Category: 牧者心聲 | Pastor’s Corner

Today’s devotion passage is from Psalms 98.  God use this poem to call me to sing and praise Him for the work of salvation.  I ask myself, when was a time I sing and shout for joy to the LORD?  I recalled singing joyfully and passionately during TC.  I was singing joyfully and passionately during the retreat.  I was singing joyfully because I was surrounded with brothers and sisters who are also singing joyfully and passionately to God.  During our worship service now, we sing louder and with more joy.  We have our university students coming back to worship with us in the summer.

As I talked to each one of the university students, many of them were active in their campus fellowships.  They have grew spiritually over the course of last year.  In a sense, they are like bamboo trees.  The growth of bamboo tree is very slow in the beginning, then all of a sudden, they would grow tremendously.  With their experience of God’s presence and seeing disciples being made on campus, they sing with passion to God for what God has done in their lives.  I thank God for convicting me to experience the work of God’s salvation.

Finally, I reflected more on what the majority of the people praise and worship .  I remembered the last playoff game the Toronto Raptors played on a Sunday afternoon.  I imagine all the fans watching live in the arena paying at least $100 a piece, all the fans watching outside the arena on the street, all the fans watching in sports bars, and all the rest watching at home.  I imagine how people were shouting and praising the key players at the final minute of the game (for the record, Toronto loss by one point).    Why are people passionately shouting and praising for a bunch of guys bouncing a basketball up and down a wooden floor?  I personally like the game of basketball.  Why people do not shout and praise God’s name with such passion?

The main reason is “Who” is reigning our heart?  To a devote fan of a basketball team, success of the team rules in his/her heart.  To a devote follower of Jesus Christ, the LORD reigns (rules) in his/her heart.   Success of the team means money, fame, and power, which are essentially what the world worships.  Jesus Christ is my master who gave me the gift of salvation and I have been free from the bondage of sin.

It comes down who do I open my heart to be ruled by.  Do I open my heart to be ruled by worldly success? or Do I humble my heart to be ruled by Jesus Christ?

Throughout his 3 years of ministry on earth, Jesus has performed many miracles, healed, fed preached to many people. Thus Jesus receives a glorious reception when he entered the ancient city of Jerusalem. Yet as Jesus has told his disciples many times, he knows he comes back to this city to be crucified. Imagine the city gate into Jerusalem, the busy crowd going to the Holy city to observe Passover, the horses and donkeys, the noises … and people chanting “Hosanna” when Jesus riding on his colt enters the city. Imagine the scene, and how Jesus may feel knowing in his heart the most painful death awaits him in this city.

How deep is Jesus’s love for us. In response, how is our love for Jesus?

Jesus’ love for us is too deep beyond my understanding.  I am deep in my sin and my rebellion in how I live my life.  God’s deep love also extends to brothers and sisters who place their trust in Christ.  In response, our love for Jesus falls way short of Jesus’s deep love for me.

Gospel of Mark records upon entering the busy city of Jerusalem, the first thing Jesus did was to enter God’s temple, and Jesus was absolutely angered by the all the buying and selling in the temple. Jesus called them ‘robbers’. Today in our lives have we maintained ‘worshiping God’ as the corner stone of our lives? Or have we allowed all the buying and selling, all the money and finance matters to take priority in our lives?

I read on the news church leaders who use the name of Christ for personal financial gain.  Jesus would be angered by wicked people who use Christ’s name to stumble people from enter God’s kingdom.  I reflect on our church PGC.  Is our church conducted in a manner that is a house of worship?  Is the way we use our finance facilitate the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel, growing in the love for Christ, and connecting with brothers and sisters in Christ?

Personally, have I give more thoughts to money and financial matters than to the worship of Jesus Christ?  I need to repent from the times when I have more concern over personal financial success over glory of God through disciples of Christ growing in love for Christ.  I feel that at times I am more drawn to how the basketball team is doing than how God’s churches are doing?  There are times I care more about what’s on Facebook than my devotion towards Christ.

I can imagine I was a guy who cheered Hosanna with my mouth.  But in my heart, I am still hanging on my ideal way of live that is totally within my control.  I see Jesus Christ coming in and I cheer with the others hoping that he will bless me with success and health.  When I saw that he was captured and condemned, I fled away and do not want to have anything to do with him.

Christ is worthy of my worship because He is God who is able to overcome death.  Christ knows my heart and still loves me and draws me close to him.

—
Lokkei Law

Psalms 78 teaches present and future generations to learn from the past, and it stresses the grace of God. It recounted their history. In the wilderness, God’s people were judged when they put the Lord to the test. Even though later generations forgot His miracles and were disloyal to His covenant, God was merciful to them. Despite the love displayed in the Exodus and Conquest, Israel continued to rebel against the Lord, and was justly punished.  Despite Israel’s faults, God chose David to shepherd His people. The lesson of the psalm is clear. In David, Israel was granted a fresh start. God’s people had to learn from their past, and follow David’s example of faithfulness to the Lord if they hoped to avoid future disaster.

What story of God’s past dealings with you can you remember in times of temptation, forgetfulness and doubt you still face?

