Weekly Sharing

“There is no room available” ————- Journal of reflection 9/10/2014

Have you ever had experiences in waiting, especially waiting for doctors? Last Monday, I had a doctor’s appointment. I thought it was an easy and quick one because it was a follow up visit. However, as soon as I entered the doctor’s office, I discovered that I was wrong – the room was packed with waiting persons. Immediately I said to myself, “Uh, uh, this is going to be a long day”. An hour later, a young lady with a young man who came in much later than me started to grumble about wasting time in waiting. She wanted her accompanying young man to check with the front desk inquiring the reason of delay. The young man reluctantly walked toward the front desk. An answer was given by the front desk, “doctors were running late in their schedules”. This is a useless answer that I kind of would expect, without asking. 🙂 Disappointingly, the young man has to come back and wait.

After waiting for an hour and half, I finally was called to see the doctor. The nurse explained to me the reason why there is such a delay. According to her, there are only 5 patient rooms. With 6 doctors are on schedule to see patients, nurses would have to scramble around stealing room for each attending doctor. She thought this is plainly a scheduling problem from the front desk. I am kind of agreeing with her. But, whatever the reason is, it is not an enjoyable situation to be in.

In 2000 years ago, there is another “No room” situation. When God sent His beloved son Jesus Christ to this world to save us from the penalty of sin, this world, however, has NO room but a stable for Him to be born. The situation signifies rejections against Him and His followers from this world. In fact, throughout Jesus’ ministry in this world, we saw incessant rejections from Jews and Pharisees and eventually, He was crucified on the cross. Before Jesus’ departure from this world, He told His disciples that “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 你們心裡不要憂愁,你們信神,也當信我。 在我父的家裡有許多住處,若是沒有,我就早已告訴你們了,我去原是為你們預備地方去。我若去為你們預備了地方,就必再來接你們到我那裡去,我在哪裡,叫你們也在哪裡。(John 14:1-3)” Jesus told us that we don’t have to worry, because, in God’s house there is a plenty of rooms available for whoever receives Him as personal savior, even when this world can’t accommodate him / her. What a great love and promise that we have received!

Therefore, my dear friends, in this world, we may have to wait for someone’ availability and we may run into situations like “there is no room available”. But, it is totally different if you are God’s children. There is NO “waiting”, whatsoever, when you want to communicate with Him because there exits a “direct link” between Him and you. And, in His house, there is always room available for you. Isn’t this wonderful? May you have such a privilege!

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“What do you expect to see?” ———- Journal of reflection 9/3/3014

Labor Day weekend marks the official end of the Summer break – for BBQ season and for most of the schoolers. Life is supposed to be back to normal this week. Actually, today is the first day that I have to get up early to drop off my son to school. At the entrance gate of the school, I saw school principal and vice principal were standing there to greet every student. I was moved to see such a touching scene. Just imagine that you are a freshman to the school and this is the first day for you. What would you expect to see – a lot of new faces, new teachers, new class material and new classrooms, right? How do you feel? Nervous, right? I think so!

This makes me wonder what kind of scene is when you and I approach the gate of heaven after this life, as we are freshmen too! What do you expect to see? Do you expect to see friends and families at the gate? Do you expect to see Jesus standing at the gate to greet you? Or, do you expect to see the gate is closed and you can’t get in? The question is which one is your reality? The answer is it depends upon your choice in this life!!

If you are a true believer of Jesus Christ, then, you should have the confidence to see Jesus standing at the gate to greet you, because apostle Paul indicated, “In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 我們因信耶穌,就在祂裡面放膽無懼,篤信不疑地來到神面前。(Ephesians 3:12)”. And, of course, you should expect to see your friends and families at the gate, IF they are true believers too! Now, it comes to the painful reality: IF you are NOT a true believer yet, then, you should not expect that you would see Jesus standing at the gate to welcome you – it is like the case that you haven’t been admitted to a school then you should not be expecting to attend the school. In this case, you are likely to see the gate of heaven is shut before you.

However, you may argue that there is NO life after death. The truth is there is a judgment waiting for us after death, according to the author of the book of Hebrews, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment 按著定命,人人都有一死,死後且有審判 (Hebrews 9:27)”. Therefore, it is critical that you understand the implication of making the right decision in this life. A decision to receive Jesus as your personal savior will guarantee you seeing Jesus at the gate of heaven to welcome you. Hope you will make the right decision, my dear friends!

