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Saturday, May 17, 2008

That the world would know your love

A certain verse has repeatedly come to mind the last few days. Most of the time in Mandarin, but several times in English.

爱里没有惧怕。
There is no fear in love.
(1 John 4:18a)

I stopped by Mr. Bean and bought almond bean curd to take home. They serve it hot here. I had it once before, Mr. Jollibean version, after Dot and I biked around Pasir Ris Park and needed an excuse to sit down. While enjoying my bean curd, I happened to read the following verse and knew without a doubt that it was a declaration of love from God.

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

What weighs on my heart most heavily are the catastrophic natural disasters in Burma and China. I've heard the trembling of tears amidst the prayers. Spoken in Burmese, English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese. Thousands of people dying without the grace of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If we have been blessed with God's love, the gift of righteousness through justification by faith, how can we be so selfish as to guard and hold on to this gift freely given?

Lord, free our hearts from the bondage of this world. Commission all of us to be followers of Christ Jesus, to be willing servants used by You, to illuminate your glory.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

I'm so small, yet you love me

Similiar, yet so different. Familiarity. I can easily predict who I'll meet and what I'll do each day. I enjoy the people and my work. I'm not a superhero that God singled out. In fact, I falter and stumble every day. A roof hasn't caved in on me yet, but countless little trials and tribulations here and there test me. Why did or didn't I do that? Arg, it's so easy to willfully sin! Did I do enough? Do people like me? Am I seeking praise from people rather than praising God? Did I seek God's kingdom and righteousness first? Did I even bother to commit things into His hands? Do I pray enough? Do I love Him? I've discovered that all these questions and more generally lead me to seek Him. To lay down the questions at His feet and trust He sees my actions, hears my questions, and knows my heart. He reminds me to be joyful always, pray countinuously, and give thanks in all circumstances, because that is His will. Praying for God's providence has become much more than asking Him to take care of my physical needs. He provides nourishment for the soul and spirit, too. So I can't stop thinking that it's quite important to walk closely with the Lord, to have time committed to Him alone so that my relationship with Him will grow. Otherwise, how will you know when He's answering your prayers? When he needs you to help him answer someone else's prayers?

