DAY 673 - You Need to Follow God's Architect (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

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: Philippians 2:12-18

** 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 Philippians 2:12-18

English(ESV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians 2&version=ESV

Chinese: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=腓 立 比 書 2&version=CUV

Bible Study

     After Paul talks about how to have the mind of Jesus to serve and die, he asks the Philippians to work out their salvation. Our Salvation needs to be work out? How? 

Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
     Paul, in this passage, is like an architect.  He is looking forward once more to the 'Day of the Messiah' - the day when God will bring the whole cosmos to justice and peace, through the return of Jesus as Lord (see 3.20-21). He doesn't know whether he will live to see that day.  But he has designed a building that, if the builders keep working at it the way he's showed them, will stand out as the one thing of beauty in a world of ugliness  the sign of what God will eventually do to the whole city. 

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:Te Prison Letters. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.105-106.

     How good are you working out your salvation? Which plan, model or architect have you been following to build that 'holy city' for the Lord? Or, have you been grumbling to those architects and engineers God sends to your church helping you to build His own body as the Holy City?
     

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: You need to follow God's architect

    The message I got from Jesus today is such a coincident because I just experienced similar situation yesterday.

    You can see the pictures below of our church's second Connecting lunch. The purpose of this Connecting lunch is to connect the people from our English worship to the people of our Chinese worship, especially to those parents who have their children in our English worship. 

     It was a wonderful a glorious time for us to connect together especially through a meaningful building competition. Eight groups of people were being asked to build a structure using only spaghetti and marshmallow which can be able to hold one to more books. Most groups were in chaos except one group with a civil engineer. The engineer knows how to make a simple and firm structure and his group members just follow his plan. All other groups have too many suggestions and instructions and just in a mess.

     Take a look at those pictures now and you understand what Paul is talking about in today's passage:
1. We need to identify God's architect and engineers.
2. We follow them and their plan.
3. No grumble or dispute.

     If a church do not understand this and make a mess on these three steps, then it could be in a mess!

     Can you be able to follow God's architect to build up Christ body nicely without grumbling and disputing? 
    
Dear Lord Jesus,
Lead us to be able to build up your body, our home church by following those architects and engineers sent and anointed by you.  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Please click this link to worship with us -

從心合一

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWZQyLzDRQ

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) Matt Redman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

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/