Time with Abba, Singing Praising 親親爸父，唱詩歌頌 : DAY 674 - How Timothy Helps Paul to Connect (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

DAY 674 - How Timothy Helps Paul to Connect (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 2:19-24

** 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 2:19-24

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

Paul shows us here not only that very intimate relationship of him with Timothy just like a father and son, he also shows us how Timothy helps him to connect to those churches and leaders he is not able to.

Bishop N.T. Wright says ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._T._Wright ) :
We see here how the personal networks which Paul set up served not just to keep people in touch with each other (in a world, of course, long before telephones and radios); they served to maintain the unity of the church…
In our own day, too, it is vital that church in different parts of the world develop and maintain lively contacts with one another. Friendship in the gospel across barriers of race, geography, culture and class is an excellent way of helping today's church to be what Paul believed it should be: the single new humanity, the light in God's dark world.

N.T. Wright. Paul for Everyone:Te Prison Letters. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.110.

How connected are you with other people in your church? How can you help your church to be more connected in more areas?

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: How Timothy helps Paul to connect

The message I got from Jesus today is a key to today's Kingdom growth, not only church growth. Satan's main job is to disconnect people from God's Kingdom so that he can capture people's soul into his dark kingdom.

It is essential for us as disciples of Christ to try our best to connect as much as we can so that everybody and everything can come together to serve God's purpose.

We can learn from today's passage how to be a better Connecting Disciple of Christ:
1. To have a close mentoring relationship with God's servant and to establish a relationship like Paul and Timothy, a father and son relationship. You need to find your Paul, then you need to find your Timothy.

2. Be willing to be sent by your Paul to help him/her to connect. Then, send your Timothy to connect.

Have you got a new message today? What is your one step in this few weeks' time to help your church to be more connected?

Please take a second look at yesterday's pictures of our Connecting lunch two days ago at REC. How wonderful such kind of coincidence is to have a message of Connecting today. Do you think it is just a coincidence? Or, is that Jesus really want to tell some important thing to you?