Shortly before I left the US for China, a young adult in a church I was attending asked who wanted to meet before church to confess sins to each other. Notably James 5:16 says 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. I immediately joined. It was so good. Life giving. 6 people gathering weekly to confess our sins to each other. …
I love this verse that reminds me why meeting together should have deeper meaning. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Christians in China helped me realize what this verse said. They would parrot ‘don’t give up meeting together’ and in Chinese the connotation made it seem …
Jesus says love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Then Paul here puts some clothes on that to help us put love in action. Love in Action 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who …
Romans 12:9 says simply, “Love must be sincere.” Oh my. The Bible gives us quite a bit of guidance on how to treat people. In fact the following verses from that pile on. I think the problem in the Church in China and the Church Universal is people become Christians and start to do good as that is what we are taught. Unfortunately, the Bible also says our hearts are not well in Jeremiah 17:9. The heart is deceitful …
In the West we have a long history of freedom of religion. We want the world to have it. But we also want to have mangers at the state house which other faiths say hurts them. What does God want for us in Christian rights? I live in China where total freedom is not on the table and the Magna Carta has not been passed. No one is talking about a manger at the State house here. It is like …
Merry Christmas! In China, only the marketers are pushing Christmas as they push all holidays. However, we live far from Christmas being here in China. Not far from Jesus though. I used to be an enemy of the song Jingle Bells as it represented the trivializing of the Christmas holiday. I love Hark the Herald Angels Sing. However, I lightened up. Any connection we can make with a fun and happy Christmas is better than a theologically strong song. Jingle …
Many Christians including myself have gotten stuck in their own world and did not even know it. Sin is just this insidious. We feel like good Christians, but actually we are stuck in our own world. To explain, let me tell the first of three stories of Christians I know of – a married guy, a divorced woman, and myself. First the Story of the Married Guy Stuck in His Own World A passionate Christian guy who worked for me …
There is no command for weekly Sunday church in the New Testament. In the only command that we meet together, it is assumed that the fellowship is a mutual Church meeting. See the text. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Note how the author uses the …
Why would I say, “To build your faith, share your faith.” Quickest answer is that the teacher always learns more than the student. When we purpose to share, then we start to consider what we believe. Our problem is we do not get serious until we share. Faith becomes real when we share somehow. Jesus sent the disciples out to go try to do it without him. He did it twice in the gospels. Does writing this blog help my …
We Christians agree on a lots of things. The Apostle’s Creed and the Greatest Commandment for example. Let’s take a brief look at these 2 and think how very much we all agree on. Then let’s think why are we divided against other Christians? Can we not say 14 things is enough to say we have covered the main things? The Gospel Coalition provided this text. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe …
