Paul showed us his model: It is more blessed to give than to receive!

 

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

 https://youtu.be/jYGh7VL9e5w?si=C905x7Uhawre8tX8

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=119344be60be6c8f&sd=119344be60be149a&n=11699e4bf5fb2ed&mrd=119344be60be1485&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 142:1-7, 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Proverbs 18:6-7)

    Today's key passage: 

    

 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

Acts 20:28-38

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 is: Paul showed us his model: It is more blessed to give than to receive!

    Today's Acts 20:18-38 is one of the most moving passages in the Bible. Paul found the church in Ephesus during his second missionary journey and established the first centre to train evangelists of the Early Church. Today's passage is almost the last stop of his third missionary journey. He stopped at Miletus and invited all the elders of the church of Ephesus to go there for him to have his final address and to say good bye to them.

 

    Paul's last word in his address has a great influence to the Christian world until now: It is more blessed to give than to receive!

   Paul said it was from Jesus but we cannot find that in Jesus sayings. It is believed that it is an oral tradition and being recorded but not in the Bible.

     Paul taught his disciples as Jesus taught to set himself as a model for others to follow. And, Paul tells us that the most important model he demonstrated is:

     It is more blessed to give than to receive! 

    I sincerely hope and pray that you can also live out Paul's model to demonstrate through your life that "It is more blessed to give than to receive!"

     Dear Lord Jesus,  

     Help us to be able to live out our life witness as Paul showed to others that it is more blessed to give than to receive. 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 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 videos of May 7 and 14 Workshop by Bishop Page:

     May 7: https://youtu.be/RgVc5KnPpe0?si=6Ot2WoGqqmsR2e0z

        May 14: https://youtu.be/v1BmK2yiveQ?si=uHJObsDdIdTNhr5N

        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

Powerful testimony of Mr. Lu of All Saints Cathedral, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Jesus lay hands on him while I asked members of Golden Saints Fellowship to raise up their hands to receive healing and blessings in October 2022. His 4th stage cancer being healed:

https://youtu.be/9TMSj_CJK9s?si=hGZ0sywgCCwD6-Vd