DAY 630 - Will You Pass Your Next Test? (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

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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 Thessalonians 3:6-10

** 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:

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Please click this link to read 1 Thessalonians 3:6-10

English(ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Thessalonians 3&version=ESV

Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=帖 撒 羅 尼 迦 前 書 3&version=CUV

Bible Study

     This passage shows the joy of Paul as he received the good news of Timothy's report of the faithfulness and love of the church he planted in Thessalonica.  

Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     'Now we are truly alive!' Paul says, 'if you are standing fast in the Lord'- in other words, if your life of allegiance to the Lord, and membership in his family, is really going so well.  Paul senses the life of God at work afresh in him, too, as a result of hearing this 'good news'.
     So he returns to the central task and joy of his life: thanking and praising God for all that he has done and is doing, and praying for a closer bond yet with the churches he has founded…
     In particular, Paul knows that there is yet more for the Thessalonians to face.  More trials to their faith are on the way.  They have met the first tests; will they meet the next ones? 
    

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:Galatians and Thessalonians. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.112.

      One very important question to you as you have some time of silence to ponder upon the message of this passage: What is the key for you to pass your next test? 

      
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage 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

    The title I heard from Jesus today is: Will you pass your next test?

    What I got from Jesus today is a live or die question to all of us. Why?Because if you can't pass your next test, the consequence may be discouraged, depressed, losing love, losing faith, grumbling, accusing, persecuting, separating, stealing, killing and destroying.

    Wow! Is that really going to happen if you can't pass your next test? Well, I have seen that happened so frequently to so many people, new Christians, mature Christians, leaders, pastors, priests and bishops, including myself.

     So, what is the key for us to pass your next test? The answer is here in this passage. Two words and one fruit: Faith, Love, standing fast in the Lord

     As Bishop Wright says, "a closer bond".

     Satan is coming all the way to destroy that close bond. I have quite a number of brothers and sisters having a close bond for sometimes or even many years. Some of them I personally brought up and nourished. But, when the Deceiver came, and they could not stand fast, the bonding was being destroyed in a short time, and some of them could become my enemies, or even accuser, persecutor, stealing, killing and destroying. 

     Is that my mistake, my problem, my sin, my incapability? Well, may be. But you can see that happened to Moses, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul and many more. 

     So, faith, love so that you can standing fast in the Lord is the key. If you can live that out, then those Christian leaders who raised you up can be truly alive and that Satan has no way to cut the "Family Tie" and the bonding we have. 

Dear Lord Jesus,

Lead us to be able to love and have faith in you and in each others so that we can pass our next test. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

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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- For Renewal or First Step for new Christians): http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

Emmanuel330 (40 weeks First Step Bible Study): 

http://emmanuel330.blogspot.ca/

This blog:

Discipler 123 (Daily devotion using N.T. Wright's NT for Everyone as source)

http://discipler123.blogspot.ca/