I still face doubt of whether God is present and his power is enough.  I have been tempted by seeking a easy way out of the hard work of making disciples.  I confess that I forget about all the goodness and mercy that God has blessed me.  In terms of story of God’s past dealings, I remember the following:

1. When I was feeling hopeless about the future when I was an university student, God used a brother with a passion for evangelism to invite me to accept the good news of Jesus Christ during fellowship.
2. When I was facing temptation from my career crisis a few years ago, God opened the door to experience Him through opportunities to serve Him in various mission opportunities.  When I fled away from the temptation, I was blessed with edifying fellowship with brothers and sisters who were passionate for Christ.  Through seeing the lives of brothers and sisters who surrendered themselves to God, I am able to see that God has a different plan than the one I envision for myself.  Through all the years, I was never lacking by any means.
3. When I was facing temptation from relational brokenness a few years ago, God sent His servants to minister to my wounded heart.  I was tempted to be unforgiving and turn to lustful pursuits to bury my heartache.  The unconditional love and encouragement from the brothers I serve showed me the love of God.
4. Today, when I am facing temptation from abandoning God’s calling, I recalled what God did for me for the last decade since I received the gift of salvation.  I was blessed with the opportunities to connect with some brothers and sisters whom made significant impact to my faith in Christ.  I was able to serve as a leader in the Teens Conference for the 5th year.  Through witnessing the power of God’s Word changing the heart of the teens, God gave me renewed passion to serve Him.

As it became increasingly clear that one must choose for or against Jesus, opposition to Him and to His kingdom hardened. Jesus claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath and the Servant predicted by Isaiah. This brought direct conflict with the Pharisees.

As I reflected upon the oppositions I have from following Jesus Christ, I only had some ridicules from a small number of my okios.  The opposition came when I tried to share the Gospel to my basketball friends.  Majority of my basketball friends are non-believers.  The ridicule came in the follow forms:

1. Why are you being so naive and so silly for believing a man made religious system?

2.  So you really give away 10% of your income towards the church?  You are such a foolish fanatic for wasting your money that way.  Will Jesus give you food when you follow Him?

3. Why do religious leaders use their power to abuse people?  Aren’t they suppose to be God’s servants?   (People’s perception of followers of Christ is negative because media covering scandals)

Overall, the opposition comes in the form of my values clashing the values of this world.  Jesus Christ did not verbally depend himself when he was accused.  He focused on doing God’s will of bringing healing and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.  Likewise, God is telling me to focus on bringing healing through pointing the love of Jesus Christ to friends.  I am to focus on reflecting the love of Christ by following the example of Jesus Christ (v.18-21)

Overall, my family and close friends are very supportive in my walk with Jesus Christ.  My wife is very supportive of my role as a youth pastor here in PGC.  My parents are very supportive in my role as a youth pastor and I am very thankful for that.  I experienced tremendous love and support from brothers and sisters here at PGC.

For the brother and sisters I serve, some face opposition from the parents.  The parents would not like to see their teens spending their precious time away from academic development.  Some face opposition from peers in the form of ridicule similar to what I faced.  Going to fellowship means missing out on group hang out on Friday.

I  learn and read about brothers and sisters in places with severe persecution.  Following Jesus Christ means alienation from family, loss of status, and even imprisonment and death.  The Spirit draws me to pray and give financially to support brothers and sisters.

Jesus has conquered Satan and death.  There is assurance of salvation for believers.  Why do myself and many believers feel defeated and hopeless?  This morning as I engaged in personal devotion, God brought me to Revelation 12:7-17.  I spent some time to reflect the image of the battle between Satan and God’s people.

The devil (Satan) is real.  He does exist.   Satan is alive in the end times.  Satan is alive today. Satan was alive since the beginning of human history.  Satan was there during the time Adam and Eve lived.  Satan’s goal is to keep people from coming to know Jesus personally.  He tempts and fools believers.  There are times I have fallen to the tricks of Satan.

Today, Satan is stumbling people from worshipping God through worries of this life, physical danger, emotional affliction, social injustice, and perceived intellect.  All people including godly saints have fallen to the traps of Satan.  Only Jesus Christ has not fallen to the traps of Satan.  Christ overcame Satan by his blood and the testimonies of believers (v.11)

Personally, I fell to the temptations of Satan in 2013 that hindered my relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have entertained with the following thoughts:

I will follow you better when our church grows stronger.  I will follow you better when my best friends come to Christ.  I will follow you better when the teens are on fire for you.  I will follow you better when I am not as busy with family obligations.  I will follow you better when I do better in ministry.

Every condition I think I must fulfill comes from the devil.  When I am left on my own without a strong devotional and prayer life, I would fall to the default lies from Satan.  When I received from God’s guidance and words of truth from brothers and sisters, I can ignore those lies and keep on meditating and working on things that builds up one another in Christ.  I will follow you Jesus by your grace alone!  I need brothers and sisters to remind me of this truth.

At the end, Satan will be banished forever because he knows his time is short (v12).  Until then, the battle against Satan is ever present.  As we approach closer to the end times, there are more challenges in life and more temptations to come.  We need to cling on to the Words of Christ tightly.  We need to intercede for our brothers and sisters in prayer.  Our only defence against Satan is our relationship with Jesus Christ.