It’s the end of the year again. If the world even knows to be thankful, Christians certainly should be more thankful. He who is able to give thanks in good things is wise; he who is able to give thanks also in his difficult encounters has great wisdom. But for those who know the Lord, love Him, and see in Him the great end (perfection, fulfillment), gratitude in all things is more than a good… Read More »The Great Ending
Many times I have seen a forwarded message of “the shortest commencement speech of Peking University”. The speech was held in the highest esteem by many Chinese, but I read it with the opposite feeling. I know many may be offended by my thoughts. But I wrote down what I really felt in my heart anyway. For some reason, these thoughts came out in English, probably because I felt in my gut that it was… Read More »Idolatrous Atheism
Thanks to a brother’s sharing of the earlier history and experiences of the local assembly, I had a glimpse of the “first love” (Rev 2:4) that the assembly had in the beginning about 20 years ago. Tragically, the assembly gradually left the first love. A great treasure has been lost — a treasure in the Lord’s eyes, and a treasure to those who love the Lord. The assembly came under attack by the enemy through flesh.… Read More »The Holy Spirit will not work with our hypocrisy and self-righteousness
One of the most paradoxical and troubling experiences I have had in my Christian life is the existence of spiritual pride. The enemy’s scheme Pride as a human behavior is common, and is a very basic aspect of sinful human nature. But spiritual pride is much harder to understand and even harder to deal with. It’s easy to categorically say that any spiritual revelation that leads to pride is not true spiritual revelation. The real-life… Read More »The Spiritual Pride
How do the people in New Testament time read the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament? Some see Proverbs as just a collection of practical wisdom and therefore a lower kind of spiritual revelation than other books. Still, some see it as being on par with all other books in the Bible, but only because they see all books in the Bible as just moral teachings and practical wisdom, missing the spiritual revelation of… Read More »Proverbs
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. “John 13:1. “… that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body… Read More »The Lord’s Table
“…the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.’” Rev 4:10-11: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the… Read More »Worthy Is the Lamb
A brother half-jokingly told about a dream his college-freshman daughter had. The world was coming to an end, and she was glad, because she would no longer need to go to school. Although the young college student’s dream was a bit humorous, I felt it was a very realistic dream and tells a great parable of our life. If we really know what we are left on earth doing, most of us who belong to… Read More »The King’s children go to school
Abide with me, fast falls the even tide, The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide, When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. My heart has been repeatedly touched and blessed by this song written by Henry F. Lyte (1793-1847) in 1847: Although this song is usually used for comfort by Christians during sorrow and deep distress, I was touched by the song and the author beyond all… Read More »Abide with me
“We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Romans 15:1: A dear brother in the Lord once confided how difficult and unreasonable one of his siblings was. Every complaint of the brother was more than justified, because his sibling was indeed not only less capable, but in fact irresponsible, inconsiderate and even selfish, a family member who seems to contribute more trouble and burdens than help.… Read More »Bearing with your brother