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“I am not there anymore” ——– Journal of reflection 8/27/2014

Last Monday, I overheard a hallway conversation passing by my office at my working place. A person asked his converser, “Are you still at the same job?” The converser answered, “I am not there anymore. I moved to a new job weeks ago.” This conversation prompts me to think a little bit, as one of my colleagues just moved to a new position a week ago. It seems to me job churning is becoming a common norm nowadays.

Sometimes “I am not there anymore” does not necessarily mean he or she moves to a new location. He or she could work remotely at the same location for his / her new assignments, as modern technology enables communications with others through various means with little limitations. If we ponder it further we can find that being a Christian bears the same “I am not there anymore” concept. In a sense, when one becomes a Christian, he or she is still in this world. That means he or she is still working at the same location except he or she is working for God from now on, i.e. to witness Him. No wonder someone used to say, Christians are “in this world” but “NOT of this world”.

In fact, there is a true change of location for Christians too, spiritually. Apostle Paul indicated to us that “He (God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 他救了我們脫離黑暗的權勢,把我們遷到他愛子的國裡;我們在愛子裡得蒙救贖,罪過得以赦免 (Colossians 1:13-14)。” From God’s point of view, we do have a change of position and a change of location at the same time. Sometimes we don’t realize this fact because we are still physically located in this world – not until the day of Christ’s second coming, we won’t experience it physically.

Oftentimes, most of us feel frustrated in this world – we need to keep hopping from job to job and from location to location. It is like the Israelites wander in the wilderness. But we would be in the worst situation if we were still physically situated in this world couldn’t leave when the judgment day comes. Being a Christian, the hope to be with the Lord sustains one’s life journey in this world, even at the worst condition. Boethius, a sixth-century philosopher and was imprisoned and eventually executed by King Theodoric the Great, once said, “Nothing is miserable but what is thought so, and contrariwise, every estate is happy if he that bears it be content. 無事可使人痛苦,除非自怨自艾;反之,若知足則處處是樂土。” His faith in Christ gives him a perspective that overcomes circumstances. The hope in Christ gives him contentment under the persecution.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, may the concept of “I am not there anymore” could give you a new thought of Christian’s life journey.

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“Are you hungry for Jesus?” ———- Journal of reflection 8/21/2014

Last Saturday was a beautiful day; several families of us went out to a local state park to enjoy its beautiful summer scenery. I was astonished to see such a huge crowd around the park, even at late afternoon when we were about to leave, we still see people entering the park. When we were at the park, I could literally see people everywhere, for BBQ, running, walking and boating. The air was filled with aroma of BBQ-ing and it stirred up my taste buds too 🙂

Seeing this amazing scene, it reminds me of the “hungry crowd of people” who followed Jesus to a desert place. According to the Gospel of Matthew, it was the time after Jesus heard the beheading news of John the Baptist. As Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a desert place, the crowds found it out and followed Him. From Matthew’s recording, you may see an interesting contrast between Jesus and His disciples – Jesus’ compassion vs. the disciples’ reluctance to the crowds because of their limited understanding of Jesus’ power. In the end, we learned that no matter how limited they are the compassionate Jesus could turn their limited “five loaves of bread and two fish” into a feeding feast to well over 5,000 people. What a miracle!

I was not sure how many people were in the state park last Saturday but I estimate it would be fewer than 5000 people. Imagine if Jesus appears to the crowds in the park and shouted, “Come here to eat! I have bread and fish” Do you think people will come? I would say, “Probably not, because they brought their own food and were satisfied already.” This tells us one simple truth, “If you are hungry for something, you will look for it.”

In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared that He is the “Bread of Life (John 6:35)” ; “Living Water (John 7:38)”; “Light of the world (John 8:12)”; “Gate for the sheep (John 10:7)”; “Good Shepherd (John 10:11)”; “The Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)”; and the “True Vine (John 15:1)” . 我是生命的糧;我是活水;我是世界的光;我是羊的門;我是好牧人;我是道路真理生命;還有,我是真葡萄樹. He told us that “No one come to the Father except through Him.” It is clear to us that He is the only way to God the Father. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, like the crowd in the park, if we are not hungry for Him, we would be hungry for worldly things – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life肉體的情慾、眼目的情慾並今生的驕傲. So, a question to you is “Are you hungry for Jesus?” Hope your answer is “Yes!”
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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“What? What?” ————- Journal of reflection 8/14/2014

Last Monday, we had to send our kids back to their college because of their housing arrangement and personal commitment to others. Our house is therefore quiet again after they are gone – normally we had a crowd of young people gathered, when they are around. As I looked back to my younger days, instant gathering is almost impossible for we need to call friends’ houses first and ask for permission from their parents. Nowadays, it is quite different. The younger generation all have their way of invitation through cell phones and computer. Impromptu invitations and gatherings become a norm – it is a social media era!

