, and the responsibilities that go with that.. In other words, you must not presume that because you are baptized Christians, sharing in the community life where the spirit is known and present, and eating and drinking the bread and wine of the eucharist, you have automatically reached a level that requires no further moral effort or restraint. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:1 Corinthians. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.123-124.

      There are so many people using all their effort to please other people. There are so many Pleasers on earth. Are you one of the Pleasers? Do you think your life, your lifestyle please God?

 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: How to please God?

    What I got from Jesus today is a warning to all of us whether we as Christians truly please God. We should have experienced quite a number of signs so that we are sure that God is real and He has been leading us. Just like how those Israelites were led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

     Last Saturday to Sunday, 92 people from Richmond Emmanuel Church were in Delta Hotel Whistler having a powerful and anointed Alpha weekend retreat. I prayed for quite a number of people exercising my spiritual gifts. One of the prayers was, "I feel that you are full of knowledge, but Jesus wants you not to be that complicated and just simply come to Him receiving Him as your Savior and Lord. You have not had good sleep for a while, but Jesus will give you sleep like a baby tonight. If that happen, this will be a sign to you that He is speaking to you now." You know what happened? She is now around 80 years of age and she and her husband are both engineers building bridges and high rise building in China before they retired. I did not know that. And, she slept like a baby that night. Praise the Lord!

     My point is, we all should have similar experience of God that He is so real. But, lots of time, just like those Israelites and Corinthians, we take all those signs and wonders for granted. We do not let Jesus to transform our lives to be more like Him. We are not Christlike but very worldly or having another U-turn to be self-centred running against Jesus. Pleasing other people but not God! That's what Paul wants to talk about.

     What is the message that Jesus wants to tell you today?  

Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to lead a life pleasing in your sight and not wasting time to please so many people. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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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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是時候回頭轉向神了!

   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 ...