Monday, April 28, 2008

A Sad Misunderstanding

By Philip Nicholson
A common misconception amongst many overseas Chinese Chirstians is that Taiwan no longer has need for missionaries. In North America, there seem to be many Taiwanese believers and churches. Many Chinese praise songs originate from Taiwan. We know of Taiwanese seminaries, Chirstian books, videos, and gospel organizations.
The gospel appears to be going out from Taiwan. Why should overseas Chinese churches invest money or personnel into taking the gospel into Taiwan?
Unfortunately this impression is based on a misunderstanding of the true spiritual condition of Taiwan's 23 million people.
What are the facts?
1. Spiritual darkness: Almost all Taiwanese people are in bondage to idolatry and the worship of false gods. According to "Operation World," Taiwan is the only major Chinese population in which there has never been a spiritual breathrough. Traditional Chinese religions, superstition, and ancestor worship have a hold on the hearts of Taiwanese people in a way not found anywhere else in the Chinese world. Agressive "evangelism" and social work by groups like Tzu Chi are winning the hearts of millions to Buddhism.
2. Few believers: This darkness is reflected in the small size of the church in Taiwan. Only about 2.5% of Taiwanese people are Protestant Christians. Proportionally, there are twice as many Christians in China and four times as many in Singapore. And it is estimated that about one third of Chinese in the US are Christian. That is over 10 times more than Taiwan! All of Taiwan remains spiritually needy. The Christians are a small minority. One in four churches lacks a pastor and most ministries are understaffed and overwhelmed by the size of the task. So why the perception that Taiwan is reached?
3. A middle class church: The vast majority of Christians are middle class and well educated. As a result the church is wealthy and a relatively small number of believers are able to fund significant Christian organizations and develop innovative media. Unfortunately these resources have not resulted in significant growth in the number of believers in Taiwan itself. The middle class nature of the church also means that more Christians are able to study and work overseas. There is a "brain drain" of believers from Taiwan into overseas Chinese communities. The high percentage of Christians amongst Taiwanese migrants to the West gives many overseas Chinese a false impression of how many believers there are in Taiwan.
4. The unreached working class: However, the greatest need for help is not in the established middle class churches. Two thirds of Taiwan's population is working class. These are the laborers, farmers, shop-workers, drivers, market sellers, etc. Amongst the 15 million working class people only about 0.5% are Christian. In many areas it is even less. The existing church is focused on the task of reaching their own peers, classmates, and colleagues. Most churches are not involved in reaching the large working class population. And since different methods are needed to communicate the gospel and plant churches amongst these grass-roots people, many churches do not know how to begin. Reaching the majority of Taiwan's people will only be through a significant cross-cultural missionary effort to enter working class communities.
What can you do?
Ministry in Taiwan is a challenge. It requires humility and patience. Overseas Chinese need to be willing to listen, learn, and adapt to the specific cultural needs of Taiwan. What works at home may not work in Taiwan. This is especially true amongst the working class.
However, overseas Chinese churches and believers are in an ideal position to make a difference for the gospel in Taiwan. With common languages (Mandarin & Hokkien), close culture, and similar appearance, overeas Chinese are more easily able to adapt to Taiwan and connect with the people in order to share the gospel.
There is a great need for people to invest their lives in Taiwan as church planters, evangelists, student workers, or in other ministries amongst the urban poor and working class.
If you are interested in ways that you can either pray for Taiwan or get involved in ministry here, please contact OMF Taiwan or visit our website. We have resources in both English and Chinese that can help to get you involved.
~~~~~
I hope this information will encourage you pray hard for Taiwan. And if you're heading back to Taiwan, please be open to God using you. :)
Exerpt from "When God Guides" by Denis Lane

God's primary aim for His people is to educate them for eternal life. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. He wants to make us like Christ. While therefore we may be concerned with the end result of His guidance, He is often more concerned with the teaching He can give to us in the process. For example, we are very concerned about the kind of work we shall be doing in our life. God may be more concerned with teaching us to depend on Him and to be paitient in doing so. What we see as frustrating delays in hearing about our job may be the very tools that He is using to develop patience in us.
There is on other preliminary question which is important to deal with, because there is so much misunderstanding about it - the use of the world "call." We hear people say that the Lord has "called" them to do something, and frequently it is in connection with a call to so-called full-time service like being a missionary or a pastor.
In the Bible, the word "call" usually applies to the call of God to follow Jesus Christ. This is much broader than a call to a particular ministry, and it does away immediately with the idea that there are two kinds of Christians operating at two different levels. In 1 Corinthians 7:20 Paul say, "Each one should remain in the sutation which he was in when God called him." "Call" here is clearly a call to follow Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say, "Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you." In other words, it is possible to be as good a Christian as a slave as in any other occupation. When a person becomes a Christian he often feels that he wants to give up his present work and serve the Lord "wholly." Paul is indicating that one can give wholehearted service while continuing one's present occupation. However, he goes on to say, "If you can gain your freedom do so." He is not recommending a passive acceptance of our fate, or the necessity to continue in our present occupation. He says that a Christian is free to take advantage of a better situation if that becomes available. The important point is that whether he is a free person or a slave, he is the Lord's slave and the Lord's free person. In fact he concludes "you were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men."
By confing the word "call" to people set apart by God for particular ministries we not only imply that there are two levels of Christian but we also encourage those in the "second level" to feel that they can get away with a lower level of dedication and obedience. Once we realize that the fundamental call in the Bible is to follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, all of us are subject to the same conditions of discipleship, and we all recognize that God has the right to ask us to go anywhere or to do anything at any time He chooses. How he directs us to serve no more related to the level of our Christian experience or dedication than does the colour of our hair. As Christians, we are all called to serve the Lord, some in one place and some in another, some on one occupation and others in another.
How then can we know God's will, and what are the principles upon which His guidance operates? I would like to trace some principles from the Acts of the Apostles, and particularly from chapter ten which records how Peter was sent to preach to Cornelius the Roman centurion. These principles will be found worked out in the lives of the people in this book. Fortunately the Lord knows us as individual p[eople and deal with us as such, and that is what makes the stories of His guiding hand so interesting.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Go Forth National Mission Conference

If you will be in Asia this summer, please consider attending Go Forth National Mission Conference (Singapore equivalent of Urbana) on July 16th - 19th, 2008. The theme this year is God's Glory in the East: Our Asian Missions Challenge. Plenary and evening speakers include Dr. Ajith Fernando (plenary speaker at Urbana 2006), Reverand Dr. Loren Cunningham (YWAM founder), Reverand Morley Lee (CEF since 1963), and Reverand Dr. David Wang (ActionLove founder). Tracks include Chinese, children, and outreach. The latter is an opportunity to form teams of 8-10 persons and go on a mission trip right after the conference!