That day when we drove them back, in the car I saw they kept their heads down all the times on their cell phones. My wife couldn’t stand that and complained to them. Do you know what their answer is? “What? What?…” This makes my wife even agitated because she thought they were not paying attention to her. Sometimes I got the same feeling too – I have to raise my voice and repeat my question in order to get their attention. What a social-media addicted generation! I find that “technological convenience” promotes “bondage” and “aggravation” in this case.

As much as we don’t like people respond with “What? What?” to us, I don’t think God, who is our Heavenly Father, would like His children respond to Him with the same “What? What?” either when He speaks to them. In fact, this has been recorded in the Bible repeatedly throughout the history of Israelites. Even Israelites is called God’s chosen people, God is not always pleased with their response to His instruction, after He spoke to them through the prophets at many times and in various ways. No wonder Moses said, “You have been rebellious against the LORD ever since I have known you. 自從我認識你們以來、你們常常悖逆耶和華 (Deuteronomy 9:24)”

The question here is do we have the same rebellious attitude as the Israelites toward God? If yes, it certainly will hamper our growth in the Lord and quickly become a serious problem to our spiritual journey. What we can do is to come to our Lord everyday reflecting on our attitude toward Him. We can adjust our attitude through the help of the Holy Spirit. Hence, my dear brothers and sisters, my prayer to you is: may you listen to the whisper of the Spirit and become a child that is pleasing to Him.

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“Right-seat driver” ——– Journal of reflection 8/5/2014

Entering the first week of August, I had experienced an action-packed week – family outing to the local Outlet Mall, kayaking in a local pond, attending Praisefest at church and then a wedding celebration down in the city after Sunday service. I find that life sometimes is just plainly busy, full of excitement and of course, physically demanding too – I need to be the designated driver all the times.

This lets me think of a familiar term. called “Backseat Driver”. Normally, the term “backseat driver” is for an annoying person who is fond of giving advice to the person performing a task or doing something, especially when the advice is either wrong or unwelcome. In my case, it is different – I have a “right-seat driver” who is actually my wife sits on my right hand side to help me in looking for direction, to raise my awareness of roadway condition, and to keep me from dozing off. Thus, it is actually for my own good. 🙂

Evidently, most of us don’t like backseat driver much in our life and instead, a right-seat driver as described before would be preferred. However, even the best right-seat driver is still not perfect – he or she may sometimes doze off too. Worse yet, when he or she becomes the backseat driver sitting on your right hand side, it is going to make your life miserable. Therefore, a “good right-seat driver” in our life journey is absolutely essential.

King David in Psalm 16 told us, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 我將耶和華常擺在我面前,因他在我右邊,我便不致搖動 (Psalm 16:8)”. David indicates that it is God who is at his right hand side and therefore, he is not afraid of difficult situations and he rejoices and rests secure in Him. Then in Psalm 110, he also prophesized, “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.耶和華對我主說:「你坐在我的右邊,等我使你仇敵做你的腳凳。」(Psalm 110:1)”. David indicates here once again the importance of right hand seat. In this case, it is Jesus who sits at God’s right hand and is honored.

David not only knows the importance of who should be at his right hand side, he also knows the imperative need to let God be in his life’s driver seat. No wonder, David was called “A man who follows God’s heart 合神心意的人”. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, my question to you is: “Are you willing to let God in the driver seat of your life?” If you do, then your life will be protected and full of grace because He promised, “The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand. 保護你的是耶和華.耶和華在你右邊蔭庇你。The LORD will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life. 耶和華要保護你免受一切的災害,他要保護你的性命。(Psalm 121:5, 7)”

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

T2R or T2G ——————— Journal of reflection 7/31/2014

Stepped out from the cafeteria at my working place, I ran into a manager that I used to work with. Looked at his radiant appearance, I asked,
“You look great, how are you doing recently?”
“Very well, very well, I am now in T2R.” He responded.
“T2R?” I puzzled.
“Transition to Retirement”, he answered.
“Oh, I see; one more new terminology for me today.” I smiled.

