Category: Devotion

遇到困難時，你是用放大鏡看你的問題，還是用望眼鏡，看榮耀大能的上帝呢？
下次遇到問題時，先來到上帝面前，把一切憂慮告訴祂，讓祂來告訴你，那些問題是該注意的，還是該忽略的。

「你們要將一切的憂慮卸給神，因為他顧念你們。」（彼得前書5:7）

“It’s not a big deal”. I often comfort my kid when she is panic at some trivial things.

We often magnify the problems with the magnifier, instead of seeing God’s almighty grandeur with the telescope. So, while facing the trouble, our weapon is to cast all our big or small anxiety to God and let Him tell us what we should pay attention or what we should ignore and let go.

“Cast all your anxiety upon Him, for He cares for you.” 
1 Peter 5: 7

I am God’s child.

Meditate on the verses to know your identity in Christ:

Romans 8:14: For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Romans 8:16:The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Galatians 3:26: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 4:7: Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

John 1:12:But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

1 John 3:10: By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

You are God’s creation in His image. God brings you to this world so that you can know Him, love Him, enjoy Him and glorify Him, which is the meaning of your life.

God sent Jesus Christ to this world to seek you and tell you that He loves you. At the moment you hear His voice and receive His word and believe Him to be your Creator and Savior, you are reconciled with the Father God.

You are not a slave to your sins and under the devil’s dominion anymore because Jesus Christ paid your debt of death by shedding His blood on the cross. And Jesus Christ is risen from the death and brings you together to sit by the side of our Father God, as an heir with His royal authority.

How do you know you are His child? God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart when you believe in Jesus Christ’s name. And this Spirit gives you assurance and peace to know you are not believing a fantasy but the truth recorded in the history and the Bible. Even though there’s no visible sign to prove it, the assurance in your heart is a sign because non-believers don’t have this peace in their hearts no matter how they try to reason with themselves. They cannot even say that Jesus Chris is their Lord from their mouths, which could result from either their sins or the devil is hindering them from saying it out loud. This is my American friend’s testimony when she asked a non-believer to say Jesus Christ is her Lord and she cannot even pretend it.

This faith is also not from the secular knowledge. A pastor’s wife from South Africa shared with me that when she was eight years old, she received Jesus as her Savior because she didn’t want to die and go to hell. When she was around her grandmother, who was a fortune-teller at that time, her grandmother needed to ask her to go away because she lost the power of telling people their fortune when this young Christian was around.

Another friend from Taiwan shared about her sister’s testimony. When her sister received Jesus Christ as her Lord, she was ignorant and brought by a friend to see a fortune teller. But out of her surprise, this fortune teller asked her if she is a Christian because he cannot tell her fortune like he does to other non-believers.

See, God’s Holy Spirit is already in these young believers’ hearts and protect them from the devil’s dirty hand to touch or deceive them.

As a believer, the first thing you can practice God’s righteousness is: Sincerely proclaiming you are God’s child by faith in Jesus Christ daily. When you do it, the devil cannot hinder you from claiming all the promises God want to bless you. And you also shine out Jesus Christ’s light and righteousness as you stand firm in this faith in the dark world.

Prayer: Dear Father God, I thank you for receiving me as Your child when I receive Jesus Christ as my Savior from my sins and the Lord of my life. Thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit to dwell in my heart so that I can be guided and taught by You to walk on Your righteous path to the eternity. In Jesus Christ’s name I praise You with all my heart. Amen.

My Taekwendo master often emphasizes on the importance of not kicking or punching out of imitation, that is, without putting force on it. The result is that the mimic practice cannot strengthen our muscle at all.

Likewise, a mimic praying from an insincere heart has no power (refer to 1 Peter 2:1) in spiritual growth and warfare.

～～照神心意的禱告，神必垂聽～～

我的跆拳道老師常常在上課時叫我們不可以「做做樣子」，因為平時的練習雖然看起來像在打或踢空氣，但不盡力而為，就無法鍛鍊肌肉，更不用說打破木板。

同樣地，禱告上帝時心裡不先承認已知的罪，想的都是自己的私欲，而不是神的真理，這樣的禱告就是「做做樣子」。結果是靈命不能成長（參彼得前書2:1），魔鬼也不怕你。

A kindergartner boy was asked what he remembered during the four-day Bible camp. He said: “I can come because God calls me by my name.”

How touched I am to hear God calls me here to live this life and eternal life because He calls me by my name and said to me: you are mine. (see Isaiah 43:1)

Pray: Lord, I am thankful that You call me by my name so that I can come to know You and partake Your grace and love. Please teach me to know You and walk with You daily, for I want to belong to You now and forevermore. In Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

~祂叫我的名字呼召我~

老師問學生們：你們在這週的營會學到什麼？

有個幼稚園男孩子回答說：「因為上帝叫我的名字，所以我能來。」

這個五歲的孩子的話深深感動了我。是的，上帝叫了我的名字，使我今生與永生能活在祂的愛裡。上帝說：我叫你的名字，召你到我的國度裡。你是屬於我的。

“He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand”. ~ Psalms 40:2b

Have you ever wondered where the next step for your life is? Especially when you are searching for the life direction, there seems no path to walk on because you feel like you were drifting in the ocean.

However, Jesus commands my destiny just like He commanded Lazarus to come out of death and into life. If you believe Jesus as your Savior and the Lord, your life is a miracle like Lazarus’.

Jesus knows when it’s time for me to move on. Then, He anchors a rock in the water for me to step on.

“Will it be stable?”, I ask.

If that rock is placed by my effort, I doubt it could withstand the strong current. However, if Jesus anchors that rock for me, His power and wisdom is more than 100% trustworthy.

So, be still and wait for the Lord. When He firmly positions the rock in front of you, just step on it.