Tending the Lamp in Morning Devotion to Follow God

Since the day I was sent by the Taipei mother church to establish 611 in Hong Kong, I have started morning devotion, and for twenty-four years now, rain or shine, it has never been interrupted.

During the four-month preparation period before coming to Hong Kong, while still in Taipei, C-Mo and I, together with Deborah, would have morning devotion everyday, sharing the bible verse that moved us the most, and finally, I would explain the entire chapter. At that time, our response was simple, without piano playing; after my wife sang a worship song, we would take turns praying. Later, when we arrived in Hong Kong, after I shared the scripture, Deborah and Anna would spend a long time praying for various things, feeling that the focus was on prayer. After communicating with them and making adjustments, we began to grasp the revelation of the Holy Spirit in the scripture for the day, leading our brothers and sisters into the scripture of the Morning Devotion.

Thirty years ago, while pastoring in Vancouver, I read Exodus and Leviticus, both of which mention the lamp on the golden lampstand in the sanctuary. Aaron and his sons were to tend the lamp from evening to morning before the Lord, keeping it always lit (Exodus 19:20-21; Leviticus 24:2-4), not letting it go out. At that time, I decided that the church I pastor should have Morning Devotion and Bible reading, although I was still in tradition and did not know how the Holy Spirit worked. In fact, since 1989, when I took the Spiritual Direction course at Regent College, I spent an hour each day practicing contemplation, eating the scroll God gave me in the Spirit. After ten years of practice, I can now preach on any scripture I read, with great enlightenment. Now, returning to Hong Kong to establish a church, we have Morning Devotion to tend the lamp for God, and each time we read the scripture, we receive fresh insights. When God’s word is shared that day, we follow the Holy Spirit. As we minister to God and follow God closely through Morning Devotion, God greatly blesses us.

God has entrusted the gospel of the Tree of Life to us, and we follow His leading in His word. Over the past twenty-four years, there are countless examples of God leading us to make key decisions through Morning Devotion. For example, during the 2003 SARS, when we were deciding whether to hold a hundred-night evangelistic meeting, we read Psalm 48 where it says God’s temple is in the north, lofty and beautiful, God revealing Himself as a refuge. Also, when we were thinking about building the temple, on June 11, we read Zechariah 6:11, it talks about taking gold and silver to make a crown and then placing it on the head of the high priest Joshua. Later on, whether moving to North Point Pier, then to Tsuen Wan, or receiving the vision of planting the Trees of Life for 52 years, God has led us through the scriptures we read in Morning Devotion.

May I encourage all of our branch church pastors here: God has chosen me, and He has also chosen you, to lead the churches through us. Let us continue to tend the lamp in Morning Devotion together, so that God’s will may illuminate our path forward. ■【2025.03.23】