T2R is a program that offered by my working company to a qualified employee. The idea is to give the employee a period of time to plan and to adjust his / her living style for the upcoming retirement while working for only part time. The benefit to the company is aimed for expenses reduction.

The key concept to the T2R is “transition”. It is supposed to minimize any possible stress for a person due to “sudden change” of living style because of retirement. If we ponder on this concept a little bit more, we could find that our life journey is essentially a “process of transition” – a process for us to transition from our birth to the end of our life, in this world. And the truth of this life is as Moses said, “the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 其中所矜誇的不過是勞苦愁煩;轉眼成空,我們便如飛而去 (Psalm 90:10)”. King Solomon, in his life-long experience, also sighed, “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 人一切的勞碌,就是他在日光之下的勞碌,有什麼益處呢?(Ecclesiastes 1:3)”. To our life, this seems to paint a rather gloomy picture. Hence, the T2R is at best considered to be a “temporary” relief to our trouble and sorrow in the end.

If our life is merely like Moses and Solomon described without a way out, then we certainly are hopeless and pitiful. However, God does grant us a way out, which I called “Transition to Glory (T2G)”. It is a transition with a glorious hope of everlasting life without pain and sorrow and, being able to stay with glorious God forever. The T2G is offered to everyone in this world and can only be achieved by receiving God’s Son, Jesus Christ, as our personal savior. When you enroll into the T2G program, your journey in this world would become a different transitional process and your true retirement location will be “heaven”. In there, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Isn’t this a true retirement should be?

Therefore, my dear friends, there are two type of transitions in our life. One is Transition to Death (T2D) after your T2R and the other is Transition to Glory (T2G). The question is: Which one do you want to choose for your retirement? Hope you realize that T2G is far better than T2D after T2R.

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

“A Foretaste” ———– Journal of reflection 7/22/2014

For the past week, my wife and I have been “home alone”– our kids were out for a Summer camp. For this reason, suddenly, we felt that our home is quieter, more relaxing, and we have more private time together than before 🙂 The good thing is we have fewer interruptions and we can focus things that we’d like to do. The bad is there is a sense of “loneliness” and “fewer helping hands” when we need. All in all, this home alone experience let us “foretaste” the empty-nesting syndrome which we are likely to experience it in the future.

As “foretaste” is to have a sample or indication of what is to come, it could therefore prepare us for what is coming and this may mean thing is either desirable or undesirable. For example, in modern product development, a foretaste is similar to an early ship program, a.k.a. “pilot program”, that allows product producer and customer to test a new product before it becomes ready for general public. This means customer could use this opportunity to test the new product and hence make a wise purchasing decision. On the other hand, the producer could use the program to “test water” and improve the product accordingly. In essence, the program could help in minimizing an unwise purchasing or a potential risk of disaster, if it exists, to the producer.

How about our spiritual journey? Do we have a similar concept of “foretasting”? Actually yes! In the Old Testament time, many prophets foretell God’s judgment against Isarelites after they received visions from God. Examples are prophet Isaiah saw the LORD sits on the throne in the temple; Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones; Daniel’s vision of the statue and the beast, etc. When it comes to New Testament, one notable instance of foretasting is on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus becomes radiant upon the mountain (Luke 9:28-36, Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8). Jesus’ disciples, Peter, John and James saw the transfigured Jesus and prophets Moses and Elijah appeared, in glorious splendor, next to Him and talked to Him. Peter then said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. (Matthew 17:4)”. From Peter’s point of view, this is a foretaste of the perfection of life in Heaven and he indicates that he would like to stay there. Another example is apostle Paul. He was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell 他被提到樂園裡,聽見隱祕的言語,是人不可說的 (2 Corinthians 12:4). Apostle John’s vision of Jesus Christ on the island of Patmos is his the second foretaste he had of the image of Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:12-16).

Thinking of these instances also brings up my memory of a famous hymn “Blessed Assurance”, authored by Frances J. Crosby’s – “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!” Frances reveals that she foretastes the divine glory of Jesus because Jesus is her personal Lord. Despite her being blind from shortly after birth, this foretasting experience sustains her throughout her preaching, teaching, and her rescue mission work. What a graceful experience. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, have you foretasted the sweetness of our Lord? May you be His true follower!

