Because your love is better than life!

 Please join next Tuesday Connecting Workshop: Sharing, by Bishop Page Brooks

https://www.theamcanada.ca/connecting-2024-workshops

  

Anglican Mission in Canada and Richmond Emmanuel Church have launched MISSION 113 Campaign starting January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026. We have received the baton from Archbishop Yong to continuous the call His Grace received in 1993 to bring more souls to God's eternal Kingdom! Please watch the two videos below to know from Archbishop Yong how Jesus used him to bring MISSION 113 to the Anglican Diocese of Sabah and beyond:

Archbishop Yong’s MISSION 113 videos, October 16, 2022:

https://youtu.be/Mp0-JPx4Vac

https://youtu.be/MyO6hMcOMOI

Please click this link for the video version of today's blog :

https://youtu.be/0t25Uv_FZYQ?si=TfliFnKMzNcJ00CP

Please click this link for today's Time with Abba one year Bible four passages:

http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

Nicky Gumbel's Bible in one year today:

https://evoturi-zcmp.campaign-view.eu/ua/viewinbrowser?od=3zd157131b6d471dd26510cd1848ef8722&rd=119344be60616d54&sd=119344be6060b294&n=11699e4c27381e6&mrd=119344be6060b280&m=1

Bible in one year by Nicky Gumbel:

https://bibleinoneyear.org/en/

Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace and feel His presence. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Sing a song to praise God (you are welcome to use "Father, I adore you" which I have been singing every morning for the past 20 years or your own choice to praise God)

          Father, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Jesus, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

          Spirit, I adore You, lay my life before You, how I love You.

      

Confession and Repentance (Subjective Shifting Devotion Method) 

https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/count-down-5-subject-shifting-devotion.html

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to shine on you that you are able to discover your sins and be willing to repent:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God and having Jesus as my Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sins to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

3.  John Stott's daily prayer of Christlikeness (Christopher J.H. Wright, Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017, 13)

(Please click this link to see how God used John Stott to change my life:https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/07/

           "Heavenly Father, I pray that this day I may live in your presence and please you more and more.

             Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

             Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

The Word, Time with Abba (Psalm 63:1-11, Judges 13:1-14:20;John 1:29-51; Proverbs 14:15-16)

    Today's key passage: 

    

              You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
    they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
    and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;
    all who swear by God will glory in him,
    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Psalm 63:1-11

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 to Jesus as you listen to Him. 

   

     My Listening

    The topic I received today from Jesus is:  Because your love is better than life! 

    During this time of pandemic and a lot of global crisis, lots of people live in fear each day, fear of losing their lives, death! Actually, it seems normal to fear death!

    "Because your love is better than life" from today's Psalm can help us to get out of the fear of having COVID-19, fear of losing life to enter into God's love. This promise from God can pull us out of sorrow and sadness! Because we have a better chance to live out the second part of this verse: my lips may glorify you!

    Yes, when we are sure of this promise and keep on experiencing our intimate relationship with the Lord and His unfailing love, we can live each day a day of praising God glorifying His Name, right?

    But, the story of being human beings is not like that! Most of the people on earth spend lots of time to seek and thirst for other things than God, rather than enter into God's love but sink in lots of things pulling us out of God's love, like:

    TV, computer, cel. phone, money, busy, work, work, work, drinks, food ...It's a pity!

    Today's Psalm uses ten different expressions to describe the lifestyle of those who live a life that God's love is better than life:

    Earnestly seek you

    Thirst for you

    Longs for you

    Have seen you

    Glorify you

    Praising you

    Singing to you

    Remember you

    Think of you

    Cling to you

    

     

     Dear Lord Jesus,  

     Help us to be able to live out "your love is better than life" daily that we won't live in fear anymore but to earnestly seek you, thirst for you, praise and follow you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

    Reflect on these questions:

     1. What inspiration have you received from today's catch and what have you heard from Jesus now?

      

      2.  What is your next step to be more closer to Jesus, to be holy - that is to do what Jesus wants you to do and not to do what Jesus wants you not to do?

    

      Family Corner:

     Find an opportunity to share with your family the importance of today's message. 

     

     To know, learn and practice the method of Time with Abba, please click this link:http://twa.pastoralcareschool.org/

        My first blog started in July 2009, one chapter a day to read through

     the whole Bible link:

https://bishopsilas.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-1-i-am-blind.html

        Anglican Mission Global Society:

Archbishop Melter’s 1st Connecting Workshop video, September 5, 2023: https://youtu.be/0lL8xNrgJb8

Archbishop Melter’s 2nd Connecting Workshop video, September 12 2023:  https://youtu.be/SM39qX0Q5XM

Please click this link to go to my "Break.Build" 40 days of Lenten daily devotion:

http://breakbuild.blogspot.com/2024/03/silence-1_29.html

Please click this link for the video recording of the 1st Connecting Workshop of MISSION 113 on Knowing, February 27, 2024. We had bishops, pastors and leaders from Africa, India, Sabah, Thailand, USA and  Canada. Thanks to Canon Philip Tse giving us a wonderful, warm and useful talk and Bishop Page Brooks as facilitator.

https://youtu.be/eepDh1Lqqxw?si=CB5KzyWKBL0SQvW1

Please click this link for the video recording of the 2nd Connecting Workshop of MISSION 113 on Knowing. We had Archbishop Melter from Sabah, Bishop Sospeter from Tanzania, Bishop William from Congo, Bishop Ivan from India, Bishop Page from USA, pastors and leaders from Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Thailand, USA and  Canada. Thanks to Canon Philip Tse giving us another wonderful, warm and useful talk and Bishop Page Brooks as facilitator.

https://youtu.be/GFyFWiZEY0U?si=K-ONwQ79jmdcgs81

Archbishop Yong’s MISSION 113 videos, October 16, 2022:

https://youtu.be/Mp0-JPx4Vac

https://youtu.be/MyO6hMcOMOI

Archbishop Yong's born again testimony

1st part: https://youtu.be/eogu1rMpvTQ

2nd part: https://youtu.be/BhyUU1ov1RM