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

How to Practice the Sermon on the Mount – Summary —- 7/15/2014

The roller-coaster weather continues to flank the area this week. The good thing is it cools down in the day, the bad is its high humidity makes most of us uncomfortable. Oh well, life is not always pleasant and perfect – sometimes, it is like Job’s response to his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity 難道我們從神手裡得福,不也受禍嗎? (Job 2:10)”. Ha..ha..ha..

Last week I shared with you one of the two themes from a retreat, today let me try to summarize another one, titled, “How to practice the Sermon on the Mount 如何實行登山寶訓”. The speaker is pastor Huang from New Jersey. The Sermon on the Mount was Jesus’ teaching recorded in Gospel Matthew chapter 5 to chapter 7. How to interpret and practice the Sermon on the Mount has been a difficult subject throughout church history, since 16th century. For examples:

• If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 若是你的右眼叫你跌倒,就剜出來丟掉!寧可失去百體中的一體,不叫全身丟在地獄裡。 若是右手叫你跌倒,就砍下來丟掉!寧可失去百體中的一體,不叫全身下入地獄。(Matthew 5:29-30)
• But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 只是我告訴你們,不要與惡人作對。有人打你的右臉,連左臉也轉過來由他打 (Matthew 5:39)

The main difficulty lies on: do we practice the teaching “literally” or “spiritually”? Because of the diverse opinions, there are at least 6 different interpretations and practices as of today, per pastor Huang. The key to interpret the teaching correctly is to know its intended audiences and its historical background. Its background, according to pastor Huang, is from Isaiah 61:1-3 which foretells the coming of Messiah. And Jesus told His hometown people at Nazareth that He is the one who will be fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor主的靈在我身上,因為他用膏膏我,叫我傳福音給貧窮的人,差遣我報告被擄的得釋放、瞎眼的得看見,叫那受壓制的得自由,報告神悅納人的禧年(Luke 4:18-19)”

Pastor Huang also indicated that the intended audience for Jesus’ teaching is mainly for His disciples. However, crowd of Jews is also presented at that time. To be more specific, Matthew 5:3 to 7:12 is intended for disciples, while 7:13 to 7:28 is for general public. For example, depending on audience, the Beatitudes which is from 5:3-5:10, can be a commending or a demanding to the audience. When we realize that “Jesus is Messiah” and His intended audience, we then can understand the reason why Jesus said,

• “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 莫想我來要廢掉律法和先知,我來不是要廢掉,乃是要成全。(Matthew 5:17)
• For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 我告訴你們、你們的義、若不勝於文士和法利賽人的義、斷不能進天國。(Matthew 5:20)
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 凡稱呼我『主啊,主啊』的人不能都進天國,唯獨遵行我天父旨意的人才能進去。(Matthew 7:21)

In the Beatitudes, per pastor Huang, the first 4 is focusing on God’s righteousness and the next 4 is focusing on how to live out the righteousness. Also, the first one (#1) and the last one (#8) are using present tense while #2 to #7 are in passive tense. To the disciples, the Beatitudes is Jesus’ commending to them. On the other hand, it is a demand to the general public to accept Him as the Messiah then you can see the kingdom of heaven.

In summary, the Sermon on the Mount is for Christians to follow the teaching according to Holy Spirit’s guidance, to live out God’s righteousness described in the Beatitudes. For those who are still non-believers, the Sermon on the Mount demands them to receive Jesus as the Savior first, then they can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Hope the summarized material can be of use to you….

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.

 

“Calling to the one who is victorious” —– Journal of Reflection 7/8/2014

Last weekend, my family had an opportunity to attend a Christian retreat. It gives me time to relax and enjoy the spiritual feast that I have not been able to for the past few years. The main themes of the retreat are “Calling to the one who is victorious 得勝者的呼召” and “How to practice the Beatitudes 如何實行登山寶訓”. They serve good reminders to me – am I victorious in the eye of my Lord and have I practiced the Beatitudes diligently? For the theme of “calling”, let me elaborate it here while leave the second theme till the next week.

“Calling” carries a special meaning to the Christian – it is initiated from God, wanting the one who is called to leave the current state / condition and to enter a higher / improved state or condition. A few examples, according to the speaker brother Bellman Lin, are Abraham, Moses and David in Old Testament. In New Testament, Jesus’ disciples Peter, John and Paul and today’s churches are examples. The callings to those who are named are also entrusted missions. For example, apostle Peter was entrusted to open the gate of Gospel for Jews (Matthew 16:18-19) and to encourage and strengthen exiles scattered believers (1 Peter 4:1); apostle Paul was enlightened to preach God’s eternal will (Colossians 1:9, 15-18) and mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4, 6, 9-11); apostle John was entrusted to preach “The way of Life” (John 1:1, 2, 4; 1 John 1:1, 2).

The calling to today’s churches was illustrated by the seven churches from the book of Revelation, according to the speaker. The seven churches represented seven styles.
• The first style was represented by the Church in Ephesus (以弗所教會). It is a church knows the truth and hates the practices of the Nicolaitans, which God also hates. But, the issue is they have forsaken the love they had at first (把起初的愛心離棄了). Therefore, the calling to be victorious is to regain the love (Romans 5:1, 5) and to rededicate themselves to God without reservation (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15).
• The Church in Smyrna (士每拿教會) is the 2nd style. Smyrna has a meaning of “bitterness” or “myrrh”. It means their suffering is precious. It is a church under great persecution by three different forms – poverty, sufferings and slanders. It has a mountain in the city called “The crown of Smyrna”. God called them to be faithful, even to the point of death and promised to those who are victorious the “Crown of Life” and will not be hurt at all by the second death (Revelation 2:10-11).
• The third style was represented by the Church in Pergamum (別迦摩教會). Pergamum has the meaning of “height or elevation” and “union”. It indicates, implicitly, whenever one attempts to elevate his ministries may have the tendency to join the world, using worldly practices. The Church in Pergamum has two incorrect teachings, one is to follow the teaching of Balaam and the other is the teaching of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:14-15). Nicolaitans teach worldly system such as holy ranking (聖品階級) which destroys the relationship in church. God’s calling is to discard worldly practices and to give up the concept of compensation in serving (Matthew 6:24). And, to hold an equal status in front of God (Matthew 23:8).
• The Church in Thyatira (推雅推喇教會) is the fourth style. Thyatira is meant for “odor of affliction”. It is a military and commercial city with good production of pottery. God praised them of their love and faith, their service and perseverance, and that they are now doing more than they did at first. However, their love tolerates that Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. She misleads God’s servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. The calling that God initiated is to discard false teachings and to maintain simple faith and pure love, and be patient.
• The Church in Sardis (撒狄教會) represents the fifth style. Sardis means “Recovery”. It signifies God’s hope that church can recover from the mistakes made by the Church in Thyatira. The Church in Sardis is established in a wealthy city with gold mines and is located in the mountain peak. She is proud and indulges in sexual immorality. Because of the wealthy condition, she always embarks many new programs and new activities, like today’s church in North America, but are given up halfway. Her issue is: God knows her works, that she has a name that she is alive, but she is dead. And, her deeds are unfinished in the sight of God. God called the church to wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, to remember what she has received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.
• The sixth style is from the Church in Philadelphia (非拉鐵非教會). Philadelphia has the meaning of “brotherly love”. It has eliminated the holy ranking practices started from the Church in Pergamum. It recovers better than the Church in Sardis. The Church in Smyrna and the Church in Philadelphia are the only two churches out of the seven that God didn’t rebuke. To the Church in Philadelphia, however, He added more compliments – I know your deeds. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. The calling from God to the Church in Philadelphia is to hold on to what they have, so that no one will take their crown.
• The final one is from the Church in Laodicea (老底嘉教會). Laodicea means “justice of the people”, or, “People’s opinion 眾人的意見”. This reveals that “brother” in the Church in Philadelphia has turned into “people”, “love” has evolved into “opinion”. Implicitly, it is people’s opinion more important than God’s will. Laodicea is a prosperous city and therefore, people are prideful. The city abounds in eye medicine and fur coat. It has a spring flows through the city but its temperature is lukewarm. Therefore, God rebukes them: “you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The calling God has is to buy from Him gold refined in the fire, and white clothes to wear, so they can cover their shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so they can see.

The seven churches illustrated here remind us that we need to repent if we have forsaken the love we had at first in order to rekindle our spiritual fire. May the information serve as a good reminder to you!

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Disclaimer: The sharing is pure from my personal view; therefore, please don’t take it to be absolute